the yes factor

www.earnest-agency.com

In B2B marketing,

we’re in the business of

PERSUASION

Image: Unsplash.com <Alejandro Escamilla>


Everyday we persuade people we often don’t know to:

Open our emails Visit our websitesDownload our white

papers

Watch our videos Follow us on Twitter

And even once in a while, buy something from us.


It’s all about persuading

people to say

‘YES’

Image: Flickr <Creative Commons>


“The buyers pipeline requires a series of micro-yesses

before getting to that macro yes.”

YES

[Brandon Stamschrar, MECLABS]

The thing is:


So what

makes people

say ‘YES’

?

Image: Earnest


“Each micro yes is about

perceived value v perceived cost.”

[Brandon Stamschrar, MECLABS]


But when making micro-yesses buyers

don’t:

Evaluate all the options

Investigate each option fully

Apply everything they know

Assign a value and cost to each option

Image: Unsplash <Dietmar Becker>

Because…

> They haven’t got the time

> They’re subject to biases

> They’re stifled by choice

> They’re inherently lazy thinkers


And the big

one:THEY

HATE

RISK



“When making any choice our first instinct is not to choose the ‘best answer’

but the answer which minimises the harm we personally can suffer in the worst case

outcome.”

Aka. to MINIMAX

[John Von Neumann via Rory Sutherland]


Others call this

“SATISFICING”

(To Satisfy + Suffice)

CHANCE Where buyers opt for the low risk, easy solution

rather than searching for the best possible

solution.

No thanks


And they’re not even aware

of it.Because 85% of decisions are

made by the unconscious part of

the brain.

[Martin Lindstrom, Buyology]



It means the micro-yesses even

for the biggest decisions

are less

RATIONAL

than we think

Image: Unsplash.com <Maria Carrasco>


So the big question is

what makes business buyers more likely to say

Yes

Yes

Yes

?


Essentially, we need to be aware of how people

think

because it influences how they make decisions.

Image: Shutterstock


There are two ways:

&

FAST

SLOW

[Thanks

Daniel Kahneman]


FASTAka. System 1 or Autopilot

• Operates automatically

• Assesses what’s going on in our environment

• Determines whether we should direct more

attention to a task

Image: Unsplash.com <Anna Dziubinska>

It helps us make

SNAP JUDGEMENTS

Serving as

OUR FILTER OF THE WORLD

P.S

It also determines whether buyers pay

attention to your communications

or not *

* Unfortunately typically not


Because without it, things like this would kill

us.

Image: Unsplash.com <Thomas Lefebvre>


And then there’s the

other way of

thinking…

Aka. System 2 or Pilot

SLOW

Image: Unsplash.com <Todd Quackenbush>


THE

THINGS

SYSTEM

ONE

FINDS

HARD

TO

PROCESS

[OUCH]

It means System 2 requires:

ATTENTION

EFFORT

But remember we’re


LAZY THINKERS

(you, me & even your buyers)

so we try to make our lives

easier by substituting

difficult questions with

simpler ones

Image: Shutterstock


So when it comes to asking

the question:

Which of these service providers

will do the best job?

Buyers can end up

asking:

Which of these sales people do I

like the best?

BIAS A

LERT

Which of these brands will my

boss have heard of?

Isn’t it easier to go with the guys

we’ve always used?


SYSTEM 2

As B2B marketers we tend to design

for System 2, but it’s POINTLESS

if we never break through System 1.

Score:000

Especially when in most cases, people make decisions like this…

Input DecisionSystem 1

Autopilot

System 2

Pilot


The fact is even if you sell something

that’s BIG,

COMPLEX and CONSIDERED

you’ve got to break through their System

1.

Image: Unsplash.com <Martin Wessely>


Because if they don’t:

Open your emails

Download your content

Attend your events

Take your calls

The

Micro-

Yesses

You’re being filtered out


How long have you got?

Ad in popular magazines – 1.7 secs

Ad in trade journals – 3.2 secs

Poster – 1.5 secs

Mailing – 2 secs

Banner ad – 1 sec

You need to make first impressions

count

[Via Phil Barden, Decoded]

Image: Unsplash.com <Sonja Langford>


So how do you make the cut?

