Business tips for keeping persuasion the focus of your marketing and advertising efforts.
There was a big bang 13.5 billion years ago and, the theory goes from that singularity everything was created. So, in theory, all matter (visible, dark and otherwise) shares one single origin.
Fast forward to the present and in our little corner of the world we have what seem to be very different disciplines: “traditional” branding advertising, B2B advertising, direct marketing, social marketing and dozens of other buzz words. So, are these disciplines really that different? Or, on the contrary, is there a singularity that ties it all together and makes “experience” in one area or another a moot point?
There is. And that singularity is persuasion.
Plenty of Theories
When I began studying advertising at the university, we were told that advertising was all about information. So, we had to read Saussure (linguistics), Barthes (semiotics) and Umberto Eco (later famous for his novel “The Name of the Rose”). As a matter of fact, the school where I studied was named Facultad de Ciencias de la Informacion (School of Information Sciences) because of that.
The theory was that transmitting information would be enough to achieve whatever it is that you wanted to achieve.
Under that theory, saying “bricks are made out of baked clay mixed with straw” would somehow fall into the same bucket as saying, “Buy the Renault 5 TS and experience frugal sportiness.” That didn’t jibe.
Then someone said, “Oh, no, it’s communication” – meaning the source (me) has a meaning in mind that the recipient (you) must understand to close the communication circle. Gets you near the ballpark, but no sale. I can still say “The Buick is surprising” and it would communicate. But it wouldn’t sell.
At some point, someone professed that information is part of communication but that there are other factors beyond pure information. Oh, I know: It’s all about creating awareness for my product. Gets you into the ballpark, but, again, no sale. I’m perfectly aware of tampons, AK-47s and plenty of other products I still don’t purchase.
Sometimes we went back into the 19th century and thought “Hmm – this AIDA is attractive!” And you still hear this in some companies: Attention, Interest, Desire, Action. But that theory, and the funnel it creates, has two giant flaws:
- People don’t think linearly, and sometimes we take an action first and develop and interest later. Think about sampling: You don’t know that artichoke dip from Adam, you try it at Costco; next thing you know, you are buying a huge container.
- All funnels are simultaneous: If you sell 1 billion tubes of toothpaste a year, you have 2.8 million funnels every day. No way you can tailor your messaging to hit each part of the funnel, because, of course, everyone’s funnel is in a different stage.
Common Ground
What’s the most important commonality between all the various methods of marketing and advertising? Persuasion. We want our message to persuade someone to do something.
Robert Scialdini, writing for Scientific American, brings 30 years of experience in identifying the key elements of persuasion:
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- Reciprocation: I do something for you, you feel indebted, you do something for me. In the example he quotes, the Disabled American Veterans organization increased its response ratio from 18 percent to 35 percent by adding free return mail labels.
- Consistency: Though it should read more like “creating a cognitive dissonance situation.” Basically, this is getting you to commit publicly to a course of action (supporting a cause, voting for someone, etc.). Personally, I used that one when I created my first campaign for UNESCO in which the headline read: “See if you can read this aloud, ‘I don’t care anything about dying children.’ Few people can.”
- Social validation: If many individuals have decided in favor of a particular idea, we are more likely to follow, because we perceive the idea to be more correct, more valid. Fresh breath is a form of social validation. So are silky smooth hair, unblemished skin and a BMW 3 series.
- Liking: I like you. I feel an affinity. I’ll buy your product.
- Authority: That guy knows what he’s talking about. I should follow?
- Scarcity: If I don’t get this right away, who knows if it will be available tomorrow? If it’s not, I’ll lose out on a great deal. Think about the microwave pasta maker (full disclosure: I bought one).
If you look at the three large marketing subdivisions, every one of them uses one or a combination of these six elements:
The Direct Marketer
A direct marketer, for example, might include those nifty personalized return labels and hit you with a “limited time” offer or use an authority figure in the ad. For example, 5 Hour Energy used a doctor-like spokesperson to highlight that different medical research pointed to the product not having any adverse effects. At DMG, we used well-known actor Andres Garcia as an authority figure to tell potential buyers that cable companies were lying to them, that the signal does not go out when it rains.
A business-to-business marketer might send you a relevant white paper written by an authority in the field as a way to get in the door. But B2B might also create seminars held at luxury hotels and hosted by well-known experts as marketing tools.
Where the various advertising disciplines diverge is in the structure and value of their transactions.
Branding
A “branding” client will need millions of cheap transactions (e.g., toothpaste, soft drinks, hamburgers). A B2B client will need periodic expensive transactions (e.g., computers, insurance, mortgages). But a direct marketer might require only one transaction, and a political marketer will require one decision.
But ultimately, the whole point is to persuade someone:
- To continue buying, try or return to buying (branding)
- To receive the salesperson and/or add a company to the supplier list (B2B)
- To think that this offer is so good that he/she must take advantage of it immediately (direct marketing)
- To vote for a candidate or issue (political)
Tips for Your Business
If you are a business owner, you need to keep these tips in mind when considering the matter of persuasion:
- Don’t think about whether you need to do branding, direct, B2B, social, etc.
- Think about the structure of your sales: Do you need to sell many products? One recurring product (e.g., subscription for a gym)? Are you selling to a business that will use your product or services, or to a person?
- Think about the value of your transactions: Are they very expensive (e.g., an insurance policy) or cheap?
- Think about the person who will be making that decision: a procurement officer, a soccer mom, a businessperson?
- Using the six elements of persuasion as a starting point (there might be one or two more unique to your business) and figure out which set of elements would apply the most to you.
- Then put together the marketing/advertising effort you need to reach your buyer and move him/her in your direction.
Don’t forget that no matter what, it’s all about persuasion!
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