We use persuasion every day of our lives, often without thinking.
We’re also on the receiving end of persuasion attempts every day — often more noticeably (and sometimes annoyingly so).
With so much persuasion in our lives, it’s easy to think that you can try to skip out on it with your digital marketing. Why not just present information and let the reader decide without overt overtures for their money?
The problem with that is pretty self-evident though. Everyone is persuading. If you don’t outdo your competition and stand above the noise, then you’re going to lose out. It’s a hard truth.
But you can attempt to persuade customers to come to your laundry business instead of the one across town — and do it in a way that is authentic (and not coercive or shady).
We want to briefly talk about some of the ways you can persuade correctly in this post. Hopefully you’ll find something that either reinforces what you already do, or sheds new light on a way you can improve.
Let’s dive in:
Be Personal
Many newcomers to digital marketing (and even a few seasoned veterans) struggle to create personal connections with their efforts. It’s admittedly a delicate balance.
But it’s also essential. You need to find a way to talk directly to your customers — not vaguely or with generalizations. They need to hear your voice as if you’re speaking directly to them through blog posts, social media, and anything else you use to market your business.
The key to remember here is that building a personal voice takes time, and is usually the result of a collection of digital marketing initiatives.
We’ll talk more about the need for patience, by I highly recommend vetting yourself against the flowchart above and seeing if your laundry business is taking the right steps to personalize
Share Social Proof
Sharing your opinion of your business is one thing — but sharing the opinions of others is much more powerful when it comes to persuading people to choose you over a competitor.
The marketing community has known for a long time that social sharing is key when it comes to persuasion. As early as 2014, studies were showing that close to three-fourths of customers trust brands with social sharing more than other options:
This fact hasn’t changed. You need to put your best foot forward when it comes to social proof, and you need to do it yesterday.
Have a Solid Service
Have you ever gone to a business and been frustrated by somewhat gimmicky options for their product or service? Or the service you get just seems lackluster?
You’re not alone. When people visit a business and decide on whether they trust it, the number one thing they look for is the quality of the product or service:
That’s not a coincidence.
And it leads to an essential insight: you can’t skimp when it comes to your primary deliverable. It needs to be good, back up your marketing, and sell your brand even more.
When you live up to expectations, that trust is well on its way to building itself.
Be Patient
When I was a kid, I really, really wanted a Gameboy. It was all the rage for us 90’s kids, and it seemed like everyone had one but me.
So what did I do? I asked for it for Christmas, my birthday, and every other day I thought would be a good day to get a Gameboy — for about 3 or 4 years.
Eventually, the Christmas came when I finally got my Gameboy. My patience paid off!
That’s a cute story and a fond memory, but what does it have to do with laundry owners?
Well, the long and short of marketing, sales, and persuasion is that you need to be patient. It’s very rare that prospects become customers with first contact. It’s a process, and it will take time.
If there’s anything you take away from this article, it should be that you’ll need time to persuade, gather feedback, and keep improving how you promote your business. We all have to do it!
Ready To Start Persuading More Customers?
Persuasion is tricky, but it’s not rocket science.
And now more than ever, businesses like yours need to find ways to improve their persuasion attempts.
You need to be personal, share social proof, have a A+ service, and be patient as you improve. With time, you’ll see results — and hopefully find new ways to share your business!
