• CPG MBA
  • Posts
  • David Ogilvy’s Door-To-Door Formula

David Ogilvy’s Door-To-Door Formula

Author

CPG MBA
September 12, 2023

David Ogilvy, considered the father of advertising, started as a door-to-door salesman. He was so good at selling stoves that the company he worked for asked him to write an instruction manual for his fellow salesmen. And although he was gone before the internet took over the world, the formula he developed slinging stoves door-to-door applies amazingly well to the homepage of your website.

So, what’s the formula?

Big Promise + Proof = Increased Sales

Present a big promise (whiter teeth, better sleep, clearer skin, etc…) as soon as someone opens the door. Arouse curiosity with a promise that appeals to your potential customer’s self-interest.

Once you have their attention, provide proof that you can deliver on this promise. Remove any barriers standing in the way of a purchase.

Now let’s translate this formula to your website. Present a big promise as soon as someone opens the door (lands on your website), and then provide proof that you’ve delivered for other people in the past (case studies, testimonials, reviews, press, etc…) to remove any barriers standing in the way of a purchase.

One addition to modernize Ogilvy’s formula for your website is to provide a clear path. Show the customer where to go once the promise and proof have done their thing.

 

Put Ogilvy’s Formula In Action


Step 1: Promise 

Who’s your customer?
What’s their problem or desire?
How does your product help them solve that problem or fulfill that desire?

Put the answers to these questions front and center on your website. Make it stupid simple for the right buyers to understand what’s in it for them.


Step 2: Proof 

Back up your promise with proof that you’ve delivered in the past. Feature testimonials, customer stories, case studies, and media logos/links that put a buyer’s worries at ease. I come to your website wanting you to have the answer, but I’m skeptical. I’m worried about making the wrong decision. Show me you’ve delivered for people in my shoes in the past.


Step 3: Path 

What action do you want visitors to take?

Give them a clear path to make it happen. Don’t make them wonder around trying to find where to purchase.

It’s easy to get caught up in the various aspects of building a website and forget that the entire purpose of a website is to convert sales. Ogilvy’s Formula is a simple and proven path to do just that—get more sales.


Until next time,
— The CPG MBA Team

P.S. Was this email forwarded to you? Get your own dose of CPG knowledge next week by signing up right here.