Powerful marketing words

Powerful marketing words prove that the pen is mightier than the sword.

Powerful marketing words turn prospects into customers. Interestingly, there are times when the powerful word can be as innocuous as “because.” Here’s proof—

 A study done recently by a social psychologist tested the power of one very common word, because. The word was and wasn’t used in a simple request put to subjects in the study—

“Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the photocopier?” – 60% let the person go ahead of them.

Not too bad, but when the word “because” was injected, the results ballooned.

“Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the photocopier because I’m in a rush?” – 94% acquiesced.

Obviously, since the person asking was in a rush, and made that fact known, folks responded with consideration.

Even when the request wasn’t as urgent the response was very high:

“Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the photocopier because I have to make some copies?” – a surprisingly high percentage, 93, still let the person go ahead of them.

Inserting the simple yet powerful word “because” did the trick by stating a reason, whether urgent or not.

Do you know what the four most powerful marketing words in the English language are?

• You
• Free
• Because
• Instantly

These words are often used for a reason: they work in persuading people to act.

Here’s how—

• Take the word “you.” Hey, when you come right down to it, who doesn’t love you more than you?
• Free, that word needs no explaining.
• Because, as previously mentioned, it provides consumers with a reason.
• The immediacy of the word “instantly” triggers mid-brain activity, stimulating our desire for instant gratification.

When you stop and think about it, it’s easy to see why these four words are often used in calls-to-action, headlines, email subject lines, and opening sentences and paragraphs.

What about other words that are worthy of the title Powerful Marketing Words?

Well, here are a half dozen examples that keep showing up in marketing communications materials such as large format printing, banners and other printing services:

• Sale (who doesn’t like a sale?)
• Off (as in X dollars or percent off a price.)
• Now (there’s that “instant” thing at work again.)
• New (new is better than old, unless you’re selling antiques)
• Be the first (exclusivity has long been a major driver of sales.)
• Thank you (appreciation is appreciated by most everyone.)

Now, what about words that are a turnoff?

Here are a half dozen examples that are tried and true to fail:

• Hurry (few if any people like to be rushed into buying something.)
• Guaranteed (that’s because nothing in life is guaranteed except death and taxes.)
• Huge (that word comes across as over-promising. It might [or not] work for Donald Trump, but do try to eliminate it when you’re selling.)
• Cyberspace (it’s more than a bit dated, and old isn’t good, unless you’re an antiques dealer.)
• Once in a lifetime (talk about over-promising! Please stay clear from this phrase.)
• Final days to save (too open-ended, it’s far better to give customers a specific time frame on all sales.)

I hope you will think of these words the next time you are putting together a marketing campaign, be it for an event or conference, or for a direct mail effort. As you can gather, powerful marketing words can and do have a very positive effect on sales. Thank you for reading…