Applied Persuasion: Egyptian Street Vendors

In Persuasion Techniques, I outlined several different tried and true techniques that people or companies use when trying to sell their product or service. These techniques are used over and over in advertisements, television commercials and in person.  Sometimes, however, it is difficult to see them in action unless you are able to step back and observe.

I recently had an opportunity to tour through the Middle East, including a week in Egypt.  The vendors are plentiful and there is no shortage of them selling tourists trinkets, postcards or other souvenirs.  They can be very annoying, but their techniques must work or they would have stopped long ago.

The market is nearly ‘perfectly competitive’ as most of the vendors are selling exactly the same thing.  There are very few barriers to entry and vendors can come and go as the market is able to support them.  With the political turmoil in Egypt these days, tourism has taken a big hit, so these vendors have to be especially persuasive, and here are the techniques that they use.

Persuasion in Action: Street Vendor Techniques

1. Reciprocity
   This technique isn’t used very much by street vendors, but some examples are offering you a ‘gift’ and once you accept, they will ask if you will give them a ‘gift’.  It is pretty blatant, but it can work – once.  A more common form is to offer to show you around their workshop and give you a little education on the product.  Since they have ‘given’ you a tour or education, you are more likely to ‘give’ them something back.
2. Commitment and Consistency
   This technique is extremely common, and it starts with a simple question like, ‘Do you like this?’  The goal is to get you to say ‘yes’ to at least one question, and hopefully they can keep you saying yes until you buy their offering.
   
3. Social Proof
   Social Proof is evident in the types of product sold.  The goal of the vendors is to get a few people wearing the scarves or hats that they are selling.  As soon as there are a few people wearing them, regardless of how silly they might look, there is a much greater chance that the vendor can persuade you as well.
   
4. Authority
   Authority doesn’t mean much when it comes to souvenirs, but authenticity is very important.  Vendors with authentic products are quick to give a quick demonstration to prove that their statue is made out of stone instead of plastic.  Some are even more open by saying, “I can sell you a cheap knock-off, but you look like you deserve the real thing.”
5. Liking
   Most of the vendors that I personally encountered were quite low on the likeability scale.  However, there were a few who knew how to bring a bit of humour into their sales pitch using phrases like, “Come on in – it’s always happy hour in here” and “Go ahead – make my day.  Buy something from me.”
   
6. Scarcity
   Although the products that street vendors sell are seldom scarce, some vendors figured out that they could slightly modify their necklaces or scarves to make them ‘unique’ or ‘one of a kind’.  Although not scarce overall, they at least had the notion that people typically are driven to be similar, but unique, in their purchasing.

Persuasion techniques are in action all around us and affect almost every purchase decision we make.  In follow-up posts, I’ll break down a few other examples of how persuasion techniques allow marketers to stand out from the crowd.

Chris McPhee, MBA
Email: Chris.McPhee@Marketing-Matters.org

Sandcone Model: Shifting Consumer Expectations

If only it were that easy.

The harsh truth is that not only do your customers not always know what matters, what matters is always changing.  When it comes to new products or services, your customers might actually tell you the opposite of what actually matters to them.  It’s not that they are lying, but as people go through life, what ‘matters’ constantly changes.

The Sandcone Model

The Sandcone model helps understand the structure of layered expectations of a maturing product or service.  It is a fairly simple model, yet it explains a great deal about how products or services mature and what people are willing to pay for over time.

1. Quality (Functionality)
   As the Ford slogan goes, “Quality is Job 1″.   Before evaluating your product or service in detail, your customer needs to be assured that it will meet the implicit ‘customer contract’ of being able to meet their needs.  The first thing the customer needs is the features/benefits list that will let them do what they need to do with your product.
2. Dependability (Flexibility)
   Once your customer is assured that your product has the functions that they require, the next thing they look for is dependability/reliability or flexibility.  They now know that they can get the job done, but will your product be dependable? Will it work under various conditions?  Can they customize it to fine-tune their needs?
3. Speed (Convenience)
   Your product or service now does what it needs to do and it does it dependably.  Now is it convenient?  Can your customer access your product from anywhere?  Do you have 24/7 support?  Do you support multiple languages or currencies?
4. Cost
   Finally, all else being equal, your customer will look to cost.  It is true that they may start with evaluating your cost, but that is just to frame your product or service as ‘low cost’, ‘best value’, or ‘premium’.  Once your customer is in final evaluations, cost is just the tie-breaker once the other factors are equal.

