Give the dog an effectively-marketed bone
A yellow bundle of energy (dog) arrived at our house a few months ago.
She’s cuddly, adorable, and sleeps more than she should.
Like any new pet owner, we made the obligatory stop at PetSmart for some puppy goodies: toys, food, bones.
Browsing the long aisles of PetSmart, I scanned all shapes and sizes of chew toys: squeezy, squeaky, noisy birds, squirrels, bunnies; if there’s an animal that your dog wants to chew, PetSmart can satisfy.
We picked up a bone that would surely, (hopefully) calm a biting, stressed, zealous puppy. My wounded fingers, arms, hands, ankles, legs could use a bit of a break from the frequent puncture wounds.
Upon arriving home, I could sense that my pup knew I had a gift for her; the gaze was more intent; her posture seemed poised to pounce.
I unraveled the new bone from its wrapper and quickly glanced at the packaging (I am in marketing, that’s what I do.)
Needing relief for a pained puppy, I didn’t want to be overburdened with feature fluff. I wanted to bring peace to my puppy.
What I read was straight to the heart of effective product marketing:
- Virtually indestructible (I despise products that wear down after a few days. Built to last is a lost art.)
- Finest natural gum rubber for maximum strength and durability (Our dog is tough; we want this bone to withstand her ferocity.)
- Specially flavored they encourage exercise and provide fun while cleaning and massaging teeth and gums (The bone is getting plenty of the dog’s attention, so she must like the flavor.)
After watching my dog gnaw, nibble, tear at this bone for the past 3 weeks, this product manufacturer hit the marks on all three benefits.
The lesson for anyone marketing a product or service:
Don’t get trapped down the ‘feature funnel’. Focus on the true benefit that you are bringing to your audience. How will you make their lives easier? Less stress and worry?
A product that pummels me with a fifteen bullet point feature parade causes me to flee the scene after bullet #2. Stay clear of this train wreck.
If you’ve a pugnacious pup, try a bone to calm her nerves.
Time to go; a little yellow dog has a tennis ball in her mouth and she’s ready to learn the game of fetch.
Until next time,
Dan Naden
