Do you want more customers for your IT company? What if I told you that you can have them? All you need to do is raise your prices.
Yeah, it goes against conventional wisdom. Most advertising strategies do. That’s why business gurus and marketers often refer to them as “advertising tricks” rather than strategies.
Similar unconventional wisdom has been taking the world by storm since 1704 when the first man placed an ad in a newspaper. Since then, it’s been used in TV commercials, billboards, sales pages, and social media ads. When you’re ready to skyrocket your own ad campaign with this unconventional wisdom, read on.
Know Your Market
If you’ve read anything about advertising or marketing, you’ve probably heard this before. Understanding to whom you’re selling your services is paramount. Unfortunately, it’s also the most neglected step for greenhorn advertisers.
You can use flawless advertising techniques. You can create epic persuasive ads. But those million-dollar billboard ads on which you spent your entire ad revenue will fall flat if your audience is blind.
When you research your market, you’ll discover what makes your buyers tick. What do they worry about? What problems do they need to be solved?
You’ll also discover what your competition is doing to persuade buyers. Yep, borrowing their strategies is legal. It’s often even recommended.
1. Leverage the Mirror Neuron
Did you know that the human brain can’t differentiate between something we did and something we heard about in a story? It’s true. And it’s all thanks to a few interesting things found in our brain called mirror neurons.
These little guys can help you experience events like pitching in a major league game and landing on the moon. And you can do it all without leaving the comfort of your own living room.
They’re the reason you laugh and cry at movies. You connect to the main characters as if you were living the story alongside them. And this effect can be used to your advantage.
Use your ads to tell a story to your customers. The more your story resonates with your customers, the deeper the impact it’ll have. And that’s when you’re most likely to make a sale.
2. Create Worry Warts
The psychology of advertising is all about thinking vs feeling. In other words, humans make decisions based on their guts rather than their brains. When you get them to feel something, they’re more likely to react.
One method to make this happen is to make your customers worry that they’ll miss out on something. It might be a one-time-only deal. It might be a sale that only runs for two weeks.
The key to this strategy is to create some sort of limiting factor. Time is usually the easiest.
Consider installing a timer in the corner of your sales page. Have it count down to the day or time when your sale ends.
3. Follow the Eye
It doesn’t matter whether you’re using persuasive advertising or email marketing, placement is paramount. We read from left to right, top to bottom. This means, all elements being equal, we’re most likely to remember those in the upper left-hand corner of the page.
Other factors also affect where our eyes land. Here are the top contenders:
- Color
- Size
- Movement
- Shape
When you create your ads, consider the impact of each element. Which element do you want those eyes to latch onto first? Which factors above can you use to make that happen?
Also, if there’s an order to the elements in your ad, use lines to connect them. Start with the element you designed to make the most impact. The human eye will follow the line from that element, no matter where it leads.
That’s one of the methods designers use when an ad might otherwise be visually confusing.
4. Include Testimonials
Why do advertisers use testimonials? Simply put, they work.
Humans are gregarious by nature. We’re hardwired to connect to other humans. As such, social acceptance often trumps logic.
In other words, we worry about how others perceive us. If we are well-liked, we feel elated. If we are dislikes, we’re filled with anxiety.
Social proof, such as testimonials, works on this principle.
Unconsciously, we want to be part of the in-crowd. If all our friends are going to the dance, we want to go to the dance. If all our coworkers frequent the Mexican restaurant across the street, we want to go there too.
When you read testimonials, you hear that everyone feels one way about a product or service. As a response, we unconsciously tilt the same way. Be sure to include testimonials on your website.
5. Limit Your Quantity
This approach works similarly to the time limit example above. But instead of time, you’re working with quantity. Here’s an example:
Say you run a prestigious IT support service. You have 5 IT Companies looking for business-driven IT services. Furthermore, those companies know one another intimately, and they know they’re all looking for IT support.
Do you want to get their business overnight? Good. Then tell them that you only have room for 3 clients and watch them fight over the spots.
6. Develop Reciprocal Relationships
Have you ever received a letter asking for a donation? Usually, they come around major holidays, like Christmas or Thanksgiving. They often include “free” gifts, such as a book of stickers with your name and address or a “free” pen.
Well, guess what, you’re being manipulated. The marketers who designed those donation letters know that you’ll want to even the score. Moreover, it’s usually an unconscious decision.
First, they give you something. Later, they ask for something in return, and your unconscious mind pushes you to do it.
You can use this same trick at your next sales expo. Give away free gift bags to potential customers. Make certain they know there are no strings attached.
After you finish, speak with them for a minute or two. Finally, ask them for a favor, such as signing up for your newsletter.
Other Advertising Tricks
Now that you know how easy it is to implement advertising tricks, start with the six listed above.
For additional ways to improve your company, hop over to our vast library of business-related articles. So long and good luck!