Chris McPhee, MBA
Email: Chris.McPhee@Marketing-Matters.org

Designing your Google AdWords Campaign

In Part 1, I listed five steps that you should follow to create a solid foundation for your ‘organic search’.  These steps are important because they help to ensure that you can get the most from your advertising investment in Google AdWords.

Once you’ve got a good foundation for your organic (non-paid) search, Google AdWords can help to drive potential customers to your website and improve the overall awareness of your brand and product or service offering.  By having both an AdWords ad, along with a high ranking on your website, visitors are more likely to click on your link because your website is viewed as being legitimate.

Designing your Google AdWords Campaign

1. Select your AdWords
   The best place to starts is the Google AdWords Keyword Tool.  Using the keywords that you identified in Step 1 of Part 1, plug them into the Keyword Tool.  This will give you a quick check on the popularity of the words and the estimated Cost per Click.  You can then play with the variables to figure out which keywords you should use as part of a Google AdWords Campaign.
   
2. Write your Advertisement
   Creating a great advertisement is both art and science.  Some simple guidelines for a Google AdWords ad are:
   - Use your keywords in your ad.  It helps to ensure the customer that they are interested in clicking on your ad.
   - Use specific numbers if possible.  E.g. “20% off promotion” or “30% faster”
   - Use an exclamation mark to add a sense of urgency and excitement about your offering. 

   Remember that you aren’t trying to sell your product – the website will do that.  You are trying to sell your potential customer on clicking on your link instead of the competition’s link.
   

3. Link directly to your product, service or promotion
   Link directly to your promotion, but allow your customers an easy way to navigate to your ‘Home’, ‘Contact’ and ‘About’ pages.  Do not link to a general page and force your customer to have to navigate to the product, service or promotion that you advertised.
   
4. Provide a clear call to action
   To measure the effectiveness of your campaign, you should provide a clear call to action such as ‘Subscribe’ or ‘Buy Now’.  You can then configure your Google AdWords campaign to track the effectiveness of your ad in getting your potential customers to take action.
   
5. Review and Refine
   The great thing about Internet advertising is the feedback loop:
   - You can run one campaign or several campaigns.
   - You can run one advertisement or several advertisements.
   - You can ‘split-test’ your ad by having two different landing pages with different designs and/or copy to see how users react.

There are lots of sources for information, but a good, solid reference is the book, Marketing in the Age of Google by Vanessa Fox.

Your next step is to simply give it a go! adwords.google.com.

Chris McPhee, MBA
Email: Chris.McPhee@Marketing-Matters.org

Designing your Google AdWords Campaign (Part 1)

Launching a Google AdWords campaign can be an effective way to drive potential customers to your site.  Google AdWords is a very popular advertising platform that is accessible to anyone who is willing to ‘pay-per-click’.

A big problem with Internet advertising, however, or any advertising for that matter, is understanding whether or not you are getting value for your advertising dollar.  This is especially concerning for small business where the advertising budget is money that might better be spent on operations.

Here are five steps that you should take before launching a Google AdWords campaign.  Following these steps will help to make sure that you have the proper foundation set-up before investing in a Google AdWords campaign.

