A Few Strong Words…

Psychadelic Musings on Marketing Theory

Perception is a tricky thing. Here’s why.

We all want to search for the truth. As consumers, we want to know that a specific product or service will meet our specific needs. I think that it is fair to say that as consumers, we are all pretty jaded. We’ve all bought those X-Ray Glasses sold at the back of comic books (do they still do that?), the Ronco 16-in-1 potato peeler, the foot massager with the Lifetime Warranty we never cash in on when it breaks three months later.

Caveat emptor — buyer beware. You know this problem has been around for a while when there is a phrase for it in Latin!

On the other hand, most of us here realize how easy it is to take marketing too far. We’ve glimpsed behind the curtain — hell, we are the “man behind the curtain”! We understand the balancing act between portraying our clients in the best light.

Pop quiz. Who said:

“In the universe, there are things that are known, and there are things that are unknown, and in between, there are doors.”

Was it:

(A) Jim Morrison
(B) Aldous Huxley
(C) William Blake

Leave your answers in the comment section below — 100 points for the correct one!

Anyway, a great quote. What it means is that no matter “reality” is, it is filtered through our own preconceived notions. We all have assumptions. For example, when we hear hooves we think horses, not zebra. (Unless you live in the Ngorongoro Crater — the exception to prove the rule.)

But when we remove those filters (as the theory goes), we can see a thing for what it truly is. Huxley tried to do it with mescaline, Blake with religion, and Morrison with all of the above plus a fifth of Jim Beam chaser.

I don’t want to go too far down this philosophical road. What I do want to point out is that we all do have filters, pathways through doors we’ve opened before to help us understand the world around us.

I think this is important to consider when creating any sort of marketing. It is related to target marketing, but it goes one step further, I think. Not only do you need to ponder what customers want and how to give it to them, but you also need to consider many levels of perception. How do customers perceive your product or service? Does everything in your marketing (from website, to business cards, to messaging, to store front) meet those perceptions? Are there ways that could exceed those perceptions (aka expectations)?

And so on.

Kelly Erickson at Maximum Customer Experience recently had an excellent way to illustrate this. Do yourself a favour though: consider what these awnings mean to you before you read all the comments! And note the ironic sub-title — classic!

Forming Other People’s Perceptions

Now we get into some sticky situations. When does marketing stop being suggestion and “showing our best qualities” and become manipulation? Manipulation is a dirty word in my books, and I certainly try to avoid it in my own work. However, persuasive copy and content is by definition a form of manipulation.

There is a distinct difference though, no matter how subtle. I define it as this: if you believe — truly believe — in the product or service you are selling, then persuading your target audience to try it is fine, as long as you are honest about your intentions and the product/service at hand.

That’s why so many marketers have a problem with certain products. If they don’t believe in the product, how can they sell it? (Besides the fact, you won’t do a good enough job anyway. If this is truly how you feel — walk away!)

Once we’ve jumped this hurdle, let’s start looking at not just what consumers want, but how they perceive what they want, and how their perception of your business will affect their buying habits.

Put yourself in the shoes of the consumer — not hard to do, since as mentioned above we are all consumers ourselves. What doors do we know? We know the one that leads to broken promises. We know the one that meets our needs adequately, though perhaps without any real fireworks. And we know (or at least heard of) the mythical doors that lead to full satisfaction, absolutely guaranteed.

Most of us also have a good nose for deciding which is which before we purchase. And that is perhaps the most important thing to remember. Keep your marketing honest and — if at all possible — mythical.

Intermission

Instead of forcing you to read a giant opus in one go, I’m going to break this into mini-opuses. In coming posts, I’ll go over some of the ways I have found to promise less and deliver more. In the meantime, let us know how you have worked with — or against — perception in your own work. Or break on through to the other side of the coin. How has perception affected your activities as a buyer?

And don’t forget, leave me the answer to the Pop Quiz! References to prove your claims gains extra points.

~Graham

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