Chapt 12 writing persuasive messages

Table 12.1 (1 of 3)

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Avoiding Common Mistakes in Persuasive Communication

-Avoid Using a Hard Sell -Don't Resist Compromise -Avoid Relying Solely on Great Arguments -Don't Use a "One-Shot" Approach -Don't Use Deception or Other Unethical Behaviors When you believe in a concept or project you are promoting, it's easy to get caught up in your own confidence and enthusiasm and thereby fail to see things from the audience's perspective. When putting together persuasive arguments, avoid these common mistakes (see Figure 12.4): -Using a hard sell. Don't push. No one likes being pressured into making a decision, and communicators who take this approach can come across as being more concerned with meeting their own goals than with satisfying the needs of their audiences. In contrast, a "soft sell" is more like a comfortable conversation that uses calm, rational persuasion. -Resisting compromise. Successful persuasion is often a process of give-and-take, particularly in the case of persuasive business messages, where you don't always get everything you asked for in terms of budgets, investments, and other commitments. -Relying solely on great arguments. Great arguments are important, but connecting with your audience on the right emotional level and communicating through vivid language are just as vital. Sometimes a well-crafted story can be even more compelling than dry logic. -Assuming that persuasion is a one-shot effort. Persuasion is often a process, not a one-time event. In many cases you need to move your audience members along one small step at a time rather than try to convince them to say "yes" in one huge step. Figure 12.4: Imagine you're the marketing manager in a company that decided to speed up its new product launches but did too much too fast and wound up creating chaos. You decide enough is enough and write a memo to the company president advocating that the new program be shut down until the company can regroup—a suggestion you know will meet with resistance. Notice how the ineffective version doesn't quite use the direct approach but comes out swinging, so to speak, and is overly emotional throughout. The effective version builds to its recommendation indirectly, using the same information but in a calm, logical way. Because it sticks to the facts, it is also shorter. Ineffective: -The company has clearly staked a lot on this program, so opening by calling it a disaster will only put the reader on the defensive. -Word choices such as nightmare here and insanity in the next paragraph give the message an emotional, almost hysterical, tone that detracts from the serious message. -The writer mingles together an observation that may be subjective (declining credibility), a hard data point (declining sales), and a prediction (possibility of employee defections). -The claim that recent products were "clearly rushed to market" is unnecessarily inflammatory (because it blames another department) and distracts the reader from the more immediate problems of poor quality. -The first sentence of the last paragraph is insulting to anyone with basic business sense—-particularly the president of the company. Effective: -This neutral summary of events serves as an effective buffer for the indirect approach and provides a subtle reminder of the original goals of the program. -This paragraph contains the same info as the ineffective version, but does so in a calmer way that won't' trigger the readers defense mechanisms and will thereby keep the focus on the facts. -The writer separates a personal hunch (about the possibility of losing employees) from an observation about the market and a measured data point (declining sales). -The writer introduces the info about quality problems without directing blame. -With the evidence assembled, the writer introduces the main idea of putting the program on hold. The recommendation is a judgment call and a suggestion to a superior, so the hedging phrase "I believe" is appropriate.

Red Ants pants

Background: -Sarah Calhoun working in adopted home state Montana. -Clearing trails & peeling logs destroying her not rugged clothes. -Switched to men's work pants that were strong, but didn't fit. Birth of Red Ants Pants: -Its focus, providing hardwearing pants for hard working women, meeting the needs of customers whose work makes clothing a matter of practical utility & even on-the-job safety. -Products are made from tough, heavy cloth & in both "straight" & "curvy" styles to provide a better fit for more women. -Products come in two or three times as many waist/inseam combos as typical pants, greatly increasing the chance that every woman will find exactly the size she needs. Inspiration for company name: -She talked with a biologist & learned that, in red ant colonies, females do most of the work. -Salute to hardworking women everywhere. Operations & stuff: -Company running out of the tiny town of White Sulphur Springs, Montana. -From the beginning Calhoun used size & independence to her advantage, making choices that fit her personal values & the needs of her customers. (Example: unlike with most clothing brands, she chose to keep production in the US, vs offshoring in pursuit of the lowest possible costs.) Small business vs Corporate competitors: -The spirit of independence extends to her customer communication efforts. Shown through: Greater flexibility that small companies often have vs their larger, "more corporate" competitors. The need to exercise creative brain power over brute-force budget power. -Calhoun's communication style, is more fun & more daring than a typical corporation would attempt. (Example: it seems to resonate with buyers.) Marketing: -Not significant marketing budget, Calhoun looks for low-cost, high-visibility ways to reach customers. -Her most unusual is hitting the highway with her sales manager in an ant-decorated Airstream travel trailer on trips they call the "Tour de Pants." -Through visiting customers in their homes & hearing stories about women working in what are often male-dominated professions Sarah gains marketing research insights. "Tour de Pants": -Invite women to stage in-home gatherings, much like old-school Tupperware parties. Calhoun's ambitions: -So far has been sponsoring the Red Ants Pants Music Festival, which has attracted such major American artists as Lyle Lovett & Guy Clark. -All profits go to the Red Ants Pants Foundation, which she started to "support family farms and ranches, women in business, & rural initiatives." Finally: -All because of her combo of meeting customer needs with quality products & creative marketing effort. -Red Ants Pants now has customers all across the country & around the world, from Europe to Australia, & even women working the research stations in Antarctica.