Five Steps before you launch a Google AdWords Campaign

1. Identify your keywords
   You first need to determine what search words your users are typing into Google to find your page.  You can do this by setting up a Google Analytics account, or you can simply ask your customers how they would likely search for you or your offering online.
2. Review your current website ranking
   Test the keywords to see how your current website ranks.  If it is not on the first page of results, then you have less than a 10% chance of being found using those keywords.  Check out ‘Search Engine Optimization’ sources of information for details on how you can update your website to improve your ranking.  A good reference book book is Search Engine Marketing by Stephanie Cota.
3. Review your Search Engine Results Page Display
   Review the text that Google uses to summarize the content of your website or page.  If the write-up isn’t very compelling, people won’t click on your link.
4. Update your Page Content
   Click on the link from the search results page and examine the page content.  Does it clearly answer the question that your potential customers want answered?  Search pages will also often bring your potential customers to your website ‘through the back door’, so they need an easy way to figure out where they are.  Finally, the Page Content drives the Google search engine results page display.  You may need to update your Page Content to improve your Search Engine Results Page display.
5. Provide a Clear Call to Action
   Give your potential customers a clear call to action.  Depending on your product or service offering, this could be something like, ‘Buy’, ‘Call for Details’, or ‘Subscribe to our Newsletter’.  This call to action is essential because it will allow you to measure your return on advertising.

By following these five steps, you’ll have a good foundation for your ‘organic’ search strategy.  The great thing about organic search is that it’s free, however you don’t have much direct control over how your website is shown.

In Part 2, I’ll provide the specific steps to launching your Google AdWords campaign so that you can get the most from your pay-per-click advertising investment.

Chris McPhee, MBA
Email: Chris.McPhee@Marketing-Matters.org

5 Keys to a Good Small Business Website

One of the simplest, most cost-effective ways to market a small business is to have a great website.  For the price of a small newspaper ad, a small business can create a very professional, smart looking website.

Considering that it is such a small investment, why do many small businesses have websites that are reminiscent of the Internet of the mid-1990s? For most of them, it’s because they put up their website in the 1990s and forgot it was there.

Here are 5 simple ways to have a great website that meets your customers’ expectations:

1. Who are you?

Keep it simple and to the point.  Finish the following sentences and put them front and center on your home page (eliminating the lead-ins, of course).

• We make money by…
• We are great at what we do because…
• Our customers buy from us because…

Your customers either came directly to your website through advertising or word of mouth, or they found it through an Internet search.  Either way, make it easy for them to figure out who you are and what you do.

2. What do you charge?

Don’t be too secretive about your pricing.  Have a price range if it makes you feel better, but set your customers expectations.  You might give up a bit of competitive information, but if you’re selling a consumer good, it is easy enough for your customers to comparison shop.  If you don’t provide at least a price range, most of your prospective customers will just find a competitor who is more open with their information.

3. When are you open?

If you have a storefront, post your hours and keep it up-to-date.  Think about your customers driving by your store.  Don’t make them read the small print.  Make you ‘open’ sign big and neon-bright.  (Figuratively, I mean. neon went out with the 80s).

If you’re an online business, what is your turnaround time?  When should people expect a response from you?  Set their expectations and then meet or exceed them.

4. Where are you?

Make sure your address is easy to cut-and-paste into Google maps, even if you have an embedded map.  The easier your customers can find you, the more likely they are to shop.  If you are an online business, specify your country, where you are willing to ship and for what additional cost.  If you’re not clear and transparent, your customers will go somewhere else simply due to uncertainty.

5. Why buy from you?

Your customers have lots of choice.  Given them a reason (or several) why they should consider buying from you.  Once your prospective customer knows what you do, where you are, and what you charge, they have almost everything they need.  The only thing left is why they should buy from you instead of your competition.  Give them a clear, differentiating reason why you’re different.

That’s it.  Five basic pieces of information that your website should provide.  For a small business, a clean, minimal, professional website that makes it easy for your customers is all you need.

Finally, use a modern content management system (CMS) to do the heavy lifting for you.  With a small investment in time and money, you can be up and running with a fresh new site for your business.

Here are a couple of places to get you started:

• squarespace.com
• weebly.com
• wordpress.com

Chris McPhee, MBA
Email: Chris.McPhee@Marketing-Matters.org

If not, there are a few techniques that you can use to improve your direct marketing response rate.

In general, any type of marketing where you send it to a specific target consumer is called ‘direct’ marketing.  It is often associated with postal mail, but is any type of marketing where the business reaches directly to the customer.  In a previous post, I talked about a specific type of direct marketing – email marketing.

