| Politics, Marketing, and 10 Characteristics of Human Behavior
Kethyr's CAMEL Report
Mountain View, California
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
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I hope you're enjoying your summer, and those of you in the United States are looking forward to celebrating the nation's Independence Day this coming weekend.
Being born and raised in the good ol' U.S. of A., I've always enjoyed celebrating the 4th of July... although my appreciation of the holiday is more ideological than patriotic.
As an avid student of politics and economics, the United States' political and economic heritage holds a special place in my mind, as well as heart, and is good cause to celebrate.
However, despite my interest in these fields I can't claim to be a big fan of most politicians — or of the political process that elects them to office. That having been said, I do find watching the various election campaigns an extremely beneficial study in communications.
The more you study the communication process, the more you realize that successful communications... be they campaign ads, sales letters, product proposals, service brochures, or Websites... tap into key characteristics of human behavior.
The more you are aware of the following basic traits, the more powerful and effective your communications and marketing efforts will be:
1. People follow leaders that have their confidence.
This may be obvious in politics, but in a business sense people also support companies or individuals that they consider to be confident leaders. The interesting thing is that these images may be real or simply well-constructed perceptions. What this means to you is this: If your business excels in something, make certain you communicate that excellence effectively and often to harness your leadership status.
2. People seek unity by group action.
This is the "bandwagon" phenomenon that you can take advantage of in your business by making good use of the testimonials you receive. Use this marketing tool in your communications to boost the advocacy of your cause.
3. People react best under pressure of deadlines.
Maybe one in 10 sales letters, maybe one in 50 ads make use of this fact. Yet genuine deadlines with genuine reasons for them dramatically increase response rates.
4. People easily lose their sense of identity.
Mobility separates people from previous interests and exposes them to new ones. This is a great opportunity for you! If you are the only business that writes to them, even simply to say that you appreciate them, you'll gain immense loyalty. Interestingly, clients of ours (in retail and professional services) who've tapped this powerful idea typically report that they are disappointed by the fact that they get virtually no reaction to their letters... at first. But the sales that follow prove the long-term power of this loyalty-building program.
5. People give incomplete attention.
We all do it. We are so focused on what we're about that we are guilty of thinking everyone else should be too. Not only focused on us, but excited about what we've got. The fact is, they're distracted by their own lives. They don't give a damn about us until we put our offer in terms of what it'll do for them.
W-I-I-F-M! What's-in-it-for-me. You literally have to break into their awareness and work hard at holding it. Then, follow the old preacher's advice: "Tell 'em what you're going to tell 'em, tell it to 'em, and tell 'em what you just told 'em."
6. People glance instead of read.
Many people are poor readers. Or lazy readers. So make your message short and sweet. This doesn't mean you have to rely on sound bites, or that short copy is better than long. It means don't say or write a word more (or less) than you have to in order to achieve your objective.
If you're "selling off the page," it will require a fuller and longer argument. Compelling headlines, powerful opening paragraphs, short words, short sentences, and short paragraphs are the key to getting people to glance — and then to get interested enough to keep reading.
7. People are suspect of perfection.
While this is as true in business as it is in politics, it often seems our politicians forget it and try to be all things to all people. In a nutshell, tell your prospects about your "warts" as well as all the good things about you. That honest and open approach will win you many friends and many more clients.
8. People identify with generalizations.
Most people are begging to be led. What's more, they'll identify with parables, testimonials, examples, and case histories. I don't mean this to sound manipulative... simply to point out an effective key in the art of persuasion.
One of the most famous sales letters of all time began this way:
"An ancient Persian Poet said, 'If thou hast two pennies, spend one for bread. With the other, buy hyacinths for thy soul.'"
Attached to the top of the letter was a one-cent coin. You may have seen the letter. It sold Reader's Digest subscriptions... and did it so successfully that literally hundreds of millions of "pennies" have been mailed worldwide over the years with that theme.
9. People go for "grooves" and easy formulas.
Think about it. Ever since The Ten Commandments, we've been given the easy way to do things with formulas: the five-point plan... three easy steps... four important reasons.
Years ago, I worked at a café. We had a vast selection of foods and beverages. People would phone up and ask if we did party trays. "No," we'd say, "but we have salads, meats, pates, desserts..." We'd list a host of mouth-watering things. What would the caller say? "Thanks, I'll call you back." And, of course, they didn't.
Finally, we figured out that people don't want to make the decisions, they want the decisions made for them. And they want a surprise element too. So thereafter, when someone would phone to ask if we had party trays, we'd say, "Yes, they're $30 and feed 10 people (or whatever)." Inevitably, the caller would respond, "Fine, I'll be in tomorrow morning to get three." By picking up on that simple concept, we dramatically increased our sales and profits.
10. Most people like the feeling of power.
People resist making the decision to buy, because it would end the pleasant courtship they're enjoying throughout your marketing communications and sales pitch. The key to overcoming that resistance is to stress the attention that will come to them after they make the purchase and become a customer.
Thankfully no one can guarantee an election victory. However, I do guarantee that if you're aware of these behavior traits and address them in your marketing and sales efforts, you cam successfully grow your business... and for much longer than most politicians will hold public office. Now there's a reason to celebrate!
Happy Independence Day!
Yours in success,
Sean Eric Armstrong
Kethyr's CAMEL Report
P.S. For more information about how you can apply these traits to your marketing endeavors, send us an e-mail at solutions@kethyr.com.
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