Marketing Philosophy: Logic

People have an innate desire to look and feel smart. Sometimes we do funny things just to avoid having to say, "I don't know." Here's a perfect example of this behavior. What if a guy doesn't know much about cars and his engine starts clunking during a date? Most likely reaction: He pulls over and looks under the hood. "Hmmm. I don't see anything wrong. That's weird. " He acts puzzled, as if he'd normally be able to spot the problem. "Well, I guess I'll have to take it into the shop." And thus he avoids admitting that he knows nothing about the engine. He's only saying that the problem is so sophisticated that it requires a specialist.

Because we want to look/feel smart, we want to compare products when we shop. We want to find the best deal. We want to feel like we made the right choice. We don't want to be tricked into buying the wrong product just because of a fancy marketing gimmick. These emotions lead shoppers to seek out facts. Your job is to give people enough information that they feel smart for doing business with you. Here are some tips for listing facts about your product/service:

Be specific. A bottle of hand sanitizer could correctly state that it "Kills most germs and bacteria." However, it could be more compelling if it specified that it "kills 99.9% of germs and bacteria, such as..." If you had a bottle of hand sanitizer in each hand, would you choose the vague one, or the specific one? Personally, I would choose the specific one, because it would be easier to believe that the product actually does what it claims. The specificity implies that the company has taken more time to test out their product.
Back up your claims. You often hear companies claiming to be the leader of their industry. How much more impact would those statements have if the companies gave evidence of their claims? A cell phone carrier could say, "We serve over [insert huge number] customers across the nation, making us the most preferred carrier." They've provided evidence that they have a reliable service, which calms the customer's fear of being ripped off.
Choose quality over quantity. When making a list of features, it may be tempting to list as many features as possible in order to increase the product's perceived value. Be careful not to go overboard. People don't like reading long lists, and when they read things on the internet, their patience is even shorter. A long list will bore the reader. Your time is better spent choosing a few important features and finding an impactful way to describe those features.
Avoid pseudo features. Sometimes there just isn't that much to say about your product. In those cases, please don't resort to making up features. It can insult your customers' intelligence. I saw a product listing that had eight bullet points. Was the listing for an electronic device? No, it was for a wallet. I was curious to see what could possibly be said about a wallet that would require eight lines. Here are a few of the more interesting features listed:
- "Full Size Bill Section" - It should go without saying that the wallet is big enough to hold your money. It wouldn't really be a wallet otherwise, would it? Maybe I'm out of line though. I suppose it's possible that the company also offers a wallet with a "Monopoly Size Bill Section," so they needed to specify which one this was.
- "Well constructed" - I had assumed that the wallet was decently made...until I read this line. They told me something obvious about the wallet, which made me wonder, "What's wrong with it?" I became a lot less confident about its quality.
- "Logo Inside" - That's not exactly the biggest selling point for me. I don't need to be reminded who made my wallet every time I pay for something. But, again, maybe that's just me.

Some purchases rely heavily on logic. When people shop for TVs in the store, the experience is mostly an emotional one. They see a huge screen up on the wall and picture it being in their own living room. However, most people will do research online before going to the store. During the research phase, the shopper's opinion will depend largely upon the features listed on the website.

A simple list of facts can be the tiebreaker in many purchases. When I shop for things I'm not an expert on, I often find myself saying, "These two look the same and they're the same price, but this one looks like it does more." Sometimes I'm just guessing which product is better based on the description on the box. When I feel like I've put enough effort into making a smart choice, I go with it, because there isn't time to contemplate it all day. I'd like to think that I always behave like an educated buyer, but there are definitely times when I have to rely on a short product description to narrow down my choices. A lot of your customers are in the same boat, so make that product description count.

Facts are only important because they lead to emotions, which are even more important. Use facts to help your customers feel great about doing business with you.

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