Legal Ramifications of Marketing and Sales Efforts & Maintaining Etiquette

For all marketing and sales efforts, pay close attention to the following legal considerations: -Marketing and sales messages must be truthful and non-deceptive. The FTC considers messages to be deceptive if they include statements that are likely to mislead reasonable customers and those statements are an important part of the purchasing decision. Failing to include important information is also considered deceptive. The FTC also looks at implied claims—claims you don't explicitly make but that can be inferred from what you do or don't say. -You must back up your claims with evidence. According to the FTC, offering a money-back guarantee or providing letters from satisfied customers is not enough; you must still be able to support claims for your product with objective evidence such as a survey or scientific study. If you claim that your food product lowers cholesterol, you must have scientific evidence to support that claim. -"Bait-and-switch" advertising is illegal. Trying to attract buyers by advertising a product that you don't intend to sell—and then trying to sell them another (and usually more expensive) product—is illegal. -Marketing messages and websites aimed at children are subject to special rules. For example, online marketers must obtain consent from parents before collecting personal information about children under age 13. -Marketing and sales messages are considered binding contracts in many states. If you imply or make an offer and then can't fulfill your end of the bargain, you can be sued for breach of contract. -In most cases you can't use a person's name, photograph, or other identity without permission. Doing so is considered an invasion of privacy. You can use images of people considered to be public figures as long as you don't unfairly imply that they endorse your message. -Product Champions and Influences Have Responsibilities (Not listed in the textbook) -Audience-Centered Approach -Use Technology to Demonstrate -Sensitivity to User Needs -Opt-In Email Newsletters -Meeting your ethical and legal obligations will go a long way toward maintaining good communication etiquette. However, you may still face etiquette decisions within ethical and legal boundaries. For instance, you can produce a marketing campaign that complies with all applicable laws and yet is offensive or insulting to your audience. Taking an audience-centered approach, in which you show respect for your readers and their values, should help you avoid any such etiquette missteps. -Technology also gives communicators new ways to demonstrate sensitivity to user needs and gives audiences more control over which messages they receive. By liking a company's Facebook page, for instance, people choose to see posts from that company in their timelines. Opt-in email newsletters are another technology that shows the "you" attitude at work. Unlike the unwelcome spam messages that litter email inboxes these days, opt-in messages are sent only to those people who have specifically requested information.

Table 12.1 (2 of 3)

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Reinforcing Your Position & Anticipating Objections

-Believable Evidence -Examine Your Language -Use Metaphors and Analogies -Audience Benefits -After you've worked out the basic elements of your argument, step back and look for ways to strengthen your position. Are all your claims supported by believable evidence? Would a quotation from a recognized expert help make your case? -Next, examine your language. Can you find more powerful words to convey your message? For example, if your company is in serious financial trouble, talking about fighting for survival is a more powerful emotional appeal than talking about ensuring continued operations. As with any other powerful tool, though, use vivid language and abstractions carefully and honestly. -In addition to examining individual word choices, consider using metaphors and other figures of speech. If you want to describe a quality-control system as being designed to detect every possible product flaw, you might call it a "spider web" to imply that it catches everything that comes its way. Similarly, anecdotes (brief stories) can help your audience grasp the meaning and importance of your arguments. Instead of just listing the number of times the old laptop computers in your department have failed, you could describe how you lost a sale when your computer broke down during a critical sales presentation. -Beyond specific words and phrases, look for other factors that can reinforce your position. When you're asking for something, your audience members will find it easier to grant your request if they stand to benefit from it as well. -Identify Areas of Potential Resistance -Find Solutions to Potential Objections -Present All Sides of the Story -Explain the Pros and Cons -Even the most compelling ideas and proposals can be expected to encounter some initial resistance. The best way to deal with audience resistance is to anticipate as many objections as you can and address them in your message before your audience can even bring them up. For instance, if you know that your proposal to switch to lower-cost materials will raise concerns about product quality, address this issue head-on in your message. If you wait until people raise the concern after reading your message, they may gravitate toward another firm before you have a chance to address their concerns. By bringing up such potential problems right away, you also demonstrate a broad appreciation of the issue and imply confidence in your message. This anticipation is particularly important when you're not delivering a message in person and won't have the opportunity to detect and respond to objections on the spot. -To uncover potential audience objections, try to poke holes in your own theories and ideas before your audience does. Then find solutions to the problems you've uncovered. If possible, ask your audience members for their thoughts on the subject before you put together your argument; people are more likely to support solutions they help create. -Keep two things in mind when anticipating objections. First, you don't always have to explicitly discuss a potential objection. You could simply mention that the lower-cost materials have been tested and approved by the quality-control department. Second, if you expect a hostile audience—one biased against your plan from the beginning—present all sides of the story. As you cover each option, explain the pros and cons. You'll gain additional credibility if you present these options before presenting your recommendation or decision.

