In marketing, the goal is to create the perception of need.

In advertising, marketing’s shock troops, the goal is to create the propensity to buy.

I just received this advertisement from CompUSA.com via email.

Read that ad copy carefully.

Does that ad create the propensity to buy something–anything–from CompUSA.com?

In marketing, perfection is the baseline. First you deliver perfection, on time. Anything beyond that is icing on the cake.

But first, you deliver perfection.

If you don’t, instead of creating the propensity to buy, you create the propensity to consider the brand incapable, if not incompetent.

Which pretty much sums up my thoughts about CompUSA.com right about now.

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