Product and Service Marketing: Copywriting is Not Just Enough

By Ubong Mkpesit

The goal of every marketing activity is patronage. If a firm’s marketing activities do not translate into sales, either immediately or shortly after, such marketing activities have automatically become a wasted efforts.

The mistake most firms make is to think that hiring a good copywriter to write good copies is enough to make potential customers or existing ones buy or keep patronising their product or service. No doubt, it is okay to hire good copywriters, but a good copy is like a beautiful lady with a bad character. While her beauty attracts men to her, her bad character chases them away. That is what a bad product or service does to a good copy. A good copy compels people to patronise a product for the first time, but if the product fails to meet their expectation, they run away and never return. And sadly, while running away, they will go about discouraging potential clients from buying the product.

In mass communication, there is a theory known as hypodermic needle or magic bullet theory. And in economics, there is a concept known as neoclassical model. While the former assumes that mass media messages are taken hook, line and sinker by those the messages are targeted at, the latter posits that economic agents (such as consumers) are rational and logical beings that will only go for a product or service that provides them with maximum utility (satisfaction). The utility could be in terms of the quality of the product or service so provided, or in terms of the way and manner staff members relate with customers (good customer relations), etcetera.

So, if copywriting is not just enough when it comes to product and service marketing, what then is?

The answer is utility. The satisfaction a customer gets from consuming a product will turn him or her into a loyal customer. As earlier established, the satisfaction could be about the quality, about the good customer relations or the combination of the two.

Therefore, as a firm, while you spend so much money hiring good copywriters to write excellent copies and promotional articles about your product or service, or even about the firm, also spend equal amount or even more in producing quality product or service, as well organising regular training for your workforce, especially on crisis management.

As regard the recent incident involving Ibom Air and Ms Comfort Emmanson, I have seen a lot of marketing and public relations efforts online by ‘fans’ of the airline, aimed at ensuring that Ibom Air does not lose customers after that unfortunate incident. Great move, I must say. But is that enough to sustain its reputation as one of the leading firms in the aviation business in Nigeria? The answer is ‘NO’.

This piece is not in any way suggesting that the incident has affected its reputation or client base since I do not have data on its sales records before and after the incident.

But what should be done if the incident has affected its client base? I suggest that instead of individuals writing promotional articles about them (Ibom Air), the airline itself should issue a press statement (if at all that isn’t done yet) acknowledging the fact that they erred when they intentional or unintentional dragged the lady out of the plane half naked. This is so important because that is the only crime, in my judgement, that they have committed. It is even more important because public relations and marketing are inseparable fields when it comes to achieving an overall business goal(s).

It has never been and will never be a bad public relations practice or a bad marketing strategy if an orgainsation uses the words ‘we are sorry’.

Ubong Mkpesit is a broadcaster with a flair for business/financial journalism.