This video from a TED Talk by Laurie Santos is genius – it talks about one of the linchpins of high-pressure sales: Loss Aversion.
In a nutshell – “People’s intuitions about how much risk to take varies depending on where they started with.”
I really found it interesting to learn that loss aversion is relative to the starting point of the game. The game being the point at which you have to start deciding.
Yes, we all know people want to minimize loss, and we do know people want to minimize loss in disproportion (much more) to how much they want to achieve gains. What this presentation added was two things:
The knowledge that this drive cannot be easily overcome
The knowledge that the most effective strategy would be to give you something you have to spend – with the choices for spending being either safely lose a certain amount or in a risky no-loss/multiple-loss fashion.
This is exactly what happens to, among tons of cases Laurie mentions, homeowners whose homes have depreciated below the purchase value: They are most likely to take the no-loss gamble and hold on to the shack instead of the known loss and cut their losses short.
Can you use this knowledge in your daily marketing? Well, how much more explicit can this get?
Interesting thought: Do you make these same mistakes when running your Internet Marketing campaigns? Do you take unwarranted risks in attempts to prevent a loss?
I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain. Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear
NegBox
6:35 pm on June 15, 2010 Permalink
| Reply Tags: Interactive, Jellyvision, Video
Was this the company you were mentioning before? I checked out a few of their videos and those are pretty nifty. They are good ideas but in reality not that hard to make some of the more simple ones (ie: Auto Desk). I agree though it would be an excellent way to drag someone through a lead gen signup.
My recent post How Effective Are No Control Videos for Marketing?
Yup, this is the one. Its a brilliant format – Interactive, and quirky. Extremely engaging.
They say the porn industry is usually two years ahead, they might be right… I recently saw one for a site called "getiton.com" or something like that where there was a gal that would undress while asking you questions, lol.. Similar to this but not quite as refined.
Looking for a video marketing company I bumped into this children safety video billed as “creepy”… Well, its actually pretty damn good – and creepy enough to be remembered.
Now… Wanna see something scary? Really scary? How about Ronald McDonald telling kids that he is an exception to the child safety video above?
PS: If you’ve ever wanted to do something to a kid that their parents would object to, do everyone a favor and hang yourself with the nearest extension cord. Feel free to leave a note saying you read it on negbox.com – I could use the publicity.
This short animation with Phillip Zimbardo, professor Emeritus of Psychology at Stanford University, is mind-blowing. Redefines how you view so many things, it can’t help deepen your perspective of how you put out messages in marketing.
What are the time preferences of those who you target, and how do you communicate to them?
K, nice blog. I’ve read a few of your posts and you seem to have insights that others aren’t talking about.
This sort of info could easily be used in copywriting
Slave Rat
3:19 pm on September 9, 2010 Permalink
| Reply
Thanks Zac, the folks at the RSA, doing the RSAvideos have a whole series of them. Yes, very much of this can be taken into account when doing copywriting – The critical part is when doing copywriting internationally. What works is completely different – Other cultures favor, for example, what their peer group does over what they themselves have done – so calling out a prior commitment from them to you won’t work whereas calling out their group’s involvement will. It gets pretty complex and some folks have some some really nice studies if you’re interested. Copywriting is an area where you can test, and can run rather inexpensive tests. International business is an area where you can learn, though ‘split testing’ or running a focus group is simply not an option – Understanding cultural variety help immensely when doing business across cultural borders.
NegBox
3:50 pm on June 3, 2010 Permalink
| Reply Tags: Brawndo, Jedi, Video, YouTube
Now I don’t have to waste even one more minute to understand what people talk about… Especially since the story is pretty retarded regardless of the execution.
NegBox
5:14 am on April 29, 2010 Permalink
| Reply Tags: Life, Marriage, Princess, Video
Having worked in corporate Sales, this video struck home when I saw it a couple of years ago. Its simply hilarious. Just got a memo from the Rat Maze Overlords saying something about not taking customers to “indecent entertainment” or some other euphemism… In other words: Folks, don’t take customers to nightclubs or brothels – depending on your location.
Meanwhile… Azoogle wants to take everyone to the PlayBoy Mansion for a “Job Well Done” or a “Well Done Blow Job”, I’m not sure yet – Jeremy sure has a big grin on his face in this picture.
Ryan Buke 9:10 am on March 13, 2011 Permalink |
This is awesome! lol