May 262 min read

So you disagree with a Top Tips List...?

HAVE YOU EVER disagreed with the results of a "Top" list?

Believe it or not, readers don’t always agree with our selections of featured products and apparel...

In this edition of the HAVE YOUR EVER column, we take on naysayers who disagree with the results of Top Lists and Tips, and providing constructive ways to turn disagreement into productive conversation.

Experience the interactive magazine. CLICK HERE to open the digital flipbook.

With 13 years of the Top Products Contest we have some experience with feedback on our Top Tips lists. Here are some constructive suggestions on how can put your combative opinion to work building your brand or business.

Sometimes the differences are based on personal experience with a product or brand. One customer's experience can be more favourable than another, and that can have heavy influence on an opinion when they spot from whom the solution is sourced.

In other cases it may be that you have a different product in your life, similar or different to what has been featured, and you feel it would score better than anything else presented, (or at least make the Top 10).

two women at work in a dialogue over a disagreement — Differences of opinion are a great conversation starter. Share your Top Tips or Lists with a colleague or client to open a dialogue.

Our differences of opinion could be a myriad mix of value propositions, production times, minimum quantities, decoration methods, and countless other comparison talking points.

There is good news.

Whether you’re excited to point out a product on the page for its fabulous features, or to shred its grave deficiencies, you have the opportunity to start a conversation.

Here are two ways you can start a purposeful conversation today with marketingedge magazine (and this isn’t limited to the Top Products feature):

1. Whatever campaign, decoration or product idea most excites you, share that page with the person with whom you would like to open a conversation.

Let them know how you think it will help them achieve their goals, and invite them to a conversation to gather their feedback and talk about details — perhaps how to make it happen, or alternative thoughts.

When you proactively share an idea from a marketingedge publication and add a personalized application for your client or customer prospect it lets them know that you are thinking about their well being and best interests. It is a personal service in your work relationship that helps establish and support your value in their vendor evaluations.

Demonstrating your subject knowledge in a dialogue will help establish your value as a problem solver and product/industry specialist.

2. Share the product or campaign idea you think falls short compared to your own suggestion, and provide short notes on the comparison.

Maybe the powerbank you prefer has greater capacity, or the jacket you would suggest has a higher waterproof rating at a lower price. Like our first idea, the goal is to engage by outlining the benefits you bring to the conversation.

By adding your own experience and expertise to third-party credentials, you further your value as an advisor and indutsry expert. In a competitive situation when your services are reviewed, it may be your value as a problem solver or as a past contributor to campaign success that will help your outcome and win your sale.

Channelling any negative reaction into positive results is a far more productive action than scoffing at ineptitude and simmering in your own brilliance. Share your great ideas to start a conversation, open a dialogue, and feel free to name us in your argument, for good or otherwise. mem

#promotionalproducts #brandedgifts #promotionalgifts #corporategifts #haveyouever