When More Is Less
Brent Hodgson
Connecting business owners into world-leading business & tech programs Deakin Uni offers (for free), to create a resilient, internationally competitive, and tech-savvy new wave of Australian Small-to-Medium Companies.
This article has been adapted from Brent Hodgson's latest book "Unassailable: The Tiny Tweaks That Create An Unbeatable Advantage In Your Marketing." (Available via Amazon, Wordery, Angus and Robertson - and for a limited time at a discount via the author.)
“Big, Bold and Bright” are often the keys to creating contrast - and drawing your customers into offers.
But a mistake a lot of people make is to use TOO MUCH contrast.
TOO MUCH contrast can create distraction, a lack of contrast, and RUIN sales.
Likewise, trying to draw customers’ attention to ALL of the appeals of your product – such as your free shipping offer, your 100% money back guarantee period, your generous discounts, your interest-free finance offer, your payment options, etc, etc – typically results in FEWER sales.
We like to think of ourselves as "the masters of our universe": wellsprings of wisdom!; infallible in our logic; unbridled in our ability to filter options; able to weigh up all options clearly - and capable of making the right decision when all of the relevant information is presented.
In fact, economists talk about the idea of having "perfect Information" - and how a "rational consumer" will always make the right decision when presented with all of the available information on a particular product.
(This is one of the pillars of general equilibrium theory - the economic theory that explains Supply and Demand, and underpins almost all economic philosophy.)
But the reality is human beings aren't "masters of our universe".
We're computers made of meat, who haven't had a RAM upgrade in the past 75,000 years.
This is what psychologists understand about sales and marketing that economists don't.
Where economists believe complete and perfect information helps us to buy - psychologists know that complete and perfect information can actually be paralysing, and lead us to make no decision at all.
So - if you want to serve your customers, and help them to make the right decision - ask yourself: What Should I Leave Unsaid?
This article has been adapted from Brent Hodgson's latest book "Unassailable: The Tiny Tweaks That Create An Unbeatable Advantage In Your Marketing." (Available via Amazon, Wordery, Angus and Robertson - and for a limited time at a discount via the author.)