Marketing Success, Part 2

Marketing Changes Perceptions. ___ Changes Behavior.

In the article entitled “Marketing Success, Part 1” that I published on December 9, 2009, I wrote that “Marketing is anything you do designed to let people know what products, services and/or events your business has to offer, in an attempt to convince (not just encourage) them to buy from you.”

In that article, I revealed that “marketing changes perceptions,” and as such, is essential to business success, but insufficient on its own. To be successful, you need to add another element to marketing – one that’s specifically directed at catalyzing people’s actions.

What is it?

My mentor Alex Mandossian’s take on this is that “Marketing changes minds. Promotion changes behavior.”

The Merriam Webster’s Dictionary defines “promotion” as “…the furtherance of the acceptance and sale of merchandise through advertising, publicity, or discounting.”

And in that sense, “promotion” certainly does affect the final outcome of marketing – the sale.

Influence Changes Behavior

Merriam Webster defines “influence” as “the act or power of producing an effect without apparent exertion of force or direct exercise of command.” The Random House dictionary defines “influence” as a noun as “the action or process of producing effects on the actions, behavior, opinions, etc., of another or others”; and as a verb as “to move or impel (a person) to some action”.

So I’ve modified Alex’s words, to make them my own:

“Marketing changes PERCEPTIONS. INFLUENCE changes behavior.”

Influence: The Noun

You want someone to buy something from you – a product or service; or perhaps to pay an admission fee to an online or offline event.

Time and again I repeat that in this day and age if you expect to win at the game of business, you must give people plenty of opportunity to come to know you, then like you (and eventually love you) and constantly deepen their trust in you. This applies to your business and the people in it, which certainly means you, if you are an entrepreneur or small business owner or manager who has a “public face” associated with your business.

People WANT to be influenced. They WANT to feel like they’ve had help making decisions – especially difficult ones, or ones that involve money. That doesn’t mean that they don’t want to have a sense of independence and feel as if in the end their decision is their own. But they want assurance and reassurance, and there’s certainly no harm in your giving it to them, as long as you do so legally, ethically and morally.

How much people know about you and your business, how much they like you, and how much they trust that you are knowledgeable and that you have their best interest in mind and at heart has a direct bearing on your “influence quotient” – the amount of influence they are willing to allow you to have in their decision-making process.

Do everything in your power to build your “influence capital” with your prospects and customers, and use it wisely.

Influence: The Verb

To win at the game of business, you must offer products, services and/or events that you, personally believe in. That you believe add value to people’s lives. That you believe helps them to solve a problem or avoid, relieve or eliminate a pain. That you have evidence that your customers place a higher perceived value on than the dollar amount they pay you.

Because you offer something of such  great value and benefit, it’s imperative that you employ every legal, ethical and moral means you can to actively influence others to buy from you. If you don’t, you’re denying people the value and the benefits they’d otherwise receive by having what you offer. If you don’t actively and adequately market, promote and influence, you’re doing a dis-service to yourself, your business, and to your prospects and customers.

Influencing someone to take an action is the direct opposite of forcing them, or getting them to buy something by devious means. It’s helping people to make a decision that they’ll be happy and proud to have made, because it meets a need, fulfills a desire, and brings them great satisfaction.

Always Have a “Call to Action”

Influence (the verb) means that you must be willing to ask – or tell – people to take action that will put them on the path to receiving the benefits that they’re wanting to receive – the benefits you’re offering to them.

Informing, inspiring and motivating are important, but on their own, insufficient. With each contact with a prospect, existing customer or past customer, you must have a single, specific “call to action,” letting them know exactly what to do in order to receive something of great value in return.

Which means that you must have something ready to offer each individual or each audience with whom you come into contact, in the event that they will benefit. And a way for them to take action to receive it.

On your Web site, you can offer a free “white paper,” special report, audio or video with useful information, with your call to action being that visitors must subscribe to your e-mail newsletter. If you have a storefront, you can offer something special only on location, with your call to action being to tell people to visit your store. If you’re a presenter, at your presentations you can place a copy of your book or your audio CD in which there is one or more calls to action on each attendee’s chair , or you can offer to give attendees a gift with your call to action being that they must give you their business card.

Far too many sales are lost simply because the marketer or sales person doesn’t ask for the sale. Be careful to not be someone who falls into that category.

Learn to Influence With Integrity

I believe that learning how to influence with integrity is the second essential element of success in addition to marketing. Successfully utilizing the principles, strategies, techniques and tools of influencing with integrity takes learning from people who have this orientation toward influence, and then implementing and practicing what you learn.

Here are my suggestions for where to start, with two of my favorite books and one of my favorite audio books on the subject of “influence”:

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
“Making Marketing Work” audio book by Dave Lakhani

What Are Your Thoughts?

Alex Mandossian says: “Marketing changes minds. Promotion changes behavior.” I say: “Marketing changes perceptions. Influence changes behavior.” What do you say?

Is marketing enough? If not, what turns marketing into sales?

Do you have an opinion on any of the three books I’ve recommended, or recommendations of your own?

Let me and others know what you think and feel, and learn from your disasters and your triumphs. I look forward to reading your comments!

Jay Aaron Strategic
Visionary / Visionary Strategist
Follow me on Twitter: http://Twitter.com/newthoughts

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