We’ve all had the situation when we see an attractive offer in a catalogue or an ad, and we tell ourselves ‘I’m going to buy that thing … when I get around to it.’ But we never make that purchase, because life gets in the way. We forget about it, get distracted and move on. So [...]
“Humans are not ideally set up to understand logic,” psychologist Roger C. Schank once said. “They are ideally set up to understand stories.” That’s why your marketing should focus on stories rather than logic. So don’t bash your customers over the head with facts. Instead, tell stories that stir their emotions and generate action. That doesn’t [...]
Add emotion to your marketing, because if you connect emotion to your products, you’ll increase their perceived value. A mattress, for example, might have a perceived value of $1,000. But a scientifically designed mattress that will let you sleep like a baby and wake up feeling recharged and ready to conquer the day might have a [...]
Do you remember Mel Gibson’s famous battlefield speech from Braveheart? When he’s trying to convince the sceptical Scottish soldiers to take on the might of the English, he doesn’t do so by presenting them with a dry list of facts. Instead, he uses powerful, emotional story-telling to do his marketing for him. “Fight, and you may [...]
There are two really powerful words you should use in your marketing, whether you’re sending out campaigns by email or having face-to-face conversations with your customers. Those words are ‘you’ and the customer’s name. The more you use those two magic words, the more your customers will feel that you’re focusing on their interests. Conversely, the [...]
People regard me as an expert in marketing and communications. Why? Because I pump out content every day about marketing and communications. Do you want to be regarded as an expert in your field? Well, now you know what to do. Here’s the key thing: there might be a million people in the world who know [...]
I make cold calls. I’m not very good at them. Sometimes, though, one of my calls goes really well. Why? Because I make an emotional connection with the person on the other end of the line. If you’re wondering how I make that emotional connection, it’s by putting myself in their shoes, by seeing the world [...]
Don’t make the mistake of thinking your marketing will be more effective if you just insert more adjectives and just give more examples. Studies show that the longer it takes to deliver a message, the less effective and persuasive the message becomes. Focus on delivering a punchy message with a clear point. Some small businesses find [...]
Humans are tribal creatures, for better or worse. Throughout human history, we’ve congregated with members of our own tribe and distanced ourselves from members of other tribes. That mindset doesn’t just apply to race and religion; it also applies to ‘tribes’ that develop around different sporting teams or different products. So when you do marketing, you [...]
What are your customers’ pain points? Whatever they are, you should mention them in your marketing, for two reasons: If your customers know you understand their pain, they will feel you care about them If your customers know you can solve their problems, they will want to pay you to do so But wait – shouldn’t [...]
