Chapter 2: A Great Offer
19
Chapter 2: Great Offer & Design
A Great Offer is the second variable in the formula for a superior response rate.
Many people misunderstand a “great offer” to mean an offer for something great – or at
least an offer with a large price cut. This is not the case. The formula for a Great Offer is:
A G reat O ffer
Emotion
Clear Message
Call to Action
Ease of Response
Relevance
Credibility
Noticeability
Emotion + Clear Message + Call to Action + Ease of Response +
Relevance + Credibility + Noticeability = A Great Offer.
Notice that the Great Offer formula does not include a price discount. However,
Greed is the emotion that trumps all other emotions, so price discounting, properly
presented, can sometimes play a part.
Emotion always beats intellect.
People who pride themselves on logical thinking
always disagree with me on this point – and in their disagreement, they often express
anger (an emotion) at the statement that emotion beats intellect.
Emotion
If you are appealing to logic, you are talking about your product - usually how great it
is. It is the “logical choice” based on its features. If you are appealing to emotion, you are
talking about the prospect - why he would want to buy your stuff. We all know that the
best marketing is centered on the buyer, not the seller. Emotion makes the offer about
the buyer. Logic makes it about the seller.
Marketers who don’t embrace emotion over logic usually don’t understand that
emotion and logic are not opposites. An appeal to emotion does not mean that the
proposed solution is illogical. A course of action can be perfectly logical and still have
emotional appeal. When both logic and emotion are headed in the same direction,
emotion will get you there faster. If emotion and logic are in opposition, emotion will
trump logic.
Every individual likes to believe that he or she is completely logical, but in fact, we
usually research our decisions through a process of reinforcing our prejudices, which is
known as “bias confirmation.” We accentuate evidence that supports our pre-existing
worldview and we discount or literally cannot even see evidence that contradicts it.
This is why a well crafted appeal to emotion will always out-perform a well crafted
appeal to logic. This is also why benefits always outsell features, because benefits can be
more rooted in emotion. While there are many emotions, the emotional buttons that
work best in marketing are: Greed, Fear, Anger, Guilt, Exclusivity and Need for Approval.
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emotional
hot buttons
Greed
Fear
Anger
Guilt
Exclusivity
Need for
Approval
Chapter 2: A Great Offer:
20
A G reat O ffer
Emotion
Clear Message
Call to Action
Ease of Response
Relevance
Credibility
Noticeability
Keep this in
Mind:
In a marketing
pitch,
Greed
outperforms all the
other emotions.
A few words about each emotion:
Greed Greed outperforms the rest of the field. Greed is often paired with urgency
to act. Hence, we have limitless variations of, “Order now, supplies are limited. At this
price, they won’t last long.” Urgency is often tied to an external factor that the marketer
could never, ever control (wink, nudge.) These external, urgency causing, factors take a
variety of forms:
We have to pull the offer when the exchange rate moves…and it
looks poised to move any minute.
We were only able to source a limited supply. (Note: this pitch
also might play the Exclusivity card.)
We can only afford to sell a limited amount at these introductory
prices.
This is a one-time offer that will not be repeated.
Fear Fear usually comes in second only to Greed. Fear can be fashioned into a loss
to be avoided, a perceived danger, or something that “keeps you up at night”. Security
alarms and insurance policies are two purchases that can effectively use Fear. In fact,
anything that can be sold as an “insurance policy” can use the Fear pitch. These include
products as diverse as preventative spraying by insect exterminators and battery backup
systems for computers.
Anger Anger can be a very powerful motivator. It is used often in political direct
mail and it is used somewhat less regularly in charitable solicitations where it appears
as righteous indignation. Anger can be tricky to use in regular commercial marketing.
Anger needs to be directed towards something or someone. The tension between the
“good” and “bad” outcomes that generates Anger can also generate controversy. In the
regular commercial world (unlike the political world) it is dangerous to try to generate
Anger towards your competitor. Anger can occasionally work in the commercial world if
your rival is a competing industry or technology that is held in public contempt. A solar
cell company might be able to tap into Anger toward the oil industry – after all, everyone
hates those guys!
Guilt Guilt is the stock-in-trade of charitable solicitations. If the charity is not
exactly using Guilt, it uses a close cousin like empathy, sorrow or compassion. Guilt can
also be used in commercial settings with messages such as: Are you providing properly
for your kids? Have you expressed love (with flowers) to your mother on Mother’s Day?
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Chapter 2: A Great Offer
Does your wife really feel that you love her? Perhaps you should buy her diamonds. Did
you know that if you use a certain airline for your excessive-consumption trip to Hawaii,
that airline will buy carbon offsets to make up for your rapacious lifestyle?