Table 12.1 (3 of 3)

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Step 1: Planning Persuasive Messages

-Analyze the Situation -Gather the Information -Select the Right Media and Channels -Organize the Information -In today's information-saturated business environment, having a great idea or a great product is no longer enough. -Every day, untold numbers of good ideas go unnoticed and good products go unsold simply because the messages meant to promote them aren't compelling enough to be heard above the competitive noise. -Creating successful persuasive messages in these challenging situations demands careful attention to all four tasks in the planning step, starting with an insightful analysis of your purpose and your audience.

Organizing Your Information

-Audience-Centered "You" Attitude -Limited Scope -Explain Reason -Build Interest -Ask for a Decision or Action -Choose Approach -The most effective main ideas for persuasive messages have one thing in common: They are about the receiver, not the sender. For instance, if you're trying to convince others to join you in a business venture, explain how it will help them, not how it will help you. -Limiting your scope is vital. If you seem to be wrestling with more than one main idea, you haven't zeroed in on the heart of the matter. If you try to craft a persuasive message without focusing on the one central problem or opportunity your audience truly cares about, you're unlikely to persuade successfully. -Because the nature of persuasion is to convince people to change their attitudes, beliefs, or actions, most persuasive messages use the indirect approach. That means you'll want to explain your reasons and build interest before asking for a decision or for action—or perhaps even before revealing your purpose. In contrast, when you have a close relationship with your audience and the message is welcome or at least neutral, the direct approach can be effective. -For persuasive business messages, the choice between the direct and indirect approaches is also influenced by the extent of your authority, expertise, or power in an organization. For instance, if you are a highly regarded technical expert with years of experience, you might use the direct approach in a message to top executives. In contrast, if you aren't well known and therefore need to rely more on the strength of your message than the power of your reputation, the indirect approach will probably be more successful. -Summary: Most persuasive messages use the indirect approach. The choice of approach is influenced by your position (or authority within the organization) relative to your audience's.

Emotion Recognition Software pg 344

-How can you judge the audience's reaction? -A range of artificial intelligence software tools that attempt to measure people's emotional states based on their facial gestures or voice tones. -Capability is being incorporated into mobile apps and other systems to measure such things as emotional reactions to TV commercials and other video material, stress levels, and emotional states as people interact with new products. -Technology also holds some promise for people on the autism spectrum who have difficulty deciphering emotions from facial gestures. -Emotion recognition has to navigate some complex issues surrounding ethics, privacy, accuracy, and what might be called the "creepiness factor" of knowing that a device is trying to read your feelings.

Step 3: Completing Persuasive Messages

-Judge Arguments Objectively -Revise for Clarity and Conciseness -Match Purpose to Audience Needs -Use Design to Add, Not Distract -Use Distribution Methods that Fit Expectations -When evaluating your content, try to judge your argument objectively and not overestimate your credibility. When revising for clarity and conciseness, carefully match the purpose and organization to audience needs. If possible, ask an experienced colleague who knows your audience well to review your draft. -Your design elements must complement, not detract from, your argument. In addition, meticulous proofreading will identify any mechanical or spelling errors that would weaken your persuasive potential. -Finally, make sure your distribution methods fit your audience's expectations and your purpose. Persuasive messages can be divided into: -persuasive business messages (those that try to convince audiences to approve new projects, enter into business partnerships, & so on) -marketing and sales messages (those that try to convince audiences to consider & then purchase products & services). Finally, the basic techniques of persuasion work for both types, but each has some unique considerations.

Using the Three-Step Writing Process for Persuasive Messages

-L O 12.1 Apply the three-step writing process to persuasive messages. -Sarah Calhoun (profiled in the chapter-opening Communication Close-Up) understands that successful businesses rely on persuasive messages in both internal and external communication. -Whether you're trying to convince your boss to open a new office in Europe or encourage potential customers to try your products, you need to call on your abilities of persuasion—an attempt to change an audience's attitudes, beliefs, or actions. -Because persuasive messages ask audiences to give something of value (money in exchange for a product, for example) or take substantial action (such as changing a corporate policy), they are more challenging to write than routine messages. -Successful professionals understand that persuasion is not about trickery or getting people to act against their own best interests; it's about letting audiences know they have choices and presenting your offering in the best possible light.

Developing Persuasive Business Messages (1 of 2) & Strategies for Persuasive Business Messages

-L O 12.2 Describe an effective strategy for developing persuasive business messages, and identify the three most common categories of persuasive business messages. -Your success as a businessperson is closely tied to your ability to encourage others to accept new ideas, change old habits, or act on your proposals and recommendations. Even if you have the power to compel others to do what you want them to do, persuading them is more effective than forcing them. People who are forced into accepting a decision or plan are less motivated to support it and more likely to react negatively than if they're persuaded. Four Essential Strategies: -Framing your arguments -Balancing emotional and logical appeals -Reinforcing your position -Anticipating objections -Within the context of the three-step process, effective persuasion involves four essential strategies: framing your arguments, balancing emotional and logical appeals, reinforcing your position, and anticipating objections. (Note that all the concepts in this section apply as well to marketing and sales messages, covered later in the chapter.)

