Ch 11

logical fallacies

logical errors that result from misleading readers via faulty language or misusing reasoning tools such as induction and analogy

AIDA model

message sequence that involves attention, interest, desire, and action

Selecting the Right Combination of Medium and Channel

Media and channel choices are always important but these decisions are particularly sensitive with persuasive messages because such messages are often unexpected and sometimes even unwelcome. The more you understand and respect your audience's habits and preferences, the better your chances of getting past the various physical, digital, and perceptual filters that people use to protect themselves from the daily barrage of promotional messages. Choose a combination of medium and channel that will maximize your chance of getting through to your audience. Social media provides some effective options for persuasive messages.

content marketing

strategy of sharing valuable information with potential customers to help build affinity for your brand

persuasion

the attempt to change an audience's attitudes, beliefs, or actions

motivation

the combination of forces that drive people to satisfy their needs

Writing Conventional Marketing and Sales Messages

-Getting the readers attention -Building interest ▪Expand on and support promises in the opening. -Increasing desire ▪Add details and benefits -Motivating action ▪Persuade readers to take action. Getting the readers 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 interest, the next step is to boost desire for the product by expanding on your explanation of its benefits. 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. 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 as risk-free as possible. If the process is confusing or time consuming, you'll lose potential customers.

•Three common modes of logical persuasion:

-Induction Deduction Analogy With inductive reasoning, you work from specific evidence to a general conclusion that you can then apply to the situation at hand. With deductive reasoning, you work from a general theory or hypothesis to a specific conclusion. With analogy, you reason from specific evidence to specific evidence, in effect "borrowing" from something familiar to explain something unfamiliar.

what does AIDA stand for

Attention Interest Desire Action

Analyzing the Audience

Clarifying your purpose is an essential step with persuasive messages. Make sure you really know how you would like your audience to respond. In every persuasive message, you're asking for something that is important to you, but keep in mind that the most effective persuasive messages are closely connected to the things that are important to your audience 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 presenting your message in a way that seems unfamiliar or uncomfortable to your readers. It is vital to understand motivation—the combination of forces that drive people to satisfy their needs. Obviously, the more closely a persuasive message aligns with a recipient's existing motivation, the more effective the message is likely to be.

Writing Persuasive Messages

Encourage a positive response by: 1.Using positive and polite language 2.Understanding and respecting cultural differences 3.Being sensitive to organizational cultures 4.Establishing your credibility Positive language usually happens naturally with persuasive messages because you're promoting an idea, a plan, or a 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. If you are trying to persuade a skeptical or hostile audience, you must convince them you know what you're talking about and that you're not trying to mislead them.

Planning Persuasive Messages

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. Having a great idea is not enough. - Good ideas go unnoticed and good products go unsold simply because the messages meant to promote them aren't compelling enough. You need to be able to convince others of its merits.

Developing Marketing and Sales Messages

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. 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, in smaller companies, you may be called on to review the work of these specialists or to write such messages, and having a good understanding of how these messages work will help you be a more effective manager.

Framing Your Arguments

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: attention, interest, desire, and action. 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. 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.

Gathering Information

Once your situation analysis is complete, you need to gather the information necessary to create a compelling persuasive message.

Strategies for Persuasive Business Messages

People who are coerced into accepting a decision or plan are less motivated to support it and more likely to react negatively than if they're persuaded. Within the context of the three-step process, effective persuasion involves four essential strategies: framing your arguments, balancing the three types of persuasive appeals, reinforcing your position, and anticipating objections

Completing Persuasive Messages

Professional writers who specialize in persuasive messages know how vital the details are, so they're careful not to skimp on this part of the writing process. When you evaluate 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. Meticulous proofreading will identify any mechanical or spelling errors that would weaken your persuasive potential. Make sure your distribution methods fit your audience's expectations and your purpose. • Starting with persuasive business messages (those that try to convince audiences to approve new projects, enter into business partnerships, and so on), followed by marketing and sales messages (those that try to convince audiences to consider and then purchase products and services) • With the three-step model in mind, you're ready to begin composing persuasive messages, starting with persuasive business messages (those that try to convince audiences to approve new projects, enter into business partnerships, and so on), followed by marketing and sales messages (those that try to convince audiences to consider and then purchase Products and services).

