At its very core, marketing is nearly synonymous with persuasion. When individuals, businesses, or organizations market a product, service, or idea, their primary goal is to address people’s hesitations and influence their thinking—ideally leading to a sale or some other form of support. Businesses that want to increase the effectiveness of their marketing strategies will need to understand the fundamentals of persuasion and how to utilize language effectively if they hope to convert individuals into customers.
But understanding the art of persuasive language is not only beneficial for businesses. Consumers who can identify when persuasive language is being used to recruit them for a sale can also identify when they’re on the losing end of the deal – and if bargaining is on the table, speaking the language of persuasion is one of the most effective tools to ensure both parties are receiving an equitable trade.
The Psychology of Persuasion
To create a successful marketing campaign, businesses need to have an understanding of consumer psychology and what makes people say yes or no to an advertisement or sales pitch. There is over a century of research dedicated to this one idea, but a typical place to start is identifying the consumer’s deep, human-driven desires and offering them a way to achieve them. Here are some examples:
Safety:
Safety is arguably the most basic of human desires. This may include physical or emotional safety, or even financial well-being. When a product or service is successfully marketed as essential to the consumer’s safety, its value becomes priceless. What would you pay to ensure a long and healthy life? Likely almost anything.
Stability:
Human beings crave predictability. If the product cannot reasonably be marketed as life-saving or essential to their health, many businesses choose to position their product as a solution to uncertainty – which can be equally important to many consumers.
Social standing:
A diamond necklace or 50-year scotch is unlikely to save someone’s life, but it does offer them something else – a ticket to high society. Many luxury products are marketed as status items or even an investment opportunity, which can align them with a sense of security.
Joy:
There are many times when a person chooses to buy something for no other reason than that it gives them joy, one of the simplest desires of all. A favorite treat or a relaxing experience helps a person to relieve stress and reset.
Persuasive Language Basics
Now that we have an idea of how businesses identify what attracts a consumer to their offerings, the next step is using the power of language to persuade them to take action. Here are some examples:
Emotional Triggers
As we’ve learned, persuasion is about identifying a consumer’s most basic emotions and instincts when presented with a product. For example, Cambell’s Soup, a cheap and sometimes unappetizing canned food product becomes “M-mm good” over the backdrop of a mother cooking for her children or when served next to grilled cheese – the ultimate childhood comfort food.
The same idea also applies to negative emotions. In marketing, fear can be one of the most common drivers of consumerism. For example, for over 10 years, the insurance company, Allstate used a personification of “Mayhem” to give consumers a visualization of a variety of disasters that could befall them and the consequences of being uninsured, and asks the consumer a fear-invoking question, “Are you in good hands?”
Urgency
When attempting to persuade a consumer to take action, the use of urgency is often heavily implied. Phrases like “While supplies last,” “Don’t miss out,” and “Hurry, sale ends soon!” are all used to communicate the idea that the opportunity to buy is short-lived. The idea is to diminish hesitancy and encourage consumers to act on emotion without questioning the transaction logically. Of course, the urgency is not always truly warranted. For example, during the Beanie Baby craze, Ty would “retire” certain Beanie Babies, which would drive their value up “while supplies last.” But before long, a similar Beanie Baby would usually take its place.
Sense of Trust and Authority
Another way that many businesses attempt to alleviate consumer hesitation is by communicating the reliability of their product in marketing campaigns and establishing themselves as an authority in their field. This is typically done by using social proof (such as McDonald’s famous “Over 99 billion served tagline” or by highlighting experience (such as Heineken’s “150 years of brewing tradition” campaign).
Call to Action
When a company’s primary persuasive arguments are made, the last step is to tell them how to access and purchase their products or services. This is known as a call to action or CTA for short. Unlike other forms of persuasive language, CTAs are often much more direct but still highlight their main points. For example, a law firm may use a CTA such as:
“Car accidents can be among the most traumatic events in a person’s life. For over 50 years, our firm has helped our clients recover millions of dollars for their injuries. Contact us today for a free consultation.”
In this example, the law firm empathizes with the client, highlights their experience and results, asks them to contact them directly, and relieves any hesitation that they may have regarding financial obligations, in only two short sentences.
The art of persuasive language is the keystone of practically any effective marketing campaign. For businesses, mastering persuasive language means not only understanding what motivates their audience but also knowing how to communicate value in a compelling and authentic way. At the same time, consumers who are fluent in the language of persuasion can make more informed decisions and navigate their interactions with businesses with confidence.