EASY does it

Image: Unsplash.com <Loudge>


Make it easy for buyers

Yes

Yes

Yes

so you secure that micro-yes

EVERY TIME


Because if you make it easy

they’re more likely to Like

what they see and

BELIEVE

what you have to say

DO

NOTHING

[Some call this Status Quo bias –

the fact is most people just hate

change]

As the easiest thing in the world for them is to:

www.earnest-agency.comImage: Unsplash.com <Caleb Thal>


COMPLEX

= COGNITIVE STRAIN

= HARDER TO UNDERSTAND

= PAINFUL

HIGHER PERCEIVED =RISK


What does EASY look like?

EASE

Feels familiar

Feels true

Feels effortless

Feels good

Repeated experience

Clear display

Primed idea

Good mood

[Causes and Consequences of Cognitive Ease: Thinking, Fast and Slow]


And this is where

BRANDING pays dividends

Image: Unsplash.com <Mario Calvo>


It’s all about

building…

FAMILIARITY and

FAVOURABILITY

[See it’s not going to kill you this time]

Image: Unsplash.com <Thomas Lefebvre>


And it’s why we prefer brands

we KNOW

rather than

brands we’ve

NEVER heard of before


EASIER TO PROCESS

Because the things

we are

MORE FAMILIAR

with are

“The experience of familiarity has a simple but powerful

quality of ‘pastness’ that seems to indicate that it is a direct

reflection of prior experience.”[Larry Jacoby]

Image: Unsplash.com <Griffin Keller>


And simply being EXPOSED to one BRAND

more than another can have the desired effect.

BRAND

BRAND

BRAND

BRAND

BRAND

BRAND

BRAND

BRAND

BRAND


Research shows that people tend to develop a

PREFERENCE

for things simply because they are more

familiar with them.*

* The Mere Exposure Effect [Robert Zajonc]

Research shows that people tend to develop a

PREFERENCE

for things simply because they are more

familiar with them.*

* The Mere Exposure Effect [Robert Zajonc]


Novel stimulus leads to a

fear and avoidance response.

But with

REPEATED EXPOSURE,

the stimulus causes less fear.

We even react fondly to it.

[Often without knowing it.]

It may explain why you can have the

best proposition in the world.

Yet know one knows you.

So they choose to go with one of

your better known rivals.

[Even the one with the half baked offer.]


The thing is in B2B, brands are just about

equal in INFLUENCE and only just behind

price and product.

Strong brands outperform weak brands by

20%.[McKinsey]

Image: Unsplash<Wojtek Witkowski>


This is where your content marketing,

search and social media strategy could

pay dividends.

CAN’T AFFORD A

BIG BRAND

CAMPAIGN? Making you visible. Useful. Relevant.

YES YES YES

Increasing your exposure.

Reducing cognitive strain.


What other ways can you make it EASY for buyers?

Make your message

simple for buyers to

understand

If you want to be seen as

credible and intelligent, don’t

use complex language when

simpler language will do.

[Want scientific proof?

Check out ‘Consequences of Erudite Vernacular Utilized Irrespective of

Necessity:Problems with Using Long Words Needlessly’ by Danny

Oppenheimer]

JARGON

Don’t overload your

buyers with too many

options.

Too much choice is the same

as no choice at all.[Barry Schwarz]

Aka.

Paradox of Choice

Be relevant.

Information that stands out - and is

novel and salient - is more likely to affect

the way a buyer thinks and acts.[P Dolan, Mindspace]

Ensure a seamless journey for buyers,

every step of the way.

X

X

X

Let people accomplish tasks as

easily and directly as possible.[Don’t make me think: Steve Krug]


And get to the

of what’s really motivating people to buy from you


Because they’re sure as hell not buying your products or services for the

sake of it.

They’re a means to an end.

“To understand people one needs to

understand what leads them to act as

they do, and to understand what leads

them to act as they do one needs to

know their goals.”

[Motives and Cultural Models, edited by Roy G. D'Andrade, Claudia

Strauss]

Image: Unsplash.com <Daniel Ruswick>


And that end is ultimately about

convincing them you can satisfy their

goals more effectively than your

rivals.

.

EXPLICIT

IMPLICIT

&

Image: Unsplash.com <Sunset Girl>


Think of them like this…

EXPLICIT

goals

IMPLICIT goals

CATEGORY SPECIFIC

DRIVEN BY ORGANISATION

NEED TO DEMONSTRATE YOU CAN SATISFY THESE

GOALS IN ORDER TO COMPETE

BUYER

SPECIFIC

DRIVEN BY INDIVIDUAL

USE TO DEMONSTRATE YOUR OFFER AND

BOOST YOUR APPEAL


As B2B Marketers we tend to focus on the explicit goals.

