Smart Marketing for a Dumb Watch

Melissa walked past my desk last week, looked over my shoulder, and saw this:

“You have seven thousand and forty-eight emails in your inbox?” she asked. 

“Yep,” I said. “But zero are marked ‘unread.'” (Which, by the way, is not the same as saying, “I’ve READ all 7,048 emails!”)

Welcome to my world of digital overwhelm.

Everyone deals with it to some degree.

All the more reason to make sure your emails captivate and entertain…

…so your subscribers don’t cut you out of their lives when they reduce digital clutter. (You don’t want to be viewed as “clutter.”)

But that’s not the point of this story. This is a story about answering objections.

Behold this brilliant billboard towering over Manhattan:

It displays a Timex watch…

…an analog model, complete with a ticking second hand, and a dial on the side to set the time.

Below the photo of the watch, this message: “Know the time without seeing you have 1,249 unanswered emails.”

That’s what marketers call…

…proactively defusing an objection before it blows up in your face. 

Smart marketers make a habit of doing that.

Just yesterday, I sat in on a training run by Dave Dee who’s a master at this. Dave advised:

Anticipate in advance all the objections a prospect may raise…

…and proactively address them in ways that defuse the objection — without sounding defensive.

That’s just what Timex has done.

“Buy our analog watch,” they tell us.

The Unspoken objection: “But analog watches aren’t ‘smart.’ You can’t check your email or send texts on them.”

Timex anticipates the objection and turns a “problem” (no email) into a virtue (no email overwhelm).

Way to go Timex. That’s some smart advertising to promote a “dumb” watch.

Speaking of Dave Dee, he read an advance copy of my soon-to-be-published book (Story Power Marketing – Proven Methods to Create Client-Attracting, Profit-Generating Content – Without Getting Stuck)and he wrote:

“I love this book! It is packed with information you can immediately use to make more money. Tom left no stones unturned and shows you specifically how to make your marketing more engaging. There is no fluff or filler. Just one hard hitting strategy after another.”

(Thanks, Dave )

If you’d like a complimentary copy of the book, before it goes on sale on Amazon, reply to this email with “No Fluff.” I’ll send you a copy in a few weeks, after I’ve approved the cover design and final proofs.

(Note: If you’re one of the MANY who has already asked for a complimentary copy, no need to reply again. You’re on the list.)