Everyone loves secrets. The power of secrets is not just in the information. It’s in the fact that often secrets represent shortcuts. And the shorter road is something that fascinates many.
Shortcuts explain why the diet industry thrives. They explain why so many people read wealth creation books. They are also why email scams continue to work. And why everyone rushes into a business area that is booming.
1. People feel they are too busy and there’s too much at stake to invest the full time required if they might not have to.
2. No-one wants to miss out – especially if something looks straightforward.
3. Everyone wants to get there quicker than those around them.
Customers want secrets. Or more to the point, they can have difficulties with brands that don’t offer them what feels like immediate success.
And that leads us here: How long is the perceived road to a sense of achievement with your brand? Because if there’s a shorter way, or even if there looks like there might be a shorter way, you’re vulnerable to being usurped, superseded by the promise of access to a more powerful secret, a shorter road, a faster gain…
In a world where patience is not a virtue if you’re a customer, perceived pace, or rather perceived progress, is competitive.
If success depends on your customer acquiring understanding or knowledge, particularly over an extended period of time, articulate the end goal and its value extremely clearly. And if you can’t provide “secrets” that quickly, at the very least provide cake. Plenty. And often. It could be through actual rewards. It could be through recognition. It could be through even just encouragement. Cake gives people the energy to push on and not to pull up short or to be sidetracked by what looks like a sweeter alternative.
The Blake Project Can Help: The Brand Positioning Workshop and The Strategic Brand Storytelling Workshop
Branding Strategy Insider is a service of The Blake Project: A strategic brand consultancy specializing in Brand Research, Brand Strategy, Brand Licensing and Brand Education
One comment
Cynthia Kocialski
January 23, 2014 at 9:28 am
One of the simplest ways to sell something quickly is to promise to meet a deep desire … being wealthy or being thin. I’ve worked in both of these industries, and the issue is that once you can’t deliver on the promise, the customer leaves forever. Repeat customers are few. Marketing budgets have to be high to constantly be attracting new customers. It’s hard to build brand loyalty when 95% or more of the customers are unhappy. In these industries, brand loyalty is replaced by there always being a new, large group of hopeful customers that are willing to give it a try.
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