Developing Persuasive Business Messages (2 of 2) & Contrasting Marketing and Sales Messages

-L O 12.3 Describe an effective strategy for developing marketing and sales messages, and explain how to modify your approach when writing promotional messages for social media. -Marketing and sales messages use the same basic techniques as other persuasive messages, with the added emphasis of encouraging someone to participate in a commercial transaction. -Although the terms marketing message and sales message are often used interchangeably, there is an important difference: Marketing messages usher potential buyers through the purchasing process without asking them to make an immediate decision. Sales messages take over at that point, encouraging potential buyers to make a purchase decision then and there. Marketing messages focus on such tasks as introducing new brands to the public and encouraging customers to visit websites for more information, whereas sales messages make an explicit request for people to buy a specific product or service. -Marketing and sales messages use many of the same techniques as persuasive business messages. -Most marketing and sales messages, particularly in larger companies, are created and delivered by professionals with specific training in marketing, advertising, sales, or public relations. However, you may be called on to review the work of these specialists or even to write such messages in smaller companies, and having a good understanding of how these messages work will help you be a more effective manager.

Maintaining High Standards of Ethics, Legal Compliance, and Etiquette & Promotional Messages

-L O 12.4 Identify steps you can take to avoid ethical lapses in marketing and sales messages. -The word persuasion has negative connotations for some people, especially in a marketing or sales context. However, ethical businesspeople view persuasion as a positive force, aligning their own interests with what is best for their audiences. They influence audience members by providing information and aiding understanding, which allows audiences the freedom to choose. To maintain the highest standards of business ethics, always demonstrate the "you" attitude by showing honest concern for your audience's needs and interests. -Federal Laws and Regulations -State Laws and Regulations -International Laws and Regulations -As marketing and selling grow increasingly complex, so do the legal ramifications of marketing and sales messages. In the U.S, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC; www.ftc.gov) has the authority to impose penalties (ranging from cease-and desist orders to multimillion-dollar fines) on advertisers who violate federal standards for truthful advertising. Other federal agencies have authority over advertising in specific industries, such as transportation and financial services. Individual states have additional laws that may apply. The legal aspects of promotional communication can be quite complex, varying from state to state and from country to country, and most companies require marketing and salespeople to get clearance from company lawyers before sending messages. -Moreover, communicators must stay on top of changing regulations, such as the latest laws governing unsolicited bulk email ("spam"), disclosure requirements for bloggers who review products, privacy, and data security. For example, two ethical concerns that could produce new legislation are behavioral targeting, which tracks the online behavior of website visitors and serves up ads based on what they seem to be interested in, and remarketing, in which behaviorally targeted ads follow users even as they move on to other websites. Many users consider the practice invasive.

Creating Promotional Messages for Mobile Devices

-Mobile advertising and mobile commerce (sometimes referred to as m-commerce) are two of the hottest developments in marketing communications. Mobile advertising is already a multibillion-dollar business. The types of marketing and sales messages created for mobile audiences range from short, simple text ads that appear next to search engine results to mobile-optimized video—the most common form of content marketing in the mobile arena. -Companies are putting so much emphasis on mobile marketing because mobile devices now play such a big role in consumer buying behavior. Smartphone owners tend to use their devices for many shopping-related tasks, from searching for product reviews to finding stores and service businesses, looking for coupons and other promotions, and doing in-store price comparisons. In fact, some 80% of smartphone-equipped consumers use their devices to get shopping-related information. -If you are involved with creating mobile marketing or sales messages, keep two essential points in mind. First, like all mobile messages, promotional messages need to be kept short and simple. Second, the mobile experience needs to be fast and straightforward. Mobile users are often time-constrained, and they will quickly abandon websites that don't load quickly or are confusing to navigate.

Gathering Information & Selecting the Right Combination of Medium and Channel

-Persuasive Business Messages -Marketing Messages -Sales Messages -Once your situation analysis is complete, you need to gather the info necessary to create a compelling persuasive message. You'll learn more about the types of info to include in persuasive business messages and marketing and sales messages later in this chapter. Chapter 13 presents advice on how to find the info you need. -Analyze Options -Select Cost-Effective Combination -Employ Multiple Media and Channels -Persuasive messages can be found in virtually every communication format, from instant messages and podcasts to radio advertisements and skywriting. In fact, advertising agencies employ media specialists whose job is to analyze the options available and select the most cost-effective combination for each client and each advertising campaign. -Persuasive messages are often unexpected and sometimes even unwelcome, so choose your medium carefully to maximize the chance of getting through to your audience. -In some situations, various members of your audience might prefer different media for the same message. Some consumers like to do all their car shopping in person, whereas others do most of their car-shopping research online. Some people don't mind promotional emails for products they're interested in; others resent every piece of commercial email they receive. If you can't be sure you can reach most or all of your audience through a single medium, you need to use two or more, such as following up an email campaign with printed letters. -Social media provide some exciting options for persuasive messages, particularly marketing and sales messages. However, as "Writing Promotional Messages for Social Media" on page 344 explains, messages in these media require a unique approach.

Common Examples of Persuasive Business Messages

-Requests for Action -Presentations of Ideas -Claims and Requests for Adjustment -Throughout your career, you'll have numerous opportunities to write persuasive messages within your organization, such as reports suggesting more efficient operating procedures or memos requesting money for new equipment. Similarly, you may produce a variety of persuasive messages for people outside the organization, such as websites shaping public opinion or letters requesting adjustments that go beyond a supplier's contractual obligations. -In addition, some of the routine requests you studied in Chapter 10 can become persuasive messages if you want a non-routine result or believe that you haven't received fair treatment. Most of these messages can be divided into persuasive requests for action, persuasive presentations of ideas, and persuasive claims and requests for adjustment.

