The “7 Impact Boosters” to maximize the impact of your message

The "7 Impact Boosters" to maximize the impact of your message

Here is the last post of the 3-part blog series about the methods presented by Christophe Morin and Patrick Renvoisé to deliver your marketing message to the old brain of the customers.

1. Wording with "You"

We already saw that our old brain is self-centered. To make your marketing message effective, be sure to involve your audience through the use of “you” or “your” and let their imagination do the work. Don’t focus on your product features but on the benefits that your audience will experiment. Focus on the pain of your customers, let them know that you exactly know what they are going through. You are not the center of your message, your audience is!

2. Your Credibility

There are 6 dimensions to the credibility
    • Creativity
Creativity takes time but it could be replaced by “variety”. Variety includes using different forms of content such as pictures, audio or video whenever possible. Variation in color in text or copy is also powerful. You may also vary your medium and observe the impact of being different from all “me too” competitors. Finally, use a different speed and change the tone of your voice to avoid the monotony effect.
    • Fearlessness
To be perceived as fearlessness, try to act with high attention but with low attachment to the outcome. Even if the outcome could be very important for you, such as a job interview, use a positive outlook and remember that even the best people do not win 100% of the time. Finally, the best way to be confident in a speech or a presentation is to practice, practice and practice again. By knowing your subject, without learning your speech by heart, word by word, you will not be destabilized by your audience or just by forgetting a sentence
    • Passion
Your credibility also comes from the passion you have toward your subject. You should learn to measure your level of passion. For example, even if you are very passionate about your subject, someone calling you on a Monday morning after you had an upsetting weekend will not perceive your passion at the same level that later in the week. Moreover, surround yourself with passionate people, your surroundings has a significant impact on your mood and, over a long-term, your passion. Also, know that you can never be too passionate! Finally, the famous proverb “Do what you love and love what you do” could not be truer.
    • Integrity
Your credibility is directly linked to your integrity. During a conversation, a speech, a demo, an interview, a sales presentation and so on, just be yourself. Don’t fake it or pretend to be someone else. Keep consistency in your personality otherwise, your audience will understand that you are not who you pretend to be and you will lose all your credibility. Also, know when to say “no” or “I don’t know”, it is much better than telling a lie that could have big consequences. A final simple advice is to be honest and never ever lie
    • Similarity
It will be easier for your audience to connect with you, your presentation and your ideas if you show some sign of similarity with them. It could simply be how you are dressed but also the vocabulary you used. Adapt your whole speech to any element that your audience shares. For example, if your audience has the same age range, be sure to use a tone and example that they can all refer to.  
    • Expressiveness
Albert Mehrabian of UCLA has shown that the impact of your communication could be divided as follows: 7% come through your words, 38% from your voice and finally 55% from your body language. To effectively use your body language to your advantage, maintain a strong posture and be sure that all your movements are purposeful. Your gestures and facial expression have to reflect energy and attitudes. A crucial factor to your expressiveness comes from the fact that you constantly face your audience. Another way to be expressive is to use as much space as it is reasonably possible. Finally, be sure to involve your audience by asking questions, letting them perform tasks or experiences.
 

3. Contrast

As we said in our post about the 6 stimuli to the old brain, your reptilian brain is effectively impacted by visible contrast such as before/after or now/later. A way to apply contrast in your presentation is to present your prospect without your solutions/with your solution. You can also use a contrast you/your competitors to show your main point of differentiation in an easy to see manner.\

 

4. Emotions

Another insight we gathered from our previous post is to effectively use emotions to make your message or presentation much more memorable and impactful. Convey a message to the reptilian brain via rational arguments is not enough, you have to create some kind of emotions. It requires creativity but you can still use some of the 6 message building blocks, such as stories or mini-dramas, to create such emotional response from your audience.

5. Varying Learning Style

We all tend to better learn from different ways. However, we can group learning styles in three main groups. People learning through the visual channel, people learning through the auditory channel and people learning better through the kinesthetic channel. The “visual” people will more easily learn by seeing things, whereas “auditory” people will rely on their hearing capabilities to retain information. Finally, people from the kinesthetic learning style will touch things to remember things more easily. In a presentation, your audience will probably not have the same learning style. This is why you should use all three to maximize your chance to get your message in your prospect’s old brain. Use a visual presentation to support your speech and, if you have a small audience, let them touch a prop, a demo or a prototype.

6. Stories

Stories, as we already seen, are very powerful to make your audience imagine what their life could be with and/or without your product or services. Create a sensory environment to make it more realistic and be precise. However, be sure that your story has a point and finish with a punchline to be well remembered.

7. Less is More

This last advice is particularly relevant in the modern marketing world. You may have heard about the end of logos and the fact that companies tend to rely more on colors, packaging or other distinctive brand signs. Moreover, as the average American citizen is exposed to approximately 3,500 pieces of advertising every single day, our attention span has significantly decreased. Therefore, the most effective marketing message are the ones that convey the message in the shortest and simplest way. Keep your speech simple and focus on only 1 or 2 features and benefits. Also, be sure to focus on the impact instead of the number of your arguments.

Reference:

Renvoisé, Patrick; Morin, Christophe; “Neuromarketing: Understanding the “Buy Buttons” in Your Customer’s Brain“, Publisher: Thomas Nelson; Print, 2007