"The most common frustration I see, and I see it daily, comes from marketers who can't figure out why more people won't buy their product," says Seth Godin in a post at his blog. All the rational arguments in the world, it seems, won't dissuade irrational customers from giving their business to a lesser competitor.
"You know that your car is more aerodynamic," reports Godin. "You know that your insulation is more effective. You know that your insurance has a higher ROI." A sale should be as simple as proving your value to the customer, right? But you won't come to terms with a customer's reticence—or find a way to resolve it—until you realize he's not interested in charts and graphs.
Rather, argues Godin, he's considering a million abstract variables like what his boss will think; how difficult a switchover might be; or, perhaps, whether the decision will have a positive impact on his professional reputation. Even the best fact-and-figures speech holds little sway in the presence of these considerations.
The Po!nt: Don't appeal to irrational attitudes with a rational pitch. "The opportunity," says Godin, "is not to insist that your customers get more rational, but instead to embrace just how irrational they are."
Source: Seth Godin's Blog. Click here for the full post.
by Christina "CK" Kerley
Comments
by Steve Pickens Thu Apr 23, 2009
Not at all a new idea. But thanks for the reminder.
by Sonia Singh Thu Apr 23, 2009
Dan Ariely literally wrote the book on this. His blog demonstrates time and time again how we need to get past our logic and assumptions, and understand what's going on in consumers' heads - however irrational it may be.
http://www.predictablyirrational.com/