Building Your Credibility

-Use Simple Language -Provide Objective Evidence -Identify Information Sources -Establish Common Ground -Emphasize Common Beliefs, Attitudes, and Experiences Finally, when you are trying to persuade a skeptical or hostile audience, credibility is essential. You must convince people that you know what you're talking about and that you're not trying to mislead them (see "Ethics Detective: Solving the Case of the Incredible Credibility"). Use these techniques: -Use simple language to avoid suspicions of fantastic claims and emotional manipulation. -Provide objective evidence for the claims and promises you make. -Identify your information sources. -Establish common ground by emphasizing beliefs, attitudes, and experiences you have in common with the audience. -Be Objective -Present Fair and Logical Arguments -Focus on Audience's Best Interests -Persuade with Logic -Build Credibility Before Presenting Proposal -Be objective and present fair and logical arguments. -Display your willingness to keep your audience's best interests at heart. -Persuade with logic, evidence, and compelling narratives, rather than trying to coerce with high-pressure, "hard sell" tactics. -Whenever possible, try to build your credibility before you present a major proposal or ask for a major decision. That way, audiences don't have to evaluate both you and your message at the same time. Finally: -Audiences often respond unfavorably to over-the-top language, so keep your writing simple and straightforward.

Persuasive Requests for Action

-Use the Direct Approach for Anticipated Requests -Use the Indirect Approach or A I D A for Unanticipated Requests -Open with an Attention-Getting Device Goals: -Gain credibility -Convince your readers you will help solve a problem -The bulk of your persuasive business messages will involve requests for action. In some cases your request will be anticipated, so the direct approach is fine. In others you'll need to introduce your intention indirectly, and the AIDA model or a similar approach is ideal for this purpose (see Figure 12.5). -Open with an attention-getting device and show readers you understand their concerns. Use the interest and desire sections of your message to demonstrate that you have good reason for making such a request and to cover what you know about the situation: the facts and figures, the benefits of helping, and any history or experience that will enhance your appeal. Your goals are (1) to gain credibility (for yourself and your request) and (2) to make your readers believe that helping you will indeed help solve a significant problem. Close with a request for some specific action, and make that course of action as easy to follow as possible to maximize the chances of a positive response. Figure 12.5: This writer uses the AIDA model to persuade his boss to give him a few weeks away from his regular duties to explore a new business strategy. The passages in red are key points in each step of the AIDA approach. (These passages would not appear in red in the actual email message.) Attention: The writer gets the reader's attention with a provocative question. Interest: This paragraph sells the problem" that the writer wants to fix. By convincing the reader that the current course of action isn't sustainable, the writer sparks Jinhwa's interest in hearing about an alternative strategy. Desire: To build Jinhwa's desire to consider a new approach, the writer lists some key benefits that the new strategy could bring. Action: The call to action asks Jinhwa for permission to take time off from his regular duties for a few weeks.

Analyzing the Situation

-What Are the Audience's Desires, Needs, and Culture? -Refer to: -Demographics -Psychographics -Motivation -In defining your purpose, make sure you're clear about what you really hope to achieve. Suppose you want to persuade company executives to support a particular research project. But what does "support" mean? Do you want them to pat you on the back and wish you well? Or do you want them to give you a staff of five researchers and a $1 million annual budget? -The best persuasive messages are closely connected to your audience's desires and interests (see Figure 12.1). Consider these important questions: Who is my audience? What are my audience members' needs? What do I want them to do? How might they resist? Are there alternative positions I need to examine? What does the decision maker consider to be the most important issue? How might the organization's culture influence my strategy? -To understand and categorize audience needs, you can refer to specific information, such as demographics (the age, gender, occupation, income, education, and other quantifiable characteristics of the people you're trying to persuade) and psychographics (personality, attitudes, lifestyle, and other psychological characteristics). When analyzing your audiences, take into account their cultural expectations and practices so that you don't undermine your persuasive message by using an inappropriate appeal or by organizing your message in a way that seems unfamiliar or uncomfortable to your readers. -If you aim to change someone's attitudes, beliefs, or actions, it is vital to understand his or her motivation—the combination of forces that drive people to satisfy their needs. Table 12.1 lists some of the needs that psychologists have identified or suggested as being important in influencing human motivation. Obviously, the more closely a persuasive message aligns with a recipient's existing motivation, the more effective the message is likely to be. -For example, if you try to persuade consumers to purchase a product on the basis of its fashion appeal, that message will connect with consumers who are motivated by a desire to be in fashion, but it probably won't connect with consumers driven more by functional or financial concerns. Figure 12.1: -This paragraph succinctly answers the client's first question, which was whether the company had experience editing business books like the one he has written. By mentioning best-sellers, the message also addresses the client's emotional and financial needs to publish a successful book. -The message outlines the company's services but does so in a way that addresses the client's needs at every step. -This section addresses the frequent urge to jump right into the final stages of editing by explaining that doing so ultimately doesn't meet the client's true objectives. Note the effective use of metaphor here as well.

