You’ve all heard it before. The B2B buying process isn’t always as emotionally distant as its made out. And yet, that too is an ironic demonstration of perception being more prevalent than technical fact.
Often times, lead generation campaigns are geared towards combating this. For instance, call scripts are designed to handle objections that dispute misconceptions about your industry. Shouldn’t it be about time to adopt the opposite approach?
Why not value people’s perception instead of always betting on technical facts?
Not all PR and marketing professionals believe that the facts can establish rapport. If you’ve been following news on Apple, you’ll know that its upcoming launches have been overshadowed by a scandalous leak that purportedly originated from its iCloud service.
Despite disproving any actual breach in the system, the damage to Apple’s reputation has left its mark. It’s like you’re the accused in a high-profile murder case. It doesn’t matter when you’ve been proven innocent. More people focus on the fact that you were accused. Your reputation is as good as compromised and this is something that no marketer would want to take lightly.
Now how exactly do you go about improving those perceptions?
- Break down the facts – Sometimes reputation is really a fact packed into a smaller package. Think of the adage “No such thing as a free lunch.” On one hand, a popular saying, but on the other it represents the economic idea of opportunity cost. This helps because a common measure against information overload is to externalize the data, making it easier to remember and digest.
- Spread it around – Don’t think of it as rumor-mongering. Think of it as an alternative way to share information. When you focus on spreading a simpler message, the message itself starts to move by itself. This is usually how internet memes go viral and when you reach that level, you’ll know everyone’s been listening.
- Connect and be convenient – You might not deliver the most outstanding performance, but it can make a difference if your marketing provides more convenience to potential customers. Give them shorter contact forms, offer freebies, or simply set very accommodating appointments.
It’s true that you might want to discuss harder facts during the sales meeting. But when you’re just still trying to get prospects’ attention, perception is the first challenge. Instead of treating it liken an obstacle though, why not work towards cultivating a better one?
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