Albert Einstein. You know... the MARKETING genius.

"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough." 
                               - Albert Einstein

Truer words about marketing have never been spoken.

The internet age is fast. Consumers want access to products and services more quickly than ever before, but more importantly, they want information about products and services even more quickly, before they decide which products or services to buy. 

We use social media to ask our friends for referrals and recommendations, and we get that feedback almost instantaneously. We read product reviews on web sites that are accurate as of that moment. We use apps that allow us to scan product bar codes (in the store!) then tell us where to buy them for the best price. We Google a brand or product then scan the meta descriptions in the results to learn all we need to know, in mere seconds. Our access to information, opinion and evaluation of brands is unprecedentedly fast.   

What does this mean for marketers? It means you need to be able to describe what it is that you offer, and why anyone would be interested in buying it, in mere seconds. That means it needs to be simple. Exceedingly simple. If we have but seconds to describe our offer to consumers, it needs to be more concise and appealing than it currently is.

Here are some of the best examples of offers that are exceedingly clear, concise and appealing:

1. Sharpie. They're sharp, they're permanent, and they last.
2. Priceline. You name the price.
3. GoPro. The HD camera you can use under water.
4. Groupon. Online coupons activated through sharing.
5. Dollar Shave Club. Quality razors delivered to you for about a dollar.

What do all these products and brands have in common? They are all successful. Why? because their offers are so simple and so attractive that everyone is talking about them (especially since the products/brands are easy for anyone to describe). They didn't need massive ad buys to spread the word when they launched these products. They created an offer so simple and so attractive that word spread on its own. Fast. Enabled by the internet.

That precious word-of-mouth advertising is only enabled if the product or brand in question can be explained simply. Just as Einstein foresaw.

What a genius.

LESSON FOR MARKETERS

It's simple (pun intended): Try to describe your offer to someone in 3 seconds or less. And make it good! Anyone can describe an offer in 3 seconds or less. The trick is to describe an offer that's compelling enough to inspire people to talk about it or buy it... in 3 seconds or less. Good luck!

YOUR TURN

Any simple, attractive products or brands to add to the list?