One main advantage of direct marketing is your ability to directly measure the Return on Investment (ROI) in terms of response rate.  Mass marketing, on the other hand, is measured in impressions, but that is a much more general measure of effectiveness.

The response can be any number of types of responses.  It could be to sign-up for a newsletter, to request a free product trial or to make a purchase.

The downside of direct marketing is the cost per mailing.  If you are sending out physical mailings, the cost per customer can be quite high.  Email marketing is significantly less expensive, but it still requires management of customer contact information.

Given the relatively high cost of direct marketing, consider some techniques to improve your direct marketing response rate:

1. Run a contest

In a study that looked at response rates for surveys, the most effective method of improving response rates was to enter the respondent in a contest.  The study used a prize of $100 awarded at random to one of the responses.  As compared to other incentives such as $1 or $5 per response, the contest was significantly more effective.

2. Offer a coupon

A second study examined the effect that coupons had on direct marketing response rates.  Some interesting findings from the study included:

• The inclusion of a coupon, rather than the promise of a future incentive or deal, was more effective in improving purchase intentions.
• The amount of the coupon did not significantly affect purchase intentions (10% off was no less effective than 20% off).
• Coupons that seemed to be too self-serving actually decreased purchase intentions as compared to the control group.
• Coupons were most effective for loyal users of other brands, as compared to loyal users of the advertised brand or non-loyal users.

3. Personalize the offering

Given the relatively high cost of direct marketing, consider only sending the offers to a particular target market.  Loyal customers might simply appreciate a ‘thank you’ direct mailing, whereas less loyal customers might respond well to a special sale offering or coupon.

In any case, ensure that you personalize the letter and ideally, personalize the offering to the traits of the customer.

4. Provide the respondent with the ability to opt-out

A third study researched the effectiveness of charitable donation response rates.  A very effective direct marketing technique was found to be the offer a ‘one time donation’ option combined with the ability to opt-out of receiving future donations.

The surprising effect was that many respondents who selected the ‘one time donation’ did not check the opt-out box.  The hypothesis had been that the respondents who selected ‘one time’ donation would do so to avoid receiving future offers.  However, the respondents seemed to just appreciate having the option.

Direct marketing campaigns can be an expensive affair.  Consider ‘giving back’ to the recipients of your direct marketing efforts by providing them with the right incentive to respond.

Chris McPhee, MBA
Email: Chris.McPhee@Marketing-Matters.org

Here are a few tips to get the most out of your email marketing efforts:

1. Use an Email Marketing Service

The first approach that many small businesses will take is to simply send emails to a set of customer addresses.  One problem with this approach is that you may get targeted as a ‘spammer’ by your internet service provider.  You also have little ability to determine who is opening your email messages and how they are responding.

By using an Email Marketing service, you can provide your customers with the respect they deserve with opt-in/opt-out ability.  You’ll also be able to check on response rates by looking at who is reading your email and who isn’t.

Popular services include MailChimp and GoDaddy and most small business email marketing needs can be met for less than $20 per month.

2. Personalize, Personalize, Personalize

Consumers are weary of marketers who simply blast them with information.  This digital junk mail clutters up their lives and makes them resent the senders.  Even the least tech-savvy marketers can use some basic customer information to personalize their emails so that at least the recipient feels that some basic effort was spent on addressing them as a person rather than as a dollar sign.

3. Make the Content Relevant

Personalizing the message is a start, but ideally the message should have some immediate value for the consumer.  Consider where the consumer is when he or she receives the email and what type of response you’d like to elicit. Don’t assume that your customers are sitting at a computer reading your image-laden email.  They are just as likely to be in a car or at a restaurant reading your email on a little iPhone or BlackBerry screen.

Sometimes, even a ‘Thank you for purchasing’ email can be a useful brand-building message, especially if it provides the consumer with an ability to provide you with feedback.  Are they still using the product?  Were they happy with it?  Were they frustrated with it?  Use your Email Marketing efforts to do more than simply advertize sales promotions.

