A radio station sales manager asked if I had any ideas for a relatively new client: a small, independently owned hardware store. Right in the center of town. There didn't seem to be anything special about the store.

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.

Not crippling fear.

But what you might call a pronounced discomfort.

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

How will I know which item to buy?

What size should I purchase?

Will the employees be helpful? Will they mock my naive questions?

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 pretty simple tool.

But when someone says "wrench" you might wonder, "What kind of wrench?? Pipe wrench? Torque wrench? Crescent? Open-ended? Box wrench?"

Here's a quick & easy explanation of the differences. (EXPLANATION 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 it's important that we have whatever 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 if you don't know its proper name, relax; we'll know.

I'm Ed Proprietor of Ed's Hardware Store in Smalltown, on Main Street, right across from the Post Office. Come on in. We'd be happy to help you.

——–

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?