Convergence Marketing: Combining Brand and Direct Marketing for Unprecedented Profits

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SALES CYCLE AND CUSTOMER DIALOGUE

 

 

 

One day you’re walking down the street, and a total stranger who appears to be intelligent, attractive, and interesting stops and says “hello.” If you’re like me, you’re struggling to remember who this person is. But then, out of nowhere, the person asks you to marry them. Now you’re dumbstruck. Talk about bizarre. You don’t even know who this person is. The person must be out of his or her mind, asking you to make such a huge commitment to a total stranger. You run away as quickly as possible in the opposite direction.

The sales process is no different than this scenario. We all need to go through a decision-making process that requires a certain amount of information before we reach a comfort level sufficient to act. Any advertiser or marketer worth his or her weight must understand the art of selling in order to do his or her job.

HOW DO WE DECIDE WHAT TO BUY?

Countless textbooks, both business and psychological, have done in-depth studies of the variables that motivate us to buy. I’ll touch on the key points you need to understand for our craft.

When faced with an ad for a new product, if the ad is doing its job, the first thing the ad will do is get your attention. It must be targeted to reach you, for example, by its location in a magazine or publication that you, as the target, would read. So this ad must use one of many techniques to stop you as you flip through the pages.

Once your eyes stop on the ad, you rapidly scan it. Part ...