“Independence Day is almost here!”
“Buy what you like.”
“Welcome”
“Our July Newsletter”
As I scroll through the list of promotional messages that arrive in my inbox, I’m often surprised by how few of them inspire action. Many state the obvious (#1 above), lack context (#2 and #3), or say nothing at all (#4).
And that’s even as customer expectations for targeted messaging are growing.
McKinsey says that 71% of consumers expect personalization from the brands and companies they choose, and three-quarters are disappointed when they don’t get it.
The 2022 Customer Engagement Report from a language optimization firm Persado worth reading if you want to understand how words affect emotions.
Persado says that over the past ten years, more than 15 million unique campaign messages have been created based on the platform, which constantly tests different combinations of words to determine the ones that work best in a given context.
15 motivators
The company settled on 15 different categories of language that can inspire action.
Achievement – “Congratulations on reaching level 1000”.
Exclusivity – “Sale for our best customers only”.
The reward is “Your bonus at the end of the year.”
Security – How to Survive a Bear Market.
Attention – “You should know this”.
Proximity – “How are you coping with an uncertain economy?”
Excitement – “We can’t wait to tell you the news.”
Curiosity – “Secrets the big traders don’t want you to know.”
Thanks – “Because you are one of our best customers”.
Encouragement – “You’re almost there!”
Regret – “Don’t miss out on this deal.”
Delight – “Look Behind the Scenes”.
Urgency – “24 hours left!”
Luck – “You just hit the jackpot.”
Challenge – “We bet you can’t resist this.”
Attracting and retaining customers often requires a combination of motivators that can vary depending on the person’s relationship with your company or their stage in the buying cycle, says Lisa Spiro, head of content at Persado.
“Motivators don’t stay constant,” she says. “If you attract someone with an achievement message and you continue to send achievement messages, that personal touch is lost. You have to keep changing and remember that context matters.”
The best approach for prospects who respond to an achievement motivator is to reward them with appreciation, after which a message of exclusivity can make them feel special.
Intimate messages like “Welcome, Anna” on the landing page are especially effective, Spiro said.
External influence matters
Social, economic, and political factors also affect the effectiveness of a message.
For example, Persado noted a profound shift in motivators during the 2020 COVID-related lockdown. The attention-grabbing posts that made the top five of 2019 fell to the penultimate spot on the list, while the “Luck” posts failed to generate any reaction at all, possibly because few people were lucky at the time.
On the other hand, “Thank you”, “Closeness” and “Satisfaction” messages perform better than usual.
“Loud, attention-grabbing language didn’t fit the mood of the moment,” says Spiro. “Later during the pandemic, attention came back with a softer touch — more like a friendly reminder, not a shout.”
Seasonal factors are also important.
For example, “Attention” and “Achievement” messages tend to work well during the holidays, while “Challenge” and “Due” calls are more effective in late summer, when parents are rushing to get their children ready for school.
Some motivators tend to work well regardless of the circumstances: appeals to achievement, satisfaction and exclusivity are strong performers across the board, the report says. Safety is another perennial winner, but during COVID, phrases like “we’ve got you covered” worked better than “protect yourself,” when many people felt that safety was out of their control.
Use carefully
Some motivators are best used with caution.
“Regret is generally a less effective emotion, but it works well in some situations, such as financial services during a pandemic,” Spiro says. “Regret is characterized by the word ‘don’t,’ which generally doesn’t work that well, but it can be effective when people want stability.”
This was the case in 2020, when “this clear imperative led to atypically positive results” especially for financial institutions, the report noted.
“Challenge” is at the bottom of the performance list overall, but may be useful for certain categories of customers, such as athletes and gamers.
Mixing motivators can create a strong response, such as “appreciation” mixed with “exclusivity,” such as “Thank you for your support; you are invited to our exclusive pre-sale.’
And there is one motivator – anger – that Persado rarely recommends. “There are contexts where it can work, but it can be so unpleasant that we rarely recommend it,” Spiro says.
Of course, that doesn’t stop political candidates from hitting us over the head with outrage messages. As I said, context matters.
Copyright © 2022 IDG Communications, Inc.
https://www.computerworld.com/article/3666514/words-count-how-the-language-you-use-arouses-emotions-in-the-people-you-re-trying-to-reach.html#tk.rss_all
