If you are selling, telling it straight is always the better tact. Sure, adding a dash of romance never hurts, but shifting story midstream is a surefire way to undermine trust.
If the customer asks for a product you no longer sell, telling them the straight story, which is that you have changed products, enables you to keep it simple, real, believable. If, on the other hand, you try to discredit your former line, you’re leading yourself down a path to the hard sell, the controversy no one needs.
This is why brands work so well. They tell a straight story in a consistent, credible manner. A good brand leaves the garbage talk in the can, personifies just enough romance to be its own iteration of sweet, and is true.
Kelly Hobkirk - teaching marketers how to harness strategy, goals, reality, and purpose to connect and do better work.
Kelly Hobkirk has been helping companies succeed in creative ways for nearly 25 years. His work has been featured in Time Magazine, and books by Rockport and Rotovision. Get exclusive articles when you sign up for his monthly newsletter.