Chapter 12 Vocab

1. AIDA Model-Message sequence that involves attention, interest, desire, & action. 2. Benefits-Particular advantages that readers will realize from a product's selling points. 3. Conversation Marketing-Approach in which companies initiate & facilitate conversations in a networked community of customers, journalists, bloggers, & other interested parties. 4. Demographics-Quantifiable characteristics of a population, including age, gender, occupation, income, & education. 5. Emotional appeal-Persuasive approach that calls on audience feelings & sympathies rather than facts, figures, & rational arguments. 6. Logical appeal-Persuasive approach that calls on reasoning & evidence rather than audience feelings & sympathies. 7. Marketing messages-Promotional messages that usher potential buyers through the purchasing process without asking them to make an immediate decision. 8. Motivation-The combo of forces that drive people to satisfy their needs. 9. Persuasion-The attempt to change an audience's attitudes, beliefs, or actions. 10. Psychographics-Psychological characteristics of an audience, including personality, attitudes, & lifestyle. 11. Sales messages-Promotional messages that encourage potential buyers to make a purchase decision then & there. 12. Selling points-The most attractive features of a product or service.

Framing Your Arguments & Figure 12.2 The AIDA Model for Persuasive Messages

AIDA Model: -Attention -Interest -Desire -Action -As noted previously, most persuasive messages use the indirect approach. Experts in persuasive communication have developed a number of indirect models for such messages. One of the best known is the AIDA model, which organizes messages into four phases (see Figure 12.2): -Attention. Your first objective is to encourage your audience to want to hear about your problem, idea, or new product—whatever your main idea is. Be sure to find some common ground on which to build your case. -Interest. Provide additional details that prompt audience members to imagine how the solution might benefit them. -Desire. Help audience members embrace your idea by explaining how the change will benefit them and answering potential objections. -Action. Suggest the specific action you want your audience to take. Include a deadline, when applicable. -The AIDA model is tailor-made for using the indirect approach, allowing you to save your main idea for the action phase. However, you can also use AIDA for the direct approach, in which case you use your main idea as an attention-getter, build interest with your argument, create desire with your evidence, and reemphasize your main idea in the action phase with the specific action you want your audience to take. -When your AIDA message uses the indirect approach and is delivered by memo or email, keep in mind that your subject line usually catches your reader's eye first. Your challenge is to make it interesting & relevant enough to capture the reader's attention without revealing your main idea. The AIDA approach does have limitations: -It essentially talks at audiences, not with them. -It focuses on one-time events, not long-term relationships. AIDA is still a valuable tool for the right purposes, but as you'll read later in the chapter, a conversational approach is more compatible with today's social media environment. -With the AIDA model, you craft one or more messages to move recipients through the four stages of attention, interest, desire, and action. The model works well for both persuasive business messages (such as persuading your manager to fund a new project) and marketing and sales messages. The AIDA model is ideal for the indirect approach.

Avoiding Faulty Logic

Avoid These Mistakes: -Hasty generalizations -Circular reasoning -Flawed analogies -Inappropriate appeals -Ad hominem attacks -Oversimplification -Mistaken assumptions of cause and effect To guard against faulty logic, follow these guidelines: -Avoid hasty generalizations. Make sure you have plenty of evidence before drawing conclusions. -Avoid circular reasoning. Circular reasoning is a logical fallacy in which you try to support your claim by restating it in different words. The statement "We know temporary workers cannot handle this task because temps are unqualified for it" doesn't prove anything because the claim and the supporting evidence are essentially identical. It doesn't prove why the temps are unqualified. -Avoid attacking an opponent. If your persuasive appeal involves countering a competitive appeal made by someone else, make sure you attack the argument your opponent is making, not his or her character or qualifications. -Avoid oversimplifying a complex issue. Make sure you present all the factors and don't reduce a wide range of choices to a simple "either/or" scenario if that isn't the case. -Avoid mistaken assumptions of cause and effect. If you can't isolate the impact of a specific factor, you can't assume that it's the cause of whatever effect you're discussing. You lowered prices, and sales went up. Were lower prices the cause? Maybe, but the sales increase might have been caused by a better advertising campaign, changes in the weather, or some other factor. -Avoid faulty analogies. Be sure that the two objects or situations being compared are similar enough for the analogy to hold. For instance, explaining that an internet firewall is like a prison wall is a poor analogy because a firewall keeps things out, whereas a prison wall keeps things in. -Avoid illogical support. Make sure the connection between your claim and your support is truly logical and not based on a leap of faith, a missing premise, or irrelevant evidence.

