Manipulation vs. Inspiration

There are only two ways to get people to act: manipulate them or inspire them.  Both are effective strategies, but only one is capable of generating a sale AND a  lifetime of loyalty.

Manipulations (dropping your price, having a promotion, using a scare tactic) can be very effective, but the gains are usually short term.  Over time, manipulations tend to get expensive - marketers must keep coming up with bigger and better manipulations sometimes at the expensive of profits and always at the sacrifice of developing loyal relationships with customers.

Apple, Harley-Davidson, Southwest Airlines, among others have learned to inspire their customers.  It's what has given all of them such amazing influence over their respective industries and our lives.  And they do it by communicating Why they do what they do - their purpose, cause or belief - before they tell you about What they do or What they sell. 

On the other hand - there are companies like GM.  Instead of inspiring people with a greater cause, they used cash-back incentives to "buy" their customers...and look what happened to them.  Not only did it eat away at their profits, but when they tried to eliminate the "incentives" or raise their prices, their customers abandoned them...i.e. no loyalty.

In a post on his blog Snackable Content, Mobile Marketing Guru, Kenneth Hein tells of a recent cellular promotion that Dell did on college campuses.

Dell shot a text message to 18,000 students across five campuses luring them to Dell.com with an array of prizes ranging from free ringtones to flat screen TVs. Some 5,000 students responded.

This is a great example of a manipulation.   The offer of prizes and the like  drove students to visit Dell's site.  Even the  company that developed the promotion boasted that Dell "generated greater response for a four-hour period using us than a 30-day traditional media buy."  My question is, how many sales did it generate?  How many people did it help Dell inspire?  How many now have a clear understanding what Dell's cause or purpose is (the factors that build loyalty)?

For those considering a promotion to drive sales - think twice.  It's not about the medium (i.e. be it mobile  or traditional media) and it's not about the incentive (cash back or prizes), what matters is the message.  The companies that are successful at driving long-term growth and developing strong, loyal relationships with their customers are those that communicate their purpose, cause or belief first.  The medium or promotion simply helps reinforce their message.

Act now, and you too can give away 50% of your profits to make a sale.