Less is More - Simplicity is Key for Effective Marketing

The accepted truth in landing page design is that simplicity is the best practice. One theme, a concise message, a clear call to action. Many experts even say that all links to other pages on your site should be removed from landing pages. Essentially, you want to eliminate all distractions so you can dictate exactly what your site visitor focuses on.

So why not follow this strategy for your other marketing efforts? Oftentimes, companies try to inundate customers with all the great things about their product or service through their various marketing channels. Countless ads, commercials, press releases, brochures and websites are packed with so much clutter that the consumer goes into information overload, resulting in them shutting down and refusing to absorb any of it.

Instead of trying to convey all your product's bells and whistles in every piece of marketing collateral, figure out the primary benefit to the consumer and focus exclusively on that. A single, clear message that illustrates the benefit that a user can realize by purchasing and using your goods. Or maybe you don't have a particular feature you want to highlight; instead you want to convey a more general message or theme. Regardless, don't overcomplicate it. Scrape away all the extra layers of verbiage muddying your message and provide a streamlined sales pitch. This strategy is well illustrated by the iconic 1960's Volkswagen ads which offered succinct messages such as "Think Small" and "Lemon." Apple offers another great example of this strategy being effectively implemented. The company has always been the king of simple marketing and it seems to be working for them (they're one of the top two most valuable companies on Earth, vying with Exxon on a daily basis for the top spot). Take a look at some of their ads and try to emulate their simplicity for your own product or service. You don't necessarily have to match their level of zen-like minimalism, but it provides a good example of just how simple you can be while still conveying your message. Just like the landing page example, when a consumer looks at your marketing piece, there should be no distractions.