Integrating emotions into your marketing strategy

SenseiSteve

I don’t care if you’re selling dedicated servers, automotive tires, furniture or clothing, there’s one common ingredient to converting more prospects and that’s by integrating emotion into your marketing efforts.

Think about this. How do you engage anyone in conversation and keep them interested? You tell stories that evoke emotion! The key here is that positive emotions propel positive reactions.

What are hooks and how to use them

Very early in my sales training classes, I was told that to be a champion sales representative, you had to use what are called hooks, ending each sentence with a query that would force a yes answer. These hooks could be simple little queries like, “Everyone likes to save money at the gas pump, don’t they?” Who is going to say no? After a number of sentences in a conversation where you invoke multiple yes answers, you go for the kill and close with the BIG yes query.

The theory was that by repeating yes over and over, you set your prospect’s frame of mind to continue replying with a yes. Does that work in the real world? Absolutely! Tie those hooks to emotions and I guarantee you’ll outperform your peers AND competitors in every measurement that counts, including gross revenue and net profit.

Hot buttons – what are they?

When a prospect expresses an interest in your product or service, do you immediately go into your elevator pitch or start listing every feature you think they may be interested in, or do you ask questions to determine their hot buttons?

I know everyone has heard the term hot buttons, but what are they really? They’re emotions like frustration, ego and needs. Uncovering these helps you to shape your line of reasoning, asking just the right questions, with emotional hooks that specifically address the prospect.

What about using emotion strategies on websites?

Appealing to your visitors’ emotions on your website touches them in ways that simply listing features and benefits cannot do. For example, what attracts visitors to recipe sites? Is it the list of ingredients or the directions on how to prepare them? Neither.

There are millions of recipes online on everything from stewed tomatoes to cream cheese cherry pies, but I don’t know of anyone who gets turned on by the directions. When you’re hungry for something sweet (why else would you be looking at a recipe of an apple tart online), a great image of that dessert could induce hunger pains that won’t go away until you’ve made that exact tart in your kitchen.

Would a video help?

If a picture is worth a 1000 words, how much is a video worth? Would a video of the chef taking that tart out of the oven, putting it on a plate and serving it to a member of the audience, and then that member saying, “Wow, this is the best apple tart I’ve ever tasted. The crust is fluffy; the apples are tart but sweet in just the right proportion. Great job!” entice a viewer to want to know how to make that in their own kitchen? Of course it would!

Emotions drive what everyone buys

Successful marketing strategies incorporate psychological triggers. It’s been said that happiness induces people to share. I know what you’re thinking though. You’re thinking, “How could I possibly apply this strategy to a dishwasher, a service contract, a dedicated server or a recliner?” I assure you it’s done every day on thousands of commercials that we all watch.

Your thoughts on how this could be implemented for hosting ...

AdrianG001

Emotional marketing is an effective way to drive sales because it helps people connect with the brand. This connection builds trust and loyalty, which often leads to more purchases.

A key part of emotional marketing is understanding your target audience. If you know what they care about, you can create content that speaks to them on a personal level. For example, if your target audience is millennials, you might write about how your product can help them live a better life or make a difference in their world.