4. Do a Test Run

Before you blast everyone on your list with a new email marketing promotion, do a little test run.  You can’t undo a full scale campaign, but you can make adjustments if you start small.

5. Less is More

In the article on Focusing your Message, I provided a template for specifically tailoring your message to the intended purpose and audience.  Email marketing is so relatively inexpensive that you should focus more, rather than less, than you would do with other mediums.

If you don’t have an email marketing strategy, consider adding it to your advertising strategy.  And don’t simply send emails to your list of customers.  Sign-up for an email marketing service and do a test run.

Here are a few links to get you started:

• Mail Chimp
• GoDaddy Email Marketing
• Campaigner

A well-crafted, laddered email marketing campaign will take some planning, but will be much more effective than a lengthy email blast.

Chris McPhee, MBA
Email: Chris.McPhee@Marketing-Matters.org

What caused the sudden demise?

Answer: RIM lost its ‘Product’.

I’ve written a couple of articles on the importance of properly structuring marketing around the 4 P’s: Product, Promotion, Place and Price.  Although it seems to be an overly-simplistic framework, loss of focus in any one area can severely affect a company’s future.  Blockbuster was a casualty of losing focus on Place and now RIM seems to have lost its way regarding Product.

RIM was an R&D spinoff from the Canadian Waterloo University, well known for its strong Engineering program.  This technically-savvy company built a strong, first-mover business on mobile email.  It was a brilliant strategy of implementing a proprietary network of email servers through which all BlackBerry emails are processed.  By using this strategy, RIM was able to provide secure, mobile email when the alternatives had to deal with the inconsistency of a variety of email servers and Internet infrastructure.  The end result was that RIM had a vastly superior product in terms of reliability and security.

RIM rode the wave of its technical superiority until the competition started to catch-up.  RIM had first-mover advantage and had all but conquered the business market.  However, seeing Apple’s rise in the consumer market, RIM must have thought, “if we make our products sexier, we can compete with Apple.”  The result was a series of BlackBerry products that were much more sleek than the original models, but without substantial technical innovation (at least compared to Apple).

The death knell for RIM was the Playbook.  In the rush to catch-up with Apple’s iPad, and to meet analyst expectations of a competing tablet, RIM rushed the PlayBook to market.  The bugs and limited set of applications could, perhaps, be overlooked.  What cannot be overlooked, though, is the fact that the PlayBook was released without built-in email!

RIM made the fatal mistake of abandoning the one thing that it always did best – support reliable, secure, mobile email. That was closely fallowed by network outages which crippled anyone with a BlackBerry device.

Although the co-CEOs have now stepped aside, it is interesting to note that the first executives to abandon ship (pushed or jumped) were the marketing executives.  I believe that these marketers saw the writing on the wall.

You can’t fix a marketing problem with engineering and you can’t fix an engineering problem with marketing.  An organization must remain aligned in the two disciplines, or it will have trouble delivering a consistent end user experience.

The take-away for any product-based business is to remember what you stand for.  What is the one thing, above all else, that your customers associate with your product.  If you move away from that main point of differentiation, you had better know what your doing, or you’ll likely be playing catch-up for a long time.

Chris McPhee, MBA
Email: Chris.McPhee@Marketing-Matters.org

So how do they do it?

I had the opportunity to visit Disneyland Resort in California during the recent Christmas break to see for myself.  Although much of the park has expanded in the 15 years since I had last visited, much has stayed the same.  Watching the operations through marketing glasses, there are a few things that Disney does extremely well to manage the brand.

Marketing Lessons from Disneyland

1. Keep the Brand Consistent
   What does the Disney brand stand for?  I recall hearing a 4-year-old tell her mom after watching a Disney commercial say, “We have to go there – that’s where dreams come true!”

   Maintaining an image of a dream-maker would be a high order for anyone.  Fantasyland, the ornate castle, and quaint Main Street all support the image of the fantasy dreamworld of Disneyland.So how do you have scary Haunted House and Pirates of the Caribbean rides while staying true to the brand?

