The Promo Effect
- Omer Ben Yehuda
- Mar 1, 2006
- 3 min read
It's said that Israeli customers "see" products through their hands.
When choosing bread at a bakery, touch is part of the purchase. Even sophisticated sales pitches by the seller like "This is a special rye bread baked with love in Italy..." usually don't help, and while listening to them, we hold the bread, knead and smell it, and only then decide.
And it's not just with bread—who among us doesn't recognize the sign "You break it, you pay for it" in houseware and souvenir shops? Sometimes, our "vision" through our hands also breaks something.
What's behind our need to touch a product?
Uncertainty. And perhaps even insecurity. We want to feel the product and assess its quality. This is a test of whether the product suits us or not. And a lot depends on this test. If we don't feel what we expect to feel, or if we're surprised by something we didn't expect, the product goes back on the shelf. Beyond sight, we need touch to get proof that:
The product will provide us with the benefits we expect.
The product is at least as high quality as promised to us.
A similar principle stands behind movie promos (trailers):
A promo presents the movie's plot in two minutes with selected images and key phrases to stimulate us to watch the movie.
The promo works on emotion. It creates tension, curiosity, anticipation, and interest. It describes the nature of the movie, its pace, and its quality without us knowing much about it. Like our desire to touch a product, the promo serves a similar principle for intangible products. It proves the product's quality and suitability to our desires without getting into details. Many promos determine the fate of movies. A good promo can guarantee many viewers.
What does all this have to do with knowledge management? If the customer likes to "touch" the product, and a promo can fulfill this need for intangible products (like knowledge management), then why not connect them?
When presenting a knowledge management solution for the first time, the theory behind the small details can wait. Instead of starting with rational details such as methodology, process, or even benefits, one can start by letting the customer "feel the product" by presenting a demo or similar solution from elsewhere, allowing them to tangibly experience the solution themselves.
In this way, we gain several things:
Saving on theoretical explanations - through experience, the customer will intuitively understand things that are difficult to explain theoretically.
Emotional connection of the customer to the solution - excitement, curiosity, vision. Now, implementing the methodology will be simpler.
Creating a vision to aspire to. The customer can imagine the "finish line" and strive towards it.
The above solution is suitable for all levels - both to sell management on a knowledge management solution idea and to connect field workers to a project during needs interviews or when cooperation is needed.
The Promo Effect, which means starting with the result, may sometimes require a lot of preparation work in preparing the demonstration, but it can return the investment relatively quickly. Once we've won over the customer, they've bought the solution.
So remember, a knowledge management solution is not bread and can't be touched, but the need to "touch" is still there. Give the customer one exciting example (in the spirit of "one picture is worth 1,000 words"), and you'll benefit from the Promo Effect. If the promo is good, the customer will already be running to see the "movie"...
Comments