Persuasive Presentations of Ideas & Persuasive Claims and Requests for Adjustment

Change Attitudes or Beliefs About a Topic: -Consider a new idea -Reexamine options -Reconsider ways of thinking -You may encounter situations in which you simply want to change attitudes or beliefs about a particular topic, without asking the audience to decide or do anything—at least not yet. The goal of your first message might be nothing more than convincing your audience to reexamine long-held opinions or admit the possibility of new ways of thinking. -For instance, the World Wide Web Consortium (a global association that defines many of the guidelines and technologies behind the World Wide Web) launched a campaign called the Web Accessibility Initiative. Although the consortium's ultimate goal is making websites more accessible to people with disabilities or age-related limitations, a key interim goal is simply making website developers more aware of the need. As part of this effort, the consortium has developed a variety of presentations and documents that highlight the problems many web visitors face. Review the Facts in a Positive Tone: -Outline the problem and status -Be specific about the resolution sought -Provide a good reason for granting the claim -Close on a respectful note -Most claims and requests for adjustment are routine messages and use the direct approach discussed in Chapter 10. However, consumers and professionals sometimes encounter situations in which they believe they haven't received a fair deal by following normal procedures. These situations require a more persuasive message. -The key ingredients of a good persuasive claim are a complete and specific review of the facts and a confident and positive tone. Keep in mind that you have the right to be satisfied with every transaction. Begin persuasive claims by outlining the problem and continue by reviewing what has been done about it so far, if anything. The recipient might be juggling numerous claims and other demands on his or her attention, so be clear, calm, and complete when presenting your case. Be specific about how you would like the situation to be resolved. -Next, give your reader a good reason for granting your claim. Show how the individual or organization is responsible for the problem, and appeal to your reader's sense of fair play, goodwill, or moral responsibility. Explain how you feel about the problem, but don't get carried away and don't make threats. People generally respond most favorably to requests that are calm and reasonable. Close on a respectful note that reflects how a successful resolution of the situation will repair or maintain a mutually beneficial working relationship.

Balancing the Three Types of Persuasive Appeals

Consider Four Factors: -Actions you hope to motivate -Readers' expectations -Degree of resistance -Position in the power structure of the organization -Imagine you're sitting at a control panel with one knob labeled "logic" and another labeled "emotion." As you prepare persuasive messages, carefully adjust each knob, tuning the message for maximum impact (see Figure 12.3). Too little emotion, and your audience might not care enough to respond. Too much emotion, and your audience might think you are ignoring tough business questions or even being irrational. -In general, persuasive business messages rely more heavily on logical than on emotional appeals because the main idea is usually to save money, increase quality, or improve some other practical, measurable aspect of business. To find the optimum balance, consider four factors: (1) the actions you hope to motivate, (2) your readers' expectations, (3) the degree of resistance you need to overcome, and (4) your position in the formal and informal power structure of the organization. Figure 12.3: Whenever you plan a persuasive message, imagine you have a knob that turns from emotion at one extreme to logic at the other, letting you adjust the relative proportions of each type of appeal. Compare these two outlines for a proposal that asks management to fund an on-site daycare center. The version on the left relies heavily on emotional appeals, whereas the version on the right uses logical appeals (inductive reasoning, specifically). Through your choice of words, images, and supporting details, you can adjust the emotion- to-logic ratio in every message.

Selecting Emotional or Logical Appeals

Emotional Appeal: As its name implies, an emotional appeal calls on audience feelings and sympathies rather than on facts, figures, and rational arguments. For instance, you can make use of the emotion surrounding certain words. The word freedom evokes strong feelings, as do words such as success, prestige, compassion, security, and comfort. Such words can help put your audience members in a positive frame of mind and help them accept your message. However, emotional appeals in business messages aren't usually effective by themselves because the audience wants proof that you can solve a business problem. Even if your audience members reach a conclusion based primarily on emotions, they'll look to you to provide logical support as well. Logical Appeal: A logical appeal calls on reasoning and evidence. The basic approach with a logical appeal is to make a claim based on a rational argument, supported by solid evidence. When appealing to your audience's logic, you might use three types of reasoning: -Analogy. With analogy, you reason from specific evidence to specific evidence, in effect "borrowing" from something familiar to explain something unfamiliar. For instance, to convince the executive committee to hire leadership coaches for newly promoted managers, you might say it's like hiring a nutritionist or a personal trainer to help one develop positive habits and healthy routines. -Induction. With inductive reasoning, you work from specific evidence to a general conclusion. To convince your team to change to a new manufacturing process, for example, you could point out that every company that has adopted it has increased profits, so it must be a smart idea. -Deduction. With deductive reasoning, you work from a generalization to a specific conclusion. To persuade your boss to hire additional customer support staff, you might point to industry surveys that show how crucial customer satisfaction is to corporate profits. -Every method of reasoning is vulnerable to misuse, both intentional and unintentional, so verify your rational arguments carefully.

Step 2: Writing Persuasive Messages

Encourage a Positive Response By: -Using Positive and Polite Language -Respecting Cultural Differences -Being Sensitive to Organizational Cultures -Establishing Your Credibility -Encourage a positive response to your persuasive messages by (1) using positive and polite language, (2) understanding and respecting cultural differences, (3) being sensitive to organizational cultures, and (4) taking steps to establish your credibility. -Positive language usually happens naturally with persuasive messages because you're promoting an idea or product you believe in. However, take care not to inadvertently insult your readers by implying that they've made poor choices in the past and that you're here to save them from their misguided ways. -Be sure to understand cultural expectations as well. For example, a message that seems forthright and direct in a low-context culture might seem brash and intrusive in a high-context culture. -Just as social culture affects the success of a persuasive message, so too does the culture within an organization. For instance, some organizations handle disagreement and conflict indirectly, behind the scenes, whereas others accept and even encourage open discussion and sharing differing viewpoints.

