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Each of us sees or hears hundreds of
advertising and marketing messages every day. We hear them on the
radio, see them on TV or the web, read them in magazines and
newspapers, see them on the highways, on busses and even on shopping
carts!
You can easily see why breaking through the mental barriers has
become more and more difficult! But you can do it! Here’s how.
Focus on wants, then needs, for consumers
Emotion is stronger than intellect. Most of us would much rather
indulge a desire than fill a need. Our yens far outweigh the
influence of logic. For proof, look at yourself. You make the many
of the most important decisions of your life emotionally – the
decisions to get married, buy a home, chose a place to live and
work, buy a car, have children (or not). Sure, there are many
practical considerations involved, but in the end you make those
choices more with your heart than your head.
Get a lower/better price
So aim your message at the emotional side of the consumer’s brain,
the back that up with solid features and benefits. These help your
customers justify the decisions they want to make anyway.
Also, use emotional words. The words on the left are
"cool" words, while the counterparts on the right are
warmer, friendlier and more emotional:
- Accelerate -- speed up
- Aid – help
- Beneficial – good for
- Completed -- finished
- Explain – help
- Furnish/provide – give you
- Intelligent – smart, savvy, in the know
- Learn – find out, discover, uncover, get the secrets behind
…
- Omit – leave out
- Purchase -- buy
- Receive – get
- Repair – fix
- Reply – answer
- Wealthy – rich
Focus on needs, then wants, for businesses
Yes, business people make emotional buying decisions, too. However,
they have a tougher audience to please. Every businessperson--from
executives to entrepreneurs, production workers to presidents--needs
to justify the buying decision to the board, the boss, the CFO or to
themselves.
Better than the competition
So when aiming at a business person, go first for the strong
need, then tie it up with the emotional appeal—for example, the
satisfaction of a job well done, what you can buy with the savings,
or the praise you’ll earn by getting more for the money.
Remember, it's the relationship
In addition, when
We do business with people we like. That "person" can be
anyone from Ford Motor Company to Joe Fordham at the local pharmacy.
Every sales or marketing message is one more step of your
courtship, one more cornerstone of your long-term relationship with
your customers. Focusing on the customer helps you forge and
strengthen that relationship—that’s why "you" is the
single most important word you can use. And focusing on benefits
shows that you have the customer’s interests at heart. What you
want or need is irrelevant. What the customer gets is paramount.
- Avoid "The Green Valley Company provides"—instead
say "we bring you"
- Avoid "there is"— instead say "you will
find"
- Avoid "can be used"— instead say "you can
use"
- Avoid "we offer"-- instead say "you get"
Appeal to pride
Remember, it’s emotion that carries the day. So go ahead –
flatter the customer! Whether you’re talking to the Director of
Information Services or Dick Smithfield the hiker/biker/camper, you
probably can’t go wrong appealing to your customer’s status—as
someone who is smarter than others, works for a particular company,
has achieved a certain rank or position, belongs to a special group,
lives in a unique place, or has some other advantage over the rest
of the folks.
Some words that heighten this impression are:
- Available only to …(a select group)
- A smart choice for (boaters, hikers, CFO’s)
- (Topic)-smart people like you ("Health-smart,"
"money-smart" etc.) …
- Be the first …
- Get ahead of …
- A (group or category of people) like you recognizes …
- Only (people in this group) are eligible for …
Overcome the "I'll do it later" syndrome
The sooner the better as far as response is concerned--out of sight
is out of mind, as well you know! And we all have better things to
do than respond to magazine or newspaper ads, mailers, web site
appeals and broadcast commercials. So not only do you need a strong
call to action. You also need, whenever possible, to add a
compelling incentive so your prospects don’t procrastinate!
How can you propel your prospect to action? Try some of these
strategies and phrases:
- Limited time bribe (gift, booklet, bonus with purchase,
2-for1, etc)
- Limited time offer or savings
- Limited quantity offer
- Limited opportunity at a certain price
- End of season (hence will soon be unavailable)
- Close-out (same as above)
- Deadline, or reward for reply before (date)
- Reward for response method (order online, etc.)
Boost response
Besides inspiring immediate action, there are some overall
tactics you can use to boost response rates. You can test timing,
season, mailing lists or customer segments, a variety of offers, a
mixture of publications, and other variables.
In addition, there are direct response guidelines established by
various industry studies over the years that can help you both in
direct marketing and media or web advertising. These studies have
generally shown that:
- Complete direct mail packages for higher-end or more
complicated consumer products (over $100-ish) get a higher
response than self-mailers or post cards–e.g. more detail is
better than less.
- Fill-in-the-blanks coupons or order forms can increase your
response rate in almost anything printed--direct mail, ads,
newsletters, etc.
- A toll-free number can triple response rate versus pay-to-call
– use the words "toll-free" in addition to
"1-800" or "1-888."
- You’ll sell more if you accept credit cards.
Breaking through mental barriers is never going to be a
slam-dunk. No matter how much money you spend, how strong an offer
you make, how well-worded or well-designed your material is, or how
carefully you monitor and evaluate results, you will always struggle
to stand out in the crowd.
Rahul Kasliwal ( II Semester) |
