Understanding the psychology behind why people say “yes” can really improve both campaign planning and content. Psychologist Robert Cialdini has spent many years researching the factors of influence and persuasion and has identified the core ways in which they can be encouraged.

His book Influence is fascinating, but it’s how to exploit these techniques day-to-day campaign that’s important. Clearly there’s no substitute for great content and compelling communications, but using these methods as we’ve suggested below will definitely increase your chances of success. Here are two of the factors of influence and some ways that you could use them, I’ll cover the others in future posts:

“Much obliged…” If you feel indebted to someone else, you believe you have an obligation to return a favour, and will often go to quite staggering lengths to do so. Cialdini cites an experiment where a university professor sent Christmas cards to complete strangers and was staggered by the high number of cards received in return. In B2B marketing, we can use this technique in a number of ways:

-help someone do their job better – become a resource for them. If you can provide them with slideware or research that helps them prove their point, back up an investment case or provide a “quick-scan” guide to a new concept your content will be credited, circulated and used.
-be thoughtful – invite them to a genuinely useful event (see the Tom Ilube interview, where he says “All CIOs understand the game – they know that if they attend the event and get value from it, that they would give value back to that supplier by giving them some time face to face later on”)
-make someone feel you empathise with them and brighten their day: for example, someone sent me a very relevant Dilbert cartoon on marketing in the mail this week with a note attached, great for the standout factor
-consider the timing of your different communications too - if your recipient gets a useful download or research piece before you contact them, they’ll be more likely to speak to you than if you blasted out a non-personalised email saying “buy our stuff”.
 
“I do…” We all have a mental picture of ourselves, and we will always look to act in ways that back that up. Basically, we all try to act in ways that are consistent with our previous actions and beliefs. This is known as consistency, and when used in combination with commitment it’s very powerful. If you can get someone to commit to an idea or goal, they are more likely to honour that commitment. Cialdini describes an experiment where researchers, posing as sunbathers at a beach, picked fellow sunbathers at random and put a towel down nearby. Pretending to go for a walk, another researcher posing as a thief then stole the radio the researcher had left on the towel. Only 4 in 20 of the sunbathers said anything to stop the “theft”. In the next test on a different group, the researchers asked the sunbathers to “keep an eye on my stuff”. In 19 of the 20 cases the sunbathers turned into veritable vigilantes, chasing the thief and even holding him down to stop him running away. Some thoughts on ways this can be used:

-read quotes, keynotes, results presentations (from the individual you’re targeting and the company) and approach them in a way consistent with their stated goals and previous behaviours (as well as the company’s brand values). If they’ve made a commitment to something (best company to work for, green goals, locally-minded) then use this in your approach
-make a strenuous effort to confirm people’s places at your event as soon as they have indicated they will attend. Mention who else is attending, how they’ve also made the commitment to go, explain what’s being done and laid on, what the benefit will be, reinforce the exclusivity and the limited spaces
-consider how your calls to action can encourage people to act in a way clearly in accordance with their self image, and how you can encourage them to make a commitment on this basis. If it’s likely people will perceive themselves as time-poor then openly acknowledge this in your communications and provide them with multiple quick ways to respond
-Personalisation comes into its own here. Just a small amount of research into name, role and function can have a big impact

It’s worth noting that these work best between people, rather than companies. If the recipient thinks it’s a real person inviting them to a useful event then it will clearly bring obligation into play in a much bigger way than sending the invitation from sales@companyx. That’s why in almost all cases, something that feels hearfelt and personal will work better than even the most stunning branding.

Whatever the reason, sometimes a lead generation campaign needs to work extra hard, which is where these approaches can come in useful. None of them are easy to deliver – they all demand careful messaging and execution, and they’re all about creating content of interest above and beyond any solution proposition.

1. Let your customers do the talking
   Client references are like gold dust – but it needs more than an A4 case study to inspire an audience. So what are the other options for applying client references to lead generation?

   Consider hosting an event on a client site (it can be a good promotional boost for your client, and it is certainly more appealing for prospects). Or think about what prospects would really want to hear – not necessarily the standard challenges, solution, benefits structure, but a more ‘warts and all’ overview of the project.

2. Complete personalisation
   Not just merging a name or two, but getting under the skin of the target and creating something that they can relate to 100%. With digital printing, the idea of personalising a mailer is becoming more common, but creating a campaign from the ground up around the prospects is another thing entirely.

   Examples include the ‘future case study’ (written from the perspective of a prospect, explaining what the future looks like if they choose your solution). But as with all of these ideas, it’s the business message and creative execution that are key to success.

3. The mystery shopper
   What intelligence can you offer a prospect that will help them see the need for your solution, or (even better) help them do their job more effectively. Can you find out what their customers think, or prove that they are struggling with issues that you could solve?
4. Sell the next step
   More of an ethos for the three above than a technique in its own right, perhaps (hence 3, not 4 in the title). This one is all about taking a step back from the core proposition that the campaign is generating leads for, and thinking more about the kind of leads that are required.

   Need a first meeting with a prospect? Sell the meeting: what have you got that is worth an hour of their time? What value can you offer? How can we pitch a first meeting so that it doesn’t sound like a hard sell?

So what do they have in common? They are all hard work – relatively speaking, it is easy to create a website, or email, or mailer, or event that promotes the benefits of a solution. These ideas are all about added value, wider content, campaigns that start well before the communication piece is sent out.

* Given great messaging, pinpoint targeting and flawless execution. Your home may be at risk if you do not keep up repayments on a mortgage or other loan secured on it.

1. Does your campaign align completely with the business’ strategy?

2. Is it thoroughly researched, does it use market and audience understanding as its starting point?

3. Does it have contact strategies for both the buyers and the influencers? Do you understand the specific types of people you are hitting and have you built communications to influence them as people?

4. Does your campaign take a holistic approach to demand generation, considering the end to end sales process?

5. Is it targeted and pragmatically creative, and does it focus on demand generation as the goal. Not every contact should be designed to generate leads, but whole programmes should be focused around moving prospects through the sales funnel.

6. Does your campaign have an integrated contact strategy? Does it maximize the recipient’s familiarity with your organization, whilst building consistency and credibility through multiple channels?

7. Does it have a ccontinuous campaigning strategy at its heart; are communications focused on building a long term relationship (lots of bites of the cherry), not sending out a one hit wonder?

8. Is it closed loop? Does it focus on lead nurturing and sales support along the length of the pipeline? Does it have a sensible and effective marketing data management process?

9. Have you set goals at the beginning of the programme that you will critically measure against at the end?

10. Will the campaign move your organisation’s understanding of its market forward at every stage?