Daily Lab: The perfect flaws

One of my favorite things about advertising psychology is that people love when brands admit flaws.

The famous “Avis is only No. 2 in rent a cars” campaign (which meant they tried harder) made them seem earnest and reliable. Their lineups were shorter because more people were at Hertz, and they turned that into a positive.

Or think about the countless cough medicines and lozenges that advertise their disgusting flavors to make their medicinal qualities seem more authentic. Do they need to taste that bad? I don’t know, but I know I’m weirdly suspicious of medicines that taste too good.

Or what about your favorite neighborhood bar with the weird rules and strange menu that’s always full?

It’s not because we like flaws, it’s because we expect them.

We know that great quality is the product of clear choices and tradeoffs. And we’re suspicious of brands that pretend they haven’t had to make any.

So if there’s something you don’t do so you can do another thing that much better, think of how you can demonstrate that to your very best prospects.

Start by filling in this sentence:

“If you like [what your customers need], you’ll love [your specific solution]. It’ll let you [the outcome of working with you] without the [what you don’t have or don’t do].”

For Avis, which wanted to admit their flaw of being less popular than Hertz and make it a benefit, it would read:

“If you like [clean, affordable rent-a-cars], you’ll love [our earnest and reliable service]. It’ll let you [get where you need to go] without the [standing in a long line-up].”

For this newsletter, which comes out every weekday (that’s a lot! Too much for many), I might want to highlight that its frequency helps keep you focused on strategy.

So, it would read: “If you like [making better marketing decisions], you’ll love [starting your day strategically]. It’ll let you [do marketing that works] without [losing focus on what you love doing].”

What’s yours?

It won’t be final ad copy by any stretch, but it’s a way of thinking about the tradeoffs you’re making (or could be making) and how they create extra value for your very best customers.

Because for your very best customers, your choices and tradeoffs aren’t flaws.

They make your business perfect for them.