Planning Marketing and Sales Messages

Everything you've learned about planning messages applies in general to marketing and sales messages, but the planning steps for these messages have some particular aspects to consider as well: -Assessing audience needs. As with every other business message, successful marketing and sales messages start with an understanding of audience needs. Depending on the product and the market, these needs can range from a few functional considerations (such as the size, weight, and finish of office paper) to a complicated mix of emotional and logical issues (all the factors that play into buying a house, for example). -Analyzing your competition. Marketing and sales messages nearly always compete with messages from other companies trying to reach the same audience. When Nike plans a marketing campaign to introduce a new shoe model to current customers, the company knows its audience has also been exposed to messages from Adidas, New Balance, Reebok, and other shoe companies. Finding a unique message in crowded markets can be quite a challenge. -Determining key selling points and benefits. With some insight into audience needs and the alternatives offered by your competitors, your next step is to decide which features and benefits to highlight. Selling points are the most attractive features of a product, whereas benefits are the particular advantages purchasers can realize from those features. In other words, selling points focus on what the product does. Benefits focus on what the user experiences or gains. Benefits can be practical, emotional, or a combination of the two. -Anticipating purchase options/objections. Marketing and sales messages usually encounter objections, and as with persuasive business messages, the best way to handle them is to identify these objections up front and address as many as you can. They can range from high price or low quality to a lack of compatibility with existing products or a perceived risk involved with the product. By identifying potential objections up front, you can craft your promotional messages in ways that address those concerns. If price is a likely objection, for instance, you can look for ways to increase the perceived value of the purchase and decrease the perception of high cost. When promoting a home gym, you might say that it costs less than a year's worth of health club dues. Of course, any attempts to minimize perceptions of price or other potential negatives must be done ethically.

Writing Promotional Messages for Social Media

The AIDA model and similar approaches have been successful with marketing and sales messages for decades, but in the social media landscape consumers are more apt to look for product information from other consumers, not from the companies marketing those online conversations. Follow these guidelines (see Figure 12.6): -Facilitate community building. Give customers and other audiences an opportunity to connect with you and one another, such as on your Facebook page or through members-only online forums. -Listen at least as much as you talk. Listening is just as essential for online conversations as it is for in-person conversations. -Initiate and respond to conversations within the community. Through your website, blog postings, social network profiles and messages, newsletters, and other tools, make sure you provide the information customers need in order to evaluate your products and services. Use conversation marketing, rather than traditional promotion, to initiate and facilitate conversations in your networked community of customers, journalists, bloggers, and other interested parties. -Provide information people want. Whether it's industry-insider news, in-depth technical guides to using your products, or brief answers to questions posted on community Q&A sites, fill the information gaps about your company and its products. -Identify and support your champions. In marketing, champions are the most enthusiastic fans of your company and its products. Champions are so enthusiastic they help spread your message (through their social media accounts, for instance), defend you against detractors, and help other customers use your products. -Be real. Social media audiences respond positively to companies that are open and conversational about themselves, their products, and subjects of shared interest. In contrast, if a company is serving its stakeholders poorly with shoddy products, bad customer service, or unethical behavior, an attempt to improve its reputation by adopting social media without fixing the underlying problems is likely to fail as soon as audiences see through the superficial attempt to "be social." -Integrate conventional marketing and sales strategies at the right time and in the right places. AIDA and similar approaches are still valid for specific communication tasks, such as conventional advertising and the product promotion pages on your website.

Writing Conventional Sales and Marketing Messages

Using the AIDA Model: Conventional marketing and sales messages are often prepared using the AIDA model or some variation of it. (See the next section on crafting messages for social media.) Here are the key points of using the AIDA model for these messages: -Getting the reader's attention. By looking and listening during any given day, you'll notice the many ways advertisers try to get your attention. For example, a headline might offer an exciting product benefit, a piece of interesting news, an appeal to people's emotions or sense of financial value, or a unique solution to a common problem. Of course, words aren't the only attention-getting devices. Depending on the medium, marketers can use evocative images, music, animation, or video. -Building interest. After catching the reader's or viewer's attention, your next step is to build interest in the product, company, or idea you are promoting. A common technique is to "pay off" the promise made in the headline by explaining how you can deliver those benefits. -Increasing desire. Now that you've given the audience some initial information to start building their interest, the next step is to boost their desire for the product by expanding on your explanation of how it will benefit them. Think carefully about the sequence of support points and use plenty of subheadings, hyperlinks, video demonstrations, and other devices to help people quickly find the information they need. By keeping the focus on potential customers and their practical and emotional needs, you can layer on information that helps convince people that your product really is the best solution for them. You can also use a variety of techniques to address potential objections and minimize doubts, including testimonials from satisfied users, articles written by industry experts, competitive comparisons, offers of product samples or free demonstrations, independent test results, and money-back guarantees. -Motivating action. The final step in the AIDA model is persuading the audience to take action, such as encouraging people to pick up the phone to place an order or visit an online app store to download your software. The keys to a successful call to action are making it as easy and risk-free as possible. If the process is confusing or time-consuming, you'll lose potential customers. If you analyze the advertisements you encounter in any medium, you'll see variations of these techniques used again and again.