But there’s only so far

promising to:

Transform their business

Deliver greater efficiency

Lower cost

Improve productivity

Increase revenue

Demonstrate ROI

& all that jazz will take you

* Delete as appropriate

*


Especially when every other chancer

in your market is professing to do

MUCH THE SAME

Albeit it a slightly different way.

Image: Unsplash.com <Brownie>


That’s where being able to satisfy not only their

explicit but also their implicit goals can pay

dividends.

The stuff that motivates people PERSONALLY

(whether they know it or not)

Image: Unsplash.com <Timothy Muza>


So what do these implicit goals look like?

Research shows there

are two basic

motivational drivers

PROMOTION

Emphasis =

> Gaining

> Benefiting

> Progressing in some wayPREVENTION

Emphasis =

> Avoiding loss

> Protecting status quo

> Living up to expectation


It provides their

FRAME OF REFERENCE

and determines whether its

best to position what you have to

offer as avoiding loss or gain.

is starting from.

What’s their anchor point?

Think about where your audience


How can this inform the way you THINK about

your audience…

Image: Unsplash.com <Craig Garner>


…Adding another dimension to your personas that can help inform and shape your

messaging,

campaign & content strategies?

Image: Unsplash.com <Ilham Rahmansyah>


Progress

Recognition

Stimulation

Avoidance

Control

Obligation

PR

OM

OT

ION

PR

EV

EN

TIO

N

I need to do this to get ahead

I need to do this to look good

I need to do this to learn / because it looks

interesting

I need to do this to avoid losing out / losing

something

I need to do this to stay in control

I need to do this because it’s expected of me

Gain an advantage over others; Innovate;

Lead the field

Receive acclaim; Advance career; Win

awards/accolades

Personal discovery; Learning experience; Challenge

myself; Helping others

Be secure; Prevent losses; Avoid threats

Stay on top; Maintain status quo; Be

empowered

Need to comply; Fulfil promises; Be true to my

word

Go-getter

Status seeker

Adventurer

Worrier

Controller

Box-ticker

Implicit goals Primary driver Motivations Persona

Earnest Goal Matrix: It’s yours to use and abuse


Psst.Different decision-makers and influencers (even within the same organisation)

will have different motivations and biases.

Work to identify which personas they fit – and tailor your story to hit

the right implicit & explicit goals.


So when all your competitors gather

here…

EXPLICIT

goals


So when all your competitors gather

here…

EXPLICIT

goals

IMPLICIT

goals

You win by differentiating

here…

Yes. Yes. Yes.


NO

T CO

NVIN

CED?

“More C-Suite execs are increasingly making decisions about technology

purchases they know nothing about.

As a result, many decision makers choose suppliers based on personal

value.”[O&M, Admap]

Image: Unsplash.com <Liam Andrew>


STILL NOT CONVINCED?

“Buyers who see personal value are not only much more likely to

purchase that brand, they are even more likely to pay a higher price.”[CEB Marketing Leadership Council / Google 2013]

Image: Unsplash.com <Vladimir Kramer>


Finally, never lose sight of the

influence of others.

People (your buyers) learn by

copying others.

Image: Unsplash.com <Jonas Nilsson Lee>


And it’s still true when people buy things

today. They copy the behaviour of others,

as it reduces perceived risk.

When we were in fear of predators, it allowed us to

determine what was safe

(and what wasn’t).

THE ME-TOO EFFECT


the more likely you are to get even MORE.

It’s why the more:

> Case studies

> Client reference sites

> Testimonials

> Positive Reviews

> Followers

> Likes

> Shares

…you have,

YES

YES

YES

YES


[And lots of YESSES can go an awfully long way.]

So business people are not

quite as rational as you think,

even for the biggest business

decisions.


“The next revolution will be

psychological – not technological.”[Rory Sutherland]

Image: Unsplash.com <Jake Givens>


ARE YOU READY


earnest-agency.com

@earnestagency

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with the subject line: Yes

Cover image: Unsplash.com <Sebastian Muller>

the yes factor

Design