In our enthusiasm for analytics, automation and AI, we’ve forgotten a fundamental fact: the ultimate goal of marketing is to persuade.
As marketers, we’ve allowed our love affair with data and technology to become the be-all and end-all of strategic marketing. While both are vitally important to marketing success, there are two critical needs that they simply can’t provide:
Data can’t move prospects to act. Technology can’t motivate consumers to buy.
Persuasion is the sole province of messaging and creative.
In fact, a marketing ROI model developed by Forrester shows that an increased investment in creative — even a moderate one — will result in an 18% higher ROI for marketers.
A compelling message that incorporated emotional and logical appeals allowed Just Brakes to reposition their services in the mind of consumers without investing in an expensive rebranding campaign.
The goal of creative is to persuade; to craft a compelling message that incorporates logical and emotional arguments, delivered by a credible voice.
Logic. Emotion. Credibility. The three pillars of persuasion as espoused by Aristotle some 2,000 years ago. The foundations of effective, sales-generating messaging strategy today.
Messaging and creative, based on proven conversion marketing principles, are the most critical elements of any campaign. Because if we can’t persuade, we can’t convert. If we can’t convert, we fail.
Time to put persuasion front and center again.