No, You're Not Weird

You're just smarter than your customer.

In a recent post Jill gave an example of a brochure graphic that did not convey the message it was intended to convey. A commenter gave a response that is important enough I want to address it in a new post instead of the comments thread:

Anonymous said...

Guess I'm weird, then, because I read the heading, saw "Flashing" and immediately saw the actual *flashing* (the shadow line helped) and knew what they were trying to sell.

No, you're not weird; you're knowledgeable about the topic. You've dealt, I'm assuming, with bricks and mortar and flashing enough in the past to tell them apart and know what you're seeing.

Problem is, your customer has not.

Repeat customers know - hopefully - what they are seeing, but new customers, completely unfamiliar with the issues, are looking at this and seeing bricks. If your target audience is graphically-oriented, as most Americans are, you've missed an opportunity.

This is why it's important to get an outsider's perspective on all sales literature and marketing collateral. If someone new to the field cannot determine what you are trying to sell, all your brochure does is waste paper.