Connecting With Buyers A’ La Ford

“Ford Motor Co. set out to put the world on wheels with the Model T.  Here’s how the company attempted to brand itself through advertising and how it pitched its product to early everyday drivers including women,” USA Network writes in the special section of the March 10 issue of my newspaper.

As I analyzed the Model T ad reproduced  in my Indianapolis Star (an ad created fully one hundred years ago!) I noticed a number of smart marketing principles at work, guidelines we content marketers can put to use today…

Market with the end in mind

“To the woman at the wheel of a Ford car, every road seems straight and smooth; hills melt away and rough places are easy.”  The goal of content marketing should be to leave readers absolutely knowing why they need to care, not about your product or service, but about the way they are going to feel after using it! 

Your Unique Selling Proposition

“Don’t tell them what you do.  Tell them what you do for them,” Certified Business Coach Andrew Valley advised in a guest post years ago in this Say It For You blog. “You must tell the listener how your product or service can benefit that person, and how you can do it better or differently than others who do what you do.”

Understand buyers’ concerns

“When a woman hesitates to manage a heavy car, when she needs an extra one for personal of family use, or when her means forbid the drain of high upkeep cost…” In content marketing, making claims such as “least expensive, or “most affordable” are totally ineffective compared to communicating that you understand and are ready to address buyers’ deepest concerns.

In his business skills and development book The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs, Carmine Gallo reminds marketers to focus on results. “Remember, your widget doesn’t inspire,” he reminds us. Ford marketers obviously knew how to address potential buyers’ deepest concerns. – “She should have the easily handled, easily parked, reliable service of a Ford,”

Aim to inspire

While a company’s website, brochure and blog typically explain what products and services are offered, who the “players” are and in what geographical area they operate, the better content pieces give at least a taste of the corporate culture and some of the owners’ core beliefs.

As the author of the piece on the Model-T observes, “This ad uses the automobile as a symbol of freedom”.