Writing Techniques

Techniques: Use straightforward language to avoid suspicions of fantastic claims and emotional manipulation. Provide objective evidence for the claims and promises you make. Identify your sources, especially if your audience already respects those sources. Establish common ground by emphasizing beliefs, attitudes, and background experiences you have in common with the audience. Be objective and present fair and logical arguments. Show that you respect your audience's values and priorities. 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.

Organizing Your Information

The most effective main ideas for persuasive messages have one thing in common: They are about the receiver, not the sender. For persuasive business messages, the choice of approach is influenced by your position relative to your audience's. The nature of persuasion is to convince people to change their attitudes, beliefs, or actions, so most persuasive messages use the indirect approach to build up to the moment when you make the request. 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

Maintaining High Standards of Ethics, Legal Compliance and Etiquette

The word persuasion has negative connotations for some people, especially in a marketing or sales context. Marketing and sales messages are covered by a wide range of laws and regulations. marketing and sales messages. In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) 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.

Developing 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 recommendations. Unless your career takes you into marketing and sales, most of your persuasive messages will consist of persuasive business messages, which are those designed to elicit a preferred response in a nonsales situation.

ad hominem attack

an attack directed at another person rather than at his/her line of reasoning

pathos

appeals to emotion

logos

argumentation based on logic and evidence

remarketing/retargeting

behaviorally targeted ads follow users even as they move on to other websites

sales messages

in contrast to marketing messages, sales messages encourage potential buyers to make a purchase decision then and there

emotional appeal

persuasive approach that calls on audience feelings and sympathies rather than facts, figures, and rational arguments

logical appeal

persuasive approach that calls on reasoning and evidence

marketing messages

promotional messages that usher potential buyers through the purchasing process without asking them to make an immediate decision

psychographics

psychological characteristics of an audience, including personality, attitudes, and lifestyle

demographics

quantifiable characteristics of a population, including age, gender, occupation, income, and education

ethos

the ethical dimension, particularly your credibility as the writer

selling points

the most attractive features of a product or service

benefits

the particular advantages that readers will realize from a product's selling points

persuasive business messages

those that try to convince audiences to approve new projects, enter into business partnerships, and so on

marketing and sales messages

those that try to convince audiences to consider and then purchase products and services

behavioral targeting

tracks the online behavior of website visitors and serves up ads based on what they appear to be interested in

Planning Marketing and Sales Messages

•Assessing audience needs -Understanding the purchase decision •Analyzing your competition -Messages compete for audience's attention •Determining key selling points and benefits -Selling points -Benefits •Anticipating purchase objections 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 considerations can range from a few functional factors (such as the size, weight, and finish of office paper) to a complicated mix of emotional and logical issues. 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 numerous 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, the 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 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. Objections can range from high price or low quality to a lack of compatibility with existing products or a perceived risk involved with the product. 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.

Balancing the Three Types of Persuasive Appeals

•Fallacies to avoid: 1.Hasty or sweeping generalizations 2.Circular reasoning 3.Flawed analogies 4.Inappropriate appeals 5.Ad hominem attacks (appealing to emotion) 6.Oversimplifications 7.Mistaken assumptions or claims of cause and effect Logical fallacies result from misleading readers via faulty language or misusing reasoning tools such as induction and analogy. The more common logical fallacies that you need to avoid in persuasive communication are: Hasty or sweeping generalizations. A hasty generalization occurs when you jump to a generalization without enough evidence to support it. A sweeping generalization ignores exceptions or contradictions. Circular reasoning. Circular reasoning is a logical fallacy in which you try to support your claim by restating it using different language. In other words, all you've done is argue around in a circle, rather than advancing the argument to a new conclusion. 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 supposed evidence are essentially identical. Flawed 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.\ Inappropriate appeals. Appeals to tradition ("we've always done it this way"), popular opinion ("everybody else is doing this"), or authority ("the CEO says this is the best option") are examples of logical fallacies because they aren't based on evidence and reason. Ad hominem attacks. An ad hominem attack is an attack directed at another person rather than at his or her line of reasoning. For example, dismissing a colleague's suggestion just because he is the newest member of the department is an ad hominem attack. Oversimplifications. Simplifying complex situations to make them easier to understand is a valuable skill, but going too far can lead to a variety of logical fallacies. For instance, reducing a complicated scenario to a simple yes/no choice in a way that leaves out other viable options is a logical error. Mistaken assumptions or claims of cause and effect. Be careful with any line of argument that involves causes and effects. You can stumble into a variety of logical mistakes by assuming that A caused B without having conclusive evidence to support that statement. To argue cause and effect, you need to show that A did indeed cause B to happen (and it wasn't just coincidence or correlation) and that A is the only factor that could have caused B to happen.

