Law of Personalization - Persuasion Strategies - Pt. 6

Last week I talked about the Law of Reciprocity, and now the Law of Personalization takes this one step further. If you personalize your marketing communications you will find your ability to persuade increases dramatically.

The book that is the source material for most of these principles, "Yes! 50 Scientifically Ways to Be Persuasive," gives an example that's perfect for Independent Professionals, as well as tying into my example of free articles from last week.

The book reports that when a survey was sent out with a square Post-it Note affixed with a personalized message on the note, the response rate to the survey went up from 36% to 75%.

That's more than double the response!

A few things are happening here. It seems the Post-it Note made a real difference, because when a personalized note was written on the cover letter to the survey, the response was only 48%.

I suspect that this is just the visual "attention factor" of the Post-it Note that made the note stand out and seem more personal. It clearly took some effort to affix the note and write it.

But why is personalization so persuasive?

There's no mystery here. A direct, focused communication is always more persuasive than a general communication. People pay more attention when you are speaking to them directly.

Don't you open hand-written letters first? Don't you respond when your name is called? Don't you feel delighted when someone sends you a personalized thank-you note?

Of course you do, to all three.

So how can you apply this to the articles and reports you send to prospects when they show interest in your services?

I'd say the immediate conclusion is to send the article by mail (not email), have a personalized cover letter that goes with it (originally from a template but with some details personalized), and then stick a Post-it Note on the cover letter that says something like:

"Dear Tina, Great meeting you at the Chamber Meeting. Here's an article I wrote that I think you'll find valuable. Looking forward to speaking to you next week. Cheers, Robert"

I predict that this simple extra step will dramatically increase the success of your follow-up call. Because of the connection you made with that little Post-it Note message, Tina is much more likely to read the article and engage with you when you call.

If you do send the article by email, it's important that you personalize the email as much as possible. Show that it came from someone who has recognized you, connected with you and cared enough to follow-up with you.

This isn't hard to do; it only takes a couple extra minutes.

Believe it or not, personalization even works if you send a mass email to your list. I've proven it dozens of times. When I launch a new product or program, in addition to announcing it in the eZine, I send a personalized "stand-alone" email.

These emails dramatically increase sales. What people missed in the eZine, they notice when the email is both personalized and only focused on one thing.

In this case, it takes NO extra time and effort to personalize.

In other words, there is virtually NO downside to personalization. The only mistake you can make is to "over personalize" where you merge the recipient's name over and over in the email. 

But {insert_name_here}, of course, you know I'd never do that!

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The More Clients bottom line: Personalization is such a simple and powerful persuasion tool that it should become an automatic habit to personalize as much as you possibly can in your marketing.

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What things do you personalize in your marketing (and how does it work for you)? Please share on the More Clients Blog.

Comments

[John Maver]

We buy from friends and friends know our name.

We respond to our name and it is the "sweetest sound" to all of us.

Talk to me!

The Law of Personalization is not just a suggestion.

John

[Lisa Braithwaite]

To be honest, I'm afraid to personalize my mass mailings, even with first names. So many people sign up on my mailing list with an initial or otherwise unclear first name, and I really don't want to send out my newsletter with "Dear M" at the top. But for targeting mailings, for example, to my e-course list, I will personalize with names.

But I always personalize e-mails when I'm writing to prospects or other people I've met. I mention how I know them, something we talked about, and offer a resource if I can (not just my own, but others' sites, books, or blogs, when appropriate).

I'm not sure I would mail hard copies of articles; most people I know are trying to reduce their paper files. I don't want to make more trash for my prospects! I prefer to send a small note card - a link can be included, but at least the note card is a small piece of art.