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Emotion or logic, what
drives your customers? Purchase decisions for most people are
largely emotional. If you are promoting a product or service and
you fail to recognize this and respond accordingly, you are missing a
huge opportunity. Even worse, it could be disastrous. Due in
large part to the economic success that we enjoy as Americans we want
more than functionality. What do we look for in a car?
Reliability is important to be sure and we can't ignore that, but what
ultimately sells the car to most people are less practical things like
style, comfort and excitement. In fact, cars have become rolling
sculptures. Consider the busiest restaurants. What do they
have? Besides good food, they offer a dining experience, an
atmosphere that adds to the meal. In almost any business endeavor
today, it is critical that your product appeal to the senses. If
you want to explore this phenomenon in greater depth, I recommend an
insightful book by Daniel H. Pink entitled A
Whole New Mind, Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future.
"A picture is worth
a thousand words." You would be hard pressed to find someone
who hasn't heard that expression and it's more true today than ever.
I remember working for a waterbed store while I was in college.
Mostly I delivered and set up waterbeds, but sometimes I would work the
sales floor. I was full of information. I personally had a
waterbed. Because I had a background in carpentry and assembled
the beds, I knew all about the functional design. I thought I gave
potential customers everything they needed to know to make an informed
decision and yet, I never sold a single waterbed. I've since come
to realize that while I did give them all the facts they needed, I did
not tap into their emotions or play upon their senses. Someone
else at another store did and they got the sale.
Choose
your words carefully!
If you have a camera, I
encourage you to learn the art of photography. It can be
absolutely exhilarating! But, and I hope I don't offend you by
saying this, just because you have a camera doesn't mean you should use
it -- at least not to photograph something you're trying to sell.
If you understand light, composition, perspective, depth-of-field, etc.,
then you probably can do your own photography. If not, you may do
an outstanding job of conveying factually what you have to offer.
Ultimately, though, would you rather have a picture that factually
portrays your offering or one that captures the emotion of your
potential customer.
If you would like to
discuss the potential benefits of artful photography for your business,
please contact me. I'd love the chance to visit with you about
your business needs and how I might be able to assist you in promoting
your business. If you would like to learn more about photography,
please join us at meetings of the Star
Valley Photo Club.
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