First of all, I want to say that every one of us responds pretty much the same way to stimuli. We all try to avoid pain and welcome pleasure. It seems to be inserted into our nervous systems.
As a digital marketing strategist, I have seen that many times it is productive to remind your clients of the potential pain related to the lack or provision of your product or the pleasure associated with having it. For example, when you are finalizing the cart process and we are ready to buy the laptop from your website, it seems like a good idea to remind us of the possibility of purchasing a surge protector. Surge problems are especially important in this environment because they can wipe out your investment in a second.
Maybe we don’t want to be reminded of the extra charges that may need to be covered in order to feel safe, but nonetheless, it is better to know the possible problems and be prepared than to not know and blame it on the company we are buying from.
Future Pain versus Present Price
The key here is that we ponder pain very highly. We want to avoid pain now and in the future, so sometimes we are willing to experience a small amount of pain now if we are sure that it will prevent us from much greater pain in the future. Now, there is a key word here as well: “sure.” One problem with this technique is that many businesses have used it, and it ends up not preventing the greater pain in the end.
Here is an example. I purchased an iPad for my daughter. As I was checking out, the gentleman asked me if I wanted to purchase “AppleCare.” I politely declined, and then he looked at my daughter and then back at me. She is six years old. She, as any six year old is not ready to be fully careful and care for an iPad without the high potential for accidents. He knows that. I know that. He paused for a moment. Then he looked at me and asked me: “Are you sure? I would truly recommend it.” And there and then, it happened. I looked at the future. He was able to make me look into my future and see the future pain I was to experience. Then compare that future, “potential but very likely”, and the present charge for AppleCare. And just like that, as if by a weird kind of magic, I said: “ok.”
Now, I am not saying that selling insurance as a way to manipulate your clients is the way to go. In fact, I would absolutely tell you that is the fastest way to lose all credibility for your business. What I mean is that if you truly care about your client, about their experience, about their enjoyment of their life and finally about the capacity that your product or service has to make their lives better, then you will have more opportunities, not less, to provide value for them, and therefore make more money for the business. If you understand the pain of your client, and you sincerely want to reduce that pain, you’ll do better.
Pain is a very good advertising mechanism if used correctly and responsibly.
Start using pain in your Internet marketing strategies today.
If you want to learn more about how to implement successful interactive marketing strategies and tactics for your particular business situation, contact Merkados today.