Creating Promotional Messages for Mobile Devices

•Mobile advertising and mobile commerce •Two essential points: 1.Short and simple. 2.Fast and straightforward mobile experience. •Mobile users are time-constrained. Mobile advertising and mobile commerce are important developments in marketing communications. 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. Two essential points: 1.Promotional messages need to be kept short and simple. 2.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.

Common Examples of Persuasive Communication

•Persuasive Requests for Action -Goals: 1.Gain credibility 2.Helping you solve a problem. •Persuasive Presentations of Ideas -Goal: 1.Consider a new idea. •Persuasive Claims and Requests for Adjustments -Outline and continue reviewing the problem. Persuasive Requests for Action. Most persuasive business messages involve a request for action. Open with an attention-getting device and show readers that you understand their concerns. 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. Goals: 1.To gain credibility for yourself and your request 2.To make your readers believe that helping you will solve a significant problem ● Close with a request for some specific action, and make that course of action as easy to follow as possible in order to maximize the chances of a positive response. Persuasive Presentations of Ideas. 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. Goal: 1.Encourage people to consider a new idea. ● ● Consumers and business professionals sometimes encounter situations in which they believe they haven't received a fair deal by following normal procedures. Begin with outlining Persuasive Claims and Requests for Adjustments. Consumers the problem and continue by reviewing what has happened. The key ingredients of a good persuasive claim are a complete and specific review of the facts and a confident and positive tone based on your 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.

Reinforcing Your Position and Anticipating Objections

•Reinforcing your position -Choose your words carefully -Consider using metaphors (resemblance) •Anticipating objections (Devil's advocate) -Compelling ideas and exciting projects can encounter objections -Increase your odds of a positive responses After you've worked out the basic elements of your argument, step back and look for ways to strengthen your position. How can you bolster your message to give your readers more confidence in the solution you are suggesting? Are all your claims supported by believable evidence? Can you show that other people or companies have adopted a solution you propose? Would a quotation from a recognized expert help make your case? The more certainty you can give your readers, the more likely they are to take the actions you would like them to take. 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 powerful tool, though, vivid language and abstractions must be used carefully and honestly. 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. Even compelling ideas and exciting projects can encounter objections, if only because people have a natural tendency to resist change. You can increase your odds of a positive response by anticipating likely objections and addressing them before your audience settles into a negative, defensive mindset. By doing so, you can remove these potential stumbling blocks from the conversation and keep the focus on positive communication.

Writing Promotional Messages for Social Media

•Social media requires conversational, interactive approach. -Facilitate community building. -Listen as much as you talk. -Initiate and respond to conversations -Provide information people want. -Identify and support your champions. -Be real. -Integrate conventional marketing and sales strategies In a social media environment, persuasive efforts require a more conversational, interactive approach. 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 content on your website, blog posts, 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 an objective, conversational style; people in social networks want useful information, not "advertising speak." Provide information people want. This information can include industry-insider news, in-depth technical guides to using your products, answers to questions posted on community Q&A sites, and general advice on product selection and usage. Identify and support your champions. In marketing, champions are enthusiastic fans of your company and its products. Champions are so enthusiastic they help spread your message through their social media accounts and other outlets, 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. 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.

Avoiding Common Mistakes in Persuasive Communication

•Using a hard sell -Use a "soft sell," that uses calm, rational persuasion. •Resisting compromise -"Give and take." •Relying solely on great arguments -Emotionally connect with your audience. •Assuming that persuasion is a one-shot effort. -Persuasion is a process. •Resorting to deception or unethical behavior -Combine emotional and logical appeals. Using a hard sell. No one likes being pressured into making a decision. 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 with persuasive business messages, where you don't always get everything you asked for in terms of budgets, investments, or 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 onetime 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. Resorting to deception or other unethical behaviors. The combination of emotional and logical appeals, amplified by an audience's trust in the messenger, can be a powerful persuasive force. Always keep the audience's needs in mind to make sure you use this force in a positive and ethical manner.