Influence Customers And Sales Will Come
by John Delavera
What makes one product sell a hundred times better than a similar and even lower-priced brand? Why will some people pass up major savings to buy identical items at higher-priced stores? How come some service providers are overrun with business when their competition hardly receives a telephone call?
There is a single answer to all of these questions: It is influence.
When marketing professionals manage to influence consumers with their advertising and branding campaigns, it shows in people’s responses to certain products, stores and service providers. If influencing is particularly successful, consumers are likely to pass by savings, convenience and even better service and higher quality to get what it is they believe they cannot do without.
Take pause and think about marketing campaigns that have proven wildly successful. Pay attention to stores and service providers that pack in customers even if their competition has better pricing. Look at their ads, watch their commercials and see how they do things. Chances are you will see influence at work in everything they do. From the corporate or product images they create to how they appeal to consumers, the highly successful know how to wield influence.
Learning the ropes of influencing through marketing is no easy feat. There are many marketing professionals who simply have not mastered the craft and likely never will.
To use influence to one’s advantage, it takes reaching beyond the norm in marketing practices and trying to connect with people on a deeper, and often more meaningful level. Many marketers shy away from the concept because it can be risky, but traditional means of making sales are proven and will show results. Rather than take a chance that could lead to incredible sales, they prefer to stick with modest returns.
When marketers do choose to use influence to help their clients enjoy success, they will find there are a number of different directions they can go. People are influenced by a lot of different forces. On the most basic of levels, they are influenced by the need for food, shelter, clothing and water. Working on a different level, there are 22 other major motivating forces that can drive consumers to take action, purchase products or patronize particular stores or service providers. When campaigns tap into these forces, they tend to reach out to people and drive them through their desires or wants.
Learning how to market through influence requires understanding a few basic truths about people. The reality is that while many humans like to think of themselves a logic driven, most people simply are not. When marketing campaigns sell an image, a lifestyle or a feeling, they do tend to get noticed.
If your marketing campaigns are falling flat or are just not getting the results you want, it might be time to exercise a little influence. When the right motivators are used in advertising, a big change can be seen in the bottom line. Campaigns of this nature are not easy to pull off, but the risk can be well worth the rewards.