Welcome to the Dove Direct Print and Marketing Blog. Today's post, "Five Behavior Insights that Increase Sales," sheds light on how people react to the same messaging in a variety of ways. Analytically speaking, we refer to this phenomenon as 'transactional analysis.' The analysis highlights various situational responses depicting how different people react to the same messages in divergent ways, as well as how the same people react to the same message in different ways. Understanding this phenomenon opens the door to understanding the human mind and its behavior. However, a deep dive like this presents a series of challenges that require marketers and brands to commit resources to understand better and tackle human behavior. Keep in mind that including human behavior in marketing and advertising campaigns pushes the envelope towards better brand salience.
Our Quote of the Day:
"Pay less attention to what men say. Just watch what they do." - Dale Carnegie
Understanding the broad swath of human emotions is no small feat. That said, we know that identical emotions and behavior are what allows all of us to act, think, and respond in various manners and divergent ways when we arrive at a decision. It's true that human psychology and behavior influence actions and responses to an overwhelming degree.
As a result, when applied to sales and marketing, many marketing experts and sales leaders address human behavior and transactional analysis as a critical factor behind gaining acceptance for their sales initiatives. The quest to understand human behavior is essential to creating campaign messaging that improves engagement and response rates. Campaigns that fail to include, at the very least, some human behavior considerations will likely never see the light of day. Conversely, campaigns that focus on what makes life better and more comfortable for customers and prospects often rise to the top and generate the highest interest and responses.
It's About The Customer
Today's customers are no longer interested in how great your products are or how your brand compares or commands marketshare. Instead, customers want to know if the offering provides value that justifies the price you ask them to pay. Insofar as the value proposition, what matters to prospects and customers is how your offerings will make their life more comfortable and solve their problems.
That's why problem-solving campaigns that explain or demonstrate how the product, service, or brand can help them generally rise above all other messaging. As prospects tend to exhibit little concern about influence and fantasy, and instead after all the pitch talk, look to identify how the offering truly helps their bottom line and makes their life easier.
What Goes Around Comes Around
In the age of BOGO (buy one get one), prospects and customers are of the mindset that brands they frequent can and should respect a give-and-take relationship. This relationship concept can be seen as an acknowledgment that the brand is appreciative of the customer's ongoing commitment to the brand, its products, and its services. This doesn't mean that the brand has or will set aside marketing dollars for freebies. Instead, it may come in the form of complimentary tickets to some major event, a common practice for local tv, radio, or newspaper organizations that want to curry relationships. This type of goodwill allows prospects to engage with current customers and brand representatives. It also goes a long way in converting new prospects into buying customers.
For those brands that cannot afford big-ticket items like on-site sporting events, they can offer smaller items such as teeshirts, baseball caps, sweatshirts, diaries, pens, or anything that relays the message that the brand cares about their prospects and customers. A human behavior trait that resonates with people, and often can rise above a dollar value.
Generate Curiosity
While some human behavior experts believe that only cats are more curious than humans, curiosity is a human trait that, when acted upon, separates humans from all other species. You've heard the saying that the mother of invention is necessity. Most human behavior experts would say that curiosity is the real mother of invention. As an example, humans have strived to improve transportation modes. We have gone from the horse and buggy to Henry Ford. Likewise, with lighting, we have gone from candlelight to Thomas Edison's lightbulb. Both Ford and Edison's curiosity traits laid the groundwork for their inventions. Therefore, marketing campaigns and messages should arouse curiosity within prospects and customers. The messages that challenge the intellect and generate curiosity fair much better than messaging that asks for the business because the brand messaging states that the product is excellent.
Convenience Makes the Difference
We live in the age of instant gratification. Add to that technological advances that, in some respects, may harm human productivity. In short, people have become lazy. Therefore, when creating sales and marketing campaigns, ensure that the end-user does not have to work to make a decision, experience the product, or make the purchase.
When sales and marketing campaigns support easy access, the instant gratification need may be sufficient. The key here is to ensure that prospects and customers can experience a custom solution that is also easy to purchase. Notwithstanding any other considerations, when customers and prospects are required to fill in more details than they feel are necessary, they will likely bolt.
Positivity Goes a Long Way
Positive messages go farther than those messages that are belittling or condescending. People consume positive energy. So it goes without saying that the advertising and marketing messaging should be positive. For example, when you introduce an advertising campaign for a weight loss app that says, 'lower family obesity by empowering them with a weight loss app,' the result could be disastrous. Conversely, if the message says, 'help unlock better health with the aid of a weight loss app,' you will undoubtedly garner higher participation. Regardless of how many people consume and possibly believe negative messaging, positive campaigns always resonate higher. Therefore, make an effort to build campaign messages that are positive and uplifting.
The Net-Net
Human behavior plays a huge role in sales and marketing outcomes. We contend that these five behavior insights will improve your marketing communications and be more receptive to prospects and customers. By including human behavior considerations, you will find that brand marketing messages gain more traction. Thanks for reading "Five Behavior Insights that Increase Sales!"
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