Soft sell advertising uses a friendly and casual approach. Hard sell advertising, on the other hand, uses a direct and more forceful approach.
Soft sell marketing techniques help customers gain trust in your company. Such things as customer success stories and white papers are soft-sell marketing materials. Hard sell advertising is much more overt and uses tactics such as telling someone they need this product or service. Most brochures and direct-mail advertisements fall into this category.
Both soft sell and hard sell advertising have their place. I focus on soft sell advertising techniques because I enjoy creating them more.
They can be combined into one marketing piece as well. An example would be when you have a customer testimonial followed by a paragraph with a special limited-time offer to take advantage of the same service or product.
There is also direct-selling and indirect selling. Direct selling is placing ads in newspapers and magazines and sending things to people who have not requested them. Indirect selling is when you give seminars, write articles, etc. and people who are curious about your services or products take action to find out more.
“I have long been an advocate of indirect marketing techniques, “said the late Howard Shenson. “I believe that the direct, hard-sell techniques (cold calls, advertising, direct mail) are not as effective as the indirect strategies, which are more like public relations activities. As an added bonus, these indirect, low-cost/no-cost techniques are much less expensive.” Shenson was a frequent speaker and writer of business development practices. His opinion is based on studies he conducted.
So, as well as traditional advertising methods, try blogging, send out regular newsletters, or write a book to become an expert for your customers. You will gain credibility and influence, which generates enthusiasm, interest, and referrals.
