Twin Factors of Conversion: Risk and Like it

Here's a great article by New Zealand's very own marketing guru Sean D'Souza

How to convertcustomers. How to reclaim your life

Get a weighing scale. Put 'Like' on one side. Put 'Risk' on theother side. And your eyes start to roll as you figure out the obvious. That the higher the risk, the less you're liked.
But is there more to the like factor than you think?

The biggest reason why customers don't buy
You know it, and I know it. It's called risk. We don't like the idea of being cheated, fooled and gypped. So if we sense risk, we don't buy the product or the service. Of course, you'd assume that if you took away the risk factor, you'd end up with the like factor, wouldn't you? And we'd all live happily ever after, right?

Yet look at your own buying behaviour There's no risk in buying petrol. In most cases, the prices arewell posted, and in most cases, the product is identical to whatyou'd get at the next petrol station. So why do you buy petrol from one place, instead of the other. Or rather, why would you drive a couple of miles, instead of buying it from the petrol station that's convenient.

You see, reducing risk is important Yes indeedy, you must get the risk down to nothing. But at the same time, you've got to increase the intensity of the like factor.Simply lowering the risk factor, does not improve the chances ofconverting to a sure sale. The reason why you buy at the nextpetrol station and not at the most convenient petrol station, isbecause you like something about the other petrol station.

You probably like the exuberance of the owner You probably like the surroundings. Or the service. Or the fact,that they stock up your favourite candy. Or the fact, that theycall you by name. Whatever the scenario, when it comes toconversion, customers are looking for low risk, lots of like.

Ooh, here comes the hard part How do you make your customers like you?

On the Internet: Customers like personality. Photos (smilingphotos, please), little quirks in your words, or pictures, make youlikeable.

Off the Internet: Chocolate, Phone calls, Wine and Cheese Session,Thank you cards: They all work to increase your likeability.

Personal Experience: On our website, we have recipes, lots of photos (weird and normal touristy ones), recipes, cartoons, one-of-a-kind words like kazooza, squillion, waka-waka.

So how do we know that all of the above works? Because clients write to us all the time about the recipes. They send in their own recipes. They comment on the whacky word usage. They complain when we don't put cartoons. And they tell us about how they love the photos, andhow it makes them feel like they know us.

Offline, we have small parties for clients. We send them movietickets. We send them chocolates. We use Amazon.com from time to time. We remember birthdays. we send little notes of encouragement. We use thank you cards.

Risk. And Like. They're twins. Work on both of them simultaneously.

Who needs better marketing? "Who needs better marketing? Why would someone choose a method of deeply rooted psychological principles that speaks directly to the mind of potential prospects? The answers are "everyone" and "because they work!" This is one of the best marketing programs in the world today."

Chris Ellington, doublehelixcommunicationsDublin, California, USA

Find out Why! Your marketing might not be zooming ahead because of a fundamental flaw in your message.