Here's a line from Law and Order, Criminal Intent that every marketer should memorize. DA Arthur Branch, about to sign an arrest warrant for a judge in a high-profile case: "It's not enough to do good; you gotta be seen doing good."
And that's the essence of signaling criteria.
Porter Power
In his classic Competitive Advantage Michael Porter mentions two types of buyer criteria:
use criteria = what the product does for the buyer signaling criteria = how the buyer thinks or feels about what the product does for the buyer
Many marketers think their job ends at providing effective signaling criteria. We say: "Hey, I've told a great story, I've produced a super TV spot, my click-through rates are fantastic--I've done my job."
And by one measure, you have. If you are hired to write a great ad and nothing else, then yes you've certainly done the client right. But if you own a small business, or if you are in charge of company-wide marketing, or if you own an agency that wants to keep an account for years, then you better quickly learn to pay attention to use criteria.
Because, as Porter so accurately point out, a company can make an OK product and create superior marketing communications and best a company that turns out a superior product but fails to let the customer know how great the product really is.
For a while.
But eventually a competitor with "so-so" advertising but better products usually catches up with the advertising leader. The advertising message is forgotten, and the user is stuck with the product. And the product, unless it is really fantastic, doesn't speak for itself. And if there's a better competitive product out there, the customer is going to find it eventually.
And Porter wrote this in the 80s, before instant internet product reviews were available.
What's the smart marketer to do?
Keep signaling--after the sale.