A radio station sales manager asked if I had any ideas for a relatively new client: a small, independently owned hardware store. They have a single location. If the store had a Unique Selling Proposition, no one had discovered it yet.

So I thought about my own rare ventures into hardware stores and quickly realized a key emotion that I suspect is felt by many customers:

Fear.

I don’t mean raw terror.

More like uneasiness, a pronounced uncomfortableness.

Will I be able to find the tool or accessory I need?

How will I know which item to buy?

What size will I need? How many will I need?

Will any of the employees be able to help? Will they laugh at my ignorance?

This immediately led me to suggest a very powerful strategy utilized by too few radio advertisers: Education.

I suggested a series of radio commercials in which the store owner answers the most common questions posed by do-it-yourselfers in a relaxed, conversational, non-threatening manner:

——–

Hi, I’m Ed Proprietor of Ed’s Hardware Store. A wrench is a very common tool.

But if you ask someone to hand you a wrench, they might say, “Which wrench do you want? Pipe wrench? Neumatic torque wrench? Crescent? Open-ended? Box wrench?”

Here’s a quick & easy explanation of the differences. (SIMPLE EXPLAIN GOES HERE.)

The reason we carry so many different kinds of wrenches … and hammers, and saws, and screws & nails all kinds of thingamajigs and whatchamacallems … is because we want to make sure we have exactly what you need.

Having helped thousands of (LOCAL) handymen & women, carpenters, electricians, and part-time fixer-uppers over the past 15 years, you can pretty much count on our having what you’re looking for.

And don’t worry if you don’t know it’s called.

We’re Ed’s Hardware in downtown (Town). Stop by today; we’re here to help.

——–

Where would YOU rather shop:

At a hardware store where the clerks don’t know and don’t care?

Or at a store where people have both the knowledge and the desire to answer your questions?