We are going to see some of the principles applied in sales letters and direct marketing, as well as in advertisements.
We people like to be provided with - sell things that bring us a profit but what we really want is to avoid bad things.
This is one of the oldest secrets in sales psychology. We like to achieve good things, but we would do anything to avoid a major problem.
This principle is one of the most powerful in advertising. Ads should always point out a problem and offer us something to fix the problem.
Make sure you start your marketing by creating a need. Show your potential client the problem they have, this is called creating "awareness of need." What is bad about a problem? The worst thing about a problem is not the problem itself, it is the future consequence of the problem. Our mission as "marketers" is to make our potential client see the consequence of the problem. And show her how her problem will turn into a big problem.
Example.- Suppose we sell trays for cats whose novelty is that they have an air freshener to avoid bad odors.
In our advertising we could say:
- "Get rid of bad smells"
But the message would be more powerful:
- "Get rid of bad smells that make you stand out (you may be used to it, but your visitors will notice it)"
And even better:
- «Get rid of bad smells (You will feel totally calm when you have visitors and know that they will not notice bad smells)»
These last two carry a load of emotion to further sensitize the potential client. The latter is perhaps even better because it is positive, it focuses on the positive part of the matter.
It is not about naming characteristics of a product: A characteristic is what a product IS. An advantage is what the feature does. A benefit is what a feature and a benefit do for you.
Let's show benefits by describing our product, not just features.
Another example:
"If you are like most people who do not have enough hours in the day to do all the work, this can lead to half-done jobs, dissatisfied customers, lost sales and even the failure of your company"
If our product or service helps the customer do more work, more easily and in less time, it is a solution to the problem. We have to make that problem look really big on the "raising awareness of need" part. Once this is done, the sale is almost done!
Let's not try to name only the characteristics of our products. Let's describe the benefits.
All of these "lifelong" sales principles must now be applied to our online sales strategy. We are tired of being tried to sell products that only present us with characteristics, many of them inconsequential for us or even difficult to understand. Why don't we explain in more detail how our product or service will solve the potential customer's problem?