   I was fascinated to see that the main difference between these rides of 15 years ago and today was that they have now been completely sub-branded.  The Haunted House is now fully branded under Disney’s “Nightmare before Christmas” and the Pirates of the Caribbean is branded under the Johnny Depp persona that made the movie franchise so successful.

   Rather than risk brand dilution, Disney has deftly sub-branded both of theses aspects of the park to that they have their own unique character, yet are still tied to the overall brand.

2. When Selling a Service, Invest in Training
   The people-management skills of the staff in the Disneyland park are something to behold.  If Disney ever gets tired of managing traffic in their parks, they could lend their expertise to traffic congestion in major North American cities.What is more astounding than the traffic management process is the fact that the staff seem to manage it with a smile.  Under conditions that most employees would become impatient and rude, the Disney staff seems to keep it under control.  Some of that can be attributed to the hiring practices, but it is obvious that Disney invests heavily in training not just in the logistics of the job but also the attitude that the staff shows.

   As I left after midnight on New Years Eve, the staff was still in great spirit wishing everyone a Happy New Year.  They must have been exhausted and annoyed at the mass amounts of people, yet were still all very upbeat.  That type of customer service doesn’t come by accident or by chance.

3. Watch, Learn, Adapt
   As the rides became more popular and the lines became longer, Disneyland noticed a couple of concerning trends:
   1. Moods tend to get worse the longer people stand in line.
   2. When people are standing in line, they aren’t buying souvenirs or food.

   Disneyland implemented an innovative FASTPASS solution that involved allowing customers to obtain a free ticket to come back later in the day and skip the line.  This has a number of positive effects:
   - Customers are guaranteed at least four or five rides, even on the busiest days.
   - Customers can enjoy the park more because they’re not waiting in lines.
   - Customers don’t feel like they need to pay a premium to receive special treatment.

By keeping their brand consistent over all touch points, investing in training, and adapting to their environment, Disneyland has been able to maintain a very strong brand image.

Any service-based company would do well to take lessons from the success that Disneyland has had over the years.

Chris McPhee, MBA
Email: Chris.McPhee@Marketing-Matters.org

To frame service marketing in a similar manner, we can use a couple more letters of the alphabet.

The 4 I’s define the service offering, which can be managed with the 3 R’s.

The Four I's of Service Marketing

The Four I’s of Service Marketing

1. Intangibility
   Services are inherently experiential.  They will typically involve some sort of accompanying product, also known as the facilitating good; however, the primary value to the consumer is intangible
2. Inconsistency
   Service delivery is prone to inconsistency.  The most successful service brands will often invest heavily in training and quality control programs in an attempt to reduce inconsistency.
3. Inseparability
   In addition to being intangible, a service is also inherently inseparable from the service delivery vehicle.  It involves a necessary ‘touch point’ with the customer that is necessarily linked to the service itself.
4. Inventory
   Although services may be linked to a facilitating good, inventory associated with a service is perishable.

The Three R’s of Service Quality

A useful framework for maintaining service quality is to focus on the following:

1. Reliability
   Whether product or service, the foundation of any strong brand is reliability.  The customer must know that when they interact with the service offering that they will receive reliable service.  That can only be controlled through training, quality standards, and measurement.  A service-based brand can only survive based on a reliable offering.
2. Responsiveness
   A service offering necessarily requires a back-and-forth between the customer and the supplier.  The supplier must ensure that the customer’s expectations for responsiveness are met, or the customer will start to look for alternatives.  A service-based brand doesn’t need to be the fastest, but it must be consistent or the customer will become anxious.
3. Respect
   Once a service offering is consistently reliable and responsive, it is the ‘respect’ that separates the premium service offerings from the rest of the field.  A customer who feels respected will be more satisfied and loyal.

As service-based businesses become more and more important in our economy, marketers must be aware of the inherent differences in managing the customer experience.  Creating a Reliable, Responsive, and Respectful service offering will increase customer satisfaction and loyalty, and will ultimately lead to a more profitable business!

Chris McPhee, MBA
Email: Chris.McPhee@Marketing-Matters.org