• Home
  • About Us
  • Services
    • Planning Services >
      • Strategic Planning Sessions
      • Workshop Facilitation
      • Brand Positioning Advice
      • Strategic Marketing Plans
      • Re-Branding
    • Implementation Services >
      • Websites
      • Capability Statements
      • Tender Preparation
      • Graphic Design
      • Signage
      • Presentation Preparation
      • Mentoring
      • Staff Training
      • Visual Identities
      • Advertising
      • Brand Re-Positioning
      • Commercial Photography
      • Video Production
      • Printing
      • Marketing Management
  • Working With Us
  • Case Studies
  • Blog
  • Contact Us
  • Tel 07 3135 7454
MARKETING AGENCY BRISBANE | GREY AND GREY - BRAND POSITIONING + STRATEGIC MARKETING
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Services
    • Planning Services >
      • Strategic Planning Sessions
      • Workshop Facilitation
      • Brand Positioning Advice
      • Strategic Marketing Plans
      • Re-Branding
    • Implementation Services >
      • Websites
      • Capability Statements
      • Tender Preparation
      • Graphic Design
      • Signage
      • Presentation Preparation
      • Mentoring
      • Staff Training
      • Visual Identities
      • Advertising
      • Brand Re-Positioning
      • Commercial Photography
      • Video Production
      • Printing
      • Marketing Management
  • Working With Us
  • Case Studies
  • Blog
  • Contact Us
  • Tel 07 3135 7454
Tel 07 3135 7454

Clarity trumps persuasion.

29/5/2019

couple making a decision grey and grey marketing solutions brisbane townsville
Hard selling can be difficult and yucky. Persuading someone to buy something they don’t need is just icky – whichever way I look at it. When Dr Flint McGlaughlin, an American academic and business leader used the phrase ‘clarity trumps persuasion’ it certainly resonated with me.
​As contemporary business owners, I believe we need to understand that our audience is quite educated. They have a plethora of choice and the internet searching device they are holding in their hands is giving them all the tools they need to carry out extensive searches in a matter of seconds. In response to this, I believe we need to consider moving out of persuading mode and into clarity mode – if we’re not already there.
​
​By this I mean that we need to expect our customers to shop around. In fact, I believe we should encourage them to do so. Compare our product or service with many others and make a choice based on transparency: an informed decision.
 
Some business owners are scared of this, and their focus is still on persuading clients to do business with them. These businesses are easy to spot; they are selling all of the time. You meet them at a networking event and they are trying to sell to you, you jump on their website and they are trying to sell to you. Everything screams persuasion, with no regard to whether you are in the market for their product or service, or have any need at all. These are the business owners advertising half way through your favourite YouTube clip. I have personally heard of 3 people deciding to actively NOT purchase a product because it keeps annoying them online. That’s just me in my little world – I imagine there might be a few more out there.
 
Now before you hang me out to dry, I am a marketer. Ultimately understanding motivation and getting people to buy things is at the very core at what I do all day every day.
 
What I am suggesting is not that we stop selling. But that we do it better. That as business owners we lead with values based marketing messages and offer clear marketing positioning. Yes of course advertising still has its place and reach and frequency are at the core of this. However, I want us all to ask ourselves “Now that I’ve got their attention, will they like what they see?”
 
We are in a world of likes, forwards, shares and engagement, following target audiences around the internet, ads, content, views and more. We can easily be caught up in chasing the wrong objectives. Short-term gains or quick persuasive sales can certainly be effective – for this month’s results. But long term, what are your doing to your reputation?
 
Whilst I firmly believe that clarity trumps persuasion, I don’t expect you to drink from the same chalice right now today. However, I do encourage you to always be comfortable with the answer to this question:
 
“Do I buy from businesses that behave the way I do?”
 
Whether you are part of your own target market or not, you are part of your own community. Business is a short and long term game; we need not only to win the battle, but also the war.
 
I feel like I’m trying to be a little persuasive, so I will call it quits here.
 
Have a great week!

Comments are closed.

    Archives.

    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    May 2015
    April 2015
    February 2015
    October 2014

    Tags.

    All
    Advice
    Announcements
    Book Review
    Branding
    Business
    Business Structure
    Celebration
    Client
    Coaching
    Content Marketing
    Customer
    Development
    Digital
    Events
    Free Gifts
    Funding
    Government
    Grants
    Graphic Design
    Guest Speaker
    Hiring
    Humour
    Industry
    Innovation
    Management
    Marketing
    Marketing Plan
    Metrics
    Podcast
    Print
    Pro Bono
    Sales
    Service
    Signage
    Small Business
    Social Media
    Speaker
    Strategic Planning
    Survey
    Tenders
    Thank You
    Video
    Vision
    Work In Progress

Picture
Say g'day 07 3135 7454
hello@greyandgrey.com.au
Brisbane Office
269 Earnshaw Road Northgate Qld 4013
PO Box 288 Kedron Qld 4031
Townsville Office
45 Ingham Road Townsville Qld 4810
​PO Box 6237 Townsville Qld 4810
©Grey and Grey. All rights reserved.
​ABN 76 315 894 917

We acknowledge the Turrbal, Chepara-Yugarapul, Wulgurukaba and Bindal people; ​the traditional custodians of country where we operate our business. ​​We pay our respects to their elders. ​​​​
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Services
    • Planning Services >
      • Strategic Planning Sessions
      • Workshop Facilitation
      • Brand Positioning Advice
      • Strategic Marketing Plans
      • Re-Branding
    • Implementation Services >
      • Websites
      • Capability Statements
      • Tender Preparation
      • Graphic Design
      • Signage
      • Presentation Preparation
      • Mentoring
      • Staff Training
      • Visual Identities
      • Advertising
      • Brand Re-Positioning
      • Commercial Photography
      • Video Production
      • Printing
      • Marketing Management
  • Working With Us
  • Case Studies
  • Blog
  • Contact Us
  • Tel 07 3135 7454