Marketing Mastery | Managing Perceptions

• Discover the critical concept of "over-influence" and how it hinders customer conversion?
• Learn how shifting from a selling mindset to a problem-solving approach leads to Marketing Mastery?
• Gain actionable steps to align your brand's mission with your marketing strategy, turning prospects into loyal advocates?

All prospects share a common fear.??

This fear scares them away from becoming a paying customer or client.??

The worst part about this fear is that companies or businesses are often the cause of it without realizing it. They end up losing out on hundreds of thousands of sales. However, if brands become aware of it, they’ll be a step ahead of their competitors and win more business.??

By now you must be wondering what that fear is... well... it’s called... Over-influence.??

What is over-influence???

Over-influence occurs when a prospect is aware that you are trying to sell to them. This is a cardinal sin because it violates a well-known fact about the human psyche, which is that people love buying things but hate being sold to.??

Examples of brands over-influencing prospects abound and include things like?

• Excessive use of urgency and scarcity (“Only 3 items left in stock! Order NOW before it’s too late!”)??

• Over the top claims or hyperbole (“This will change your life forever”)?
• Incessant pop-ups and interruptions (Having multiple pop-ups on your website urging visitors to sign up for buy now)?
• High-pressure sales tactics (“If you don’t buy today, you’re giving up a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity”)?
• Manipulative phrasing (“smart people like you have already bought this product”)??
• Misleading pricing strategies (Displaying a much higher ‘original’ price next to the ‘sale’ price, when in fact the product has never been sold at the ‘original’ price.)?

On the opposite end of the spectrum from over-influence is marketing mastery.??

Marketing mastery is getting prospects to think of your brand whenever they are facing a specific problem. This is selling without prospects being aware of it. And yes, it is as powerful as it sounds, but it’s also much simpler than you imagine.???

The biggest obstacle to mastery is over-influencing prospects. Thankfully, there’s a simple path to overcoming over-influence and achieving mastery. But first...?

Introducing Marketing Mastery??

Marketing Mastery is a three-part series of articles published by The Trade Group’s LinkedIn Newsletter Trade Show Round-Up. To get updates for when the next parts are published, subscribe to this newsletter and share it with your marketing team.??

Okay, sorry, now back to the reason why you’re here...??

How Brands Avoid Over-Influence?

Take another glance at the bulleted list above. An individual salesperson or a brand can be guilty of committing any of those crimes against consumer sensibility.??

But what causes this to happen???

Typically, a brand is more inclined to fall into the trap of over-influence if they view selling as a debate or are only concerned with what they can gain from the transaction. Both views on selling are more likely to occur when the brand serves no mission or greater purpose other than the bottom line.??

Figure 1 illustrates this view.??

There is a time in the sales cycle, especially for large transactions, when some objections must be overcome. However, framing the selling strategy as a debate creates an immediate divide between the prospect and the brand, even after the prospect becomes a customer. This is even more problematic if it is a big sale where the brand and prospect enter a partnership.??

How should the brand view the selling process???

Brands should view the selling process as a means of achieving its mission or method of solving a problem. Brands solving problems avoid over-influencing because they are not selling in the traditional sense.?

A brand’s mission usually implies solving problems or making the world a better place. When the mission takes precedence, brands, and the prospects with problems, will be on the same side of the divide.??

Figure 2 illustrates what this looks like.??

To be clear, we’re not saying the bottom line should not be a main concern for brands. It absolutely should. But because it is a main concern, brands must develop and nurture their mission.?

The First Step to Marketing Mastery?

Prospects put buying and being sold to into separate categories.??

Why do people stand in line outside for hours, fighting to stay warm in icy weather, just to get into an Apple store? How did Microsoft come to dominate the office space with their software? How did Nike become the largest shoe brand in the U.S.???

Obviously, it’s not because of their high-pressure sales tactics. Yes, they all have great products. Maybe the best. But having the best product doesn’t always translate to being the most successful brand. Pepsi won the taste test but lost the market battle to Coke. Even stranger, Coke’s newest rival is a drink that is much more expensive, comes in a small can, and doesn’t taste that good. And yet Red Bull is the third largest carbonated drink in the world.??

In the case of the carbonated drink wars, branding matters more than taste.?

As Figure 3 above illustrates, prospects instinctively believe in the value of the thing they are buying and are skeptical of the value of the thing they are sold.??

How can you get prospects to believe in the value of your offerings???

The first step is to align your mission statement with the problems or desires of your target prospect.??

Let’s look at Nike’s mission statement?

Bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world.??

Notice the mission is outward-focused? It’s all about what the company does for the prospect. Not a whiff of selling is to be had.??

Another thing worth noting is that Nike also specifies their target prospects: athletes. Of course, they sell shoes to people who are not pro athletes nor have the ambition to become pro athletes. And yet people who choose to buy Nike identify in some way with athletes. A?mission statement should not pigeonhole the company.??

An effective mission statement will be?

• Clear?
• Concise??
• Purpose-driven??
• Specific??
• Inspirational??
• Distinct??
• Action-oriented??
• Authentic??

Again, if your brand’s mission statement has these, you're one step closer to avoiding over-influencing your target prospects and scaring them away.??

Aligning Marketing with Mission??

Almost exactly one year ago, Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard announced he was donating all company shares to charitable causes. This is an extreme example, but consumers and fans don’t doubt Patagonia’s commitment. When consumers buy Patagonia’s clothes, they believe in the value they’re getting—furthermore, they believe that in buying from Patagonia , they are doing something valuable themselves.??

Not every mission has to be to “save the world.” Nonetheless, if your mission is on the nobler, transcendent values end, here are a few things you can do to align strategy and mission:??

• Collaborate with a non-profit?
• Create a signature product line for a cause?

• Be open and transparent in product manufacturing?
• Partner with mission-aligned influencers?
• Launch a customer referral program for a cause?
• Host community workshops or webinars related to the brand's mission?
• Organize mission-driven social media challenges?

• Develop educational content series on issues central to the brand's mission?

When your brand's mission is seamlessly integrated into your marketing strategy, the line between selling and solving blurs. This is where over-influence is mitigated, and marketing mastery is attained. The result is a customer who feels understood and valued, not just a target for sales. ?

Aligning Design with Mission?

A company’s mission will be reinforced in every customer touchpoint, especially if it’s an exhibit at a trade show or conference.?

Here are a few questions to ask when designing an exhibit around your brand?

• What is your brand??
• What is the message your brand wants to convey to the remote audience at the show? ?
• How will the staff interact with the customer within the exhibit? Is it a fast interaction? Does it require a sit-down? Does there need to be privacy? ?
• How many shows do you exhibit in a year? Do you occupy various booth sizes??

Another big consideration that will determine overall marketing strategy and exhibit design is whether you are a B2B or B2C company—a dichotomy we explore in part two of Marketing Mastery which will give you specific tactics to use immediately.???

Conclusion?

In marketing, over-influence is the misstep that repels potential customers. To achieve Marketing Mastery, brands must shift from debating to problem-solving, making sales a collaborative process with the prospect. By integrating a clear, authentic mission into every marketing strategy, brands guide prospects to solutions, turning customers into brand advocates and securing lasting success.

Stay tuned for Part Two!