Exclusivity Exclusivity is a great push-button for those who are so entitled, they
don’t feel guilt. Exclusivity works best when it works reciprocally: Only we have it –
only you will get it. People often think of Exclusivity in terms of luxury items like Swiss
watches and expensive cars. But while these items are exclusive in some sense, they are
also widely available to those who can afford them. True Exclusivity comes when clients
have to apply to purchase your product/service. “After all, we can’t take just anyone.
We have to ensure there is a good ‘fit’ before we can do business”. Waiting lists help
promote Exclusivity – hence some private schools can use it. Waiting lists are also good
in creating urgency. The sooner you apply, the sooner your name will come to the top. If
you can pay to bypass the waiting list, you can also experience the pride that comes with
knowing that your wants will not be denied! The noted Ponzi-scheme swindler, Bernie
Madoff sold his phantom investment product by playing hard-to-get. There just wasn’t
room in his fund for everyone, but he would see what he could do for you.
Personal note from the author: Did you know that the buyers of the print, mail, fulfillment
and marketing services of Bassette Company are a very select lot? Send me your resume and
I’ll let you know if you qualify.
Need for Approval Need for Approval is closely related to Exclusivity. Instead
of declaring your prospect part of a select group, Need for Approval is used because we
all fear looking like jerks. Fashion and clothing often caters to the Need for Approval.
The approval is usually granted by a small, close-knit peer group. Each group has widely
differing standards. What wins you accolades in one group will bring scorn in another.
You need to thoroughly understand the group to which your target belongs. If the Need
for Approval is wrapped up in a “cool” factor, humor can often be effective. But be careful
not to make fun of your target audience. Make fun of everyone else – but never your
target.
Other Emotions
What about other emotions and tie-ins with emotions? While Greed, Fear, Anger,
Guilt, Exclusivity and Need for Approval typically get results, they are mostly negative
emotions. What about positive emotions like love? Here are some quick thoughts on
other approaches.
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21
A G reat O ffer
Emotion
Clear Message
Call to Action
Ease of Response
Relevance
Credibility
Noticeability
Chapter 2: A Great Offer:
22
A G reat O ffer
Emotion
Clear Message
Call to Action
Ease of Response
Relevance
Credibility
Noticeability
Love Love is difficult to tap into. Sometimes, Love (or something like it) can be
used to create the “home & hearth” comfort of a Norman Rockwell painting. A resort or
restaurant invites you to come in for the family experience that you will remember for
years. Love is often the subtext of Guilt – As in I feel guilty for not properly providing/
caring for those that I love.
Happiness In marketing (unlike philosophy) Happiness is usually achieved
through the avoidance of Fear, Guilt and scorn (tied to Need for Approval.) Or
Happiness is directly achieved by satisfying our Greed, venting our Anger and realizing
our Exclusive status.
Sex Lust is a powerful emotion and every marketer knows the old saying that “sex
sells”. But in truth, sex doesn’t sell much. Perhaps cologne. Maybe beer – but even beer
is a stretch. Sex/lust is typically used for image advertising and branding. But remember,
direct mail is all about getting a response that results in a sale. It’s not about branding. Lots
of different, legitimate products can, at least temporarily, satisfy your Greed or help
dispel your Guilt. There aren’t any legitimate products that you would ever agree to
sell, except perhaps for the cologne mentioned above, that promises to satisfy your
lust. So using sex to provoke a response is a waste of valuable resources. For almost all
products, the other emotions are far more powerful in motivating a purchase – because
they can be used more credibly. To the extent that someone buys something to be more
attractive to a prospective significant other, the motivation can usually mirror Need for
Approval. Sometimes photos of attractive people can be used to achieve the Noticeability
component, but the photos need to fit the overall emotion-based narrative.
Humor and emotion. Humor isn’t an emotion; it is used with emotion to
make a point. Humor is best used with Greed, Anger (sarcasm) or Need for Approval
(the other guy is a dope, not me.) Humor usually doesn’t work with Fear, Guilt and true
(as opposed to satirical) Exclusivity.
TIP
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that emotion doesn’t apply
to B2B marketing. Even with B2B, emotion can be used with great
effect. When structuring your offer, think long and hard about
what emotion best fits your product/service. Don’t proceed to the
next step in crafting a great offer until you know this. Keep the
use of emotion subtle. If you are heavy-handed and perceived as
being clumsily manipulative, the game is over.
After this quick tour of emotion-based direct mail, are
you still unconvinced by my logical argument that logical
arguments make for lousy marketing? Remember, in the
introduction, I said that the purpose of direct mail is to get
a response. Greed, Fear, Guilt and the rest are simply bigger
motivators than logic when it comes to prodding people to
get their lazy carcasses off the couch to buy your stuff.
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