I (Pam) recently came up with this acronym to help our clients credibilitize their websites.  It’s called the RESPECT formula.  Although we’re using it to talk about websites, the RESPECT formula works for any marketing piece.

R – Relevance – Provide relevant information that helps users solve problems

E – External opinion – Show “who else says so” including both experts and “people like me”

S – Scientific basis – Provide research-based validation

P – Proof of results – Show concrete proof of actual results

E – Elimination of Risk – Provide ways to reduce or eliminate risk

C – Comparisons – Provide comparisons to competing products, services and companies

T – Transparency – Use honest, straightforward language; Show real people, have real discussion about real issues

Now, let’s more closely at each one:

Relevant, customer-focused information

The more informational a website is, the more credible it can be. And, we’re not talking about just any data, but exactly the information your visitors and potential buyers want, and in the appropriate quantity.

Credible websites are not advertisements.  They are informational, educational vehicles whose content is focused on solving problems.  Perhaps the biggest blunder made on many websites is to focus internally – on the company, product or service – rather than on the user or buyer.  That doesn’t mean you can’t talk about your company, product or service;  it simply means that you should do it in a voice and manner that makes sense to the buyer.

Of course, this requires you to understand exactly who’s coming to your website and why.  After all, you can’t write to your buyer unless and until you know who that is.  We recommend you create Buyer Profiles.  This is nothing elaborate, just a description of who visits your site and what they’re looking for.  Once you know this, you then have clearer insight into what to write about and how to write it.

External Opinion – Who Else Says So

One of the most effective marketing tools is something we refer to as “other messengers,” and it’s based on the fact that we tend to put more stock in what other people say about us than what we say about ourselves.  The old Will Rogers adage has never been more true than it is today “Get someone else to blow your horn and the sound will carry twice as far.”

Other messengers or external opinion as we refer to it here takes two forms – the first is from “people like me” (i.e. endorsements and testimonials from customers and people I can relate to.  The second form is “expert” opinion.  This can take the form of expert reviews or analysis, 5-star rating type information, Profession or organizational approvals (Recommended by 4 out of 5 doctors).

In order to know which “experts” to include in your credibility marketing, learn which expert sources your audience finds most credible.  If you’re selling consumer products, the source might be consumer reviews or online consumer groups.  If you’re selling a business-to-business product, the source might be trade publication writers, analysts, or Wall-Street journalists.

Scientific Basis

The more you can offer in the way of scientific validation, the more credible you will be perceived.  Research studies, surveys, white papers, focus groups, clinical trials – they all help you provide scientific validation.  If you have real academic research, provide the report on your website.  If you don’t have the research, find some research that substantiates at least some of your claims.  Then, either get permission to reproduce it, or summarize it.  And, of course, provide links to it.

From the time the internet allowed (literally) anyone to publish opinion under the guise of expert advice, the world has been inundated with drivel and opinion.  The research and scientific validation is your most effective way to distinguish yourself from mere opinion.

Proof of Results

Providing Proof of Results should accomplish two important objectives: 1) Provide validity that you deliver the results you claim to deliver;  and 2) help prospects get a sense of what it’s like to do business with you.  When your prospects are able to relate to the experience of your customers, they become more likely to believe the results.  That’s a giant step in their decision-making strategy.  It helps them feel comfortable enough to take the next step.

Elimination of Risk

The first hard question to ask is: Why?  Why is this important?  Here are a few very bottom-line facts that might surprise you:

• Consumers reported $17.8 million lost to online fraud (FBI’s White Collar Crime Center Report. 2001)
• Two out of three consumers whose privacy was violated by a Web site would not visit that site again (Gartner Group, Feb 2001)
• Of 23,000 panelists, 48% believed their credit card information was at risk and 51% were less likely to give personal or financial information to a Web site (Gallup poll, Feb. 2000)
• 62% of online shoppers are not confident that their privacy is protected on the Internet (PriceWaterhousCoopers, 2000)

(source: Dan Kim, Michigan State University, 2004)

Credible websites make it easy for prospective customers to get to know you and ultimately decide to do business with you.  As you can see from the bullets above, one of the elements in this process is risk avoidance.  Risk avoidance speeds up the decision-making process and makes it easier for customers to do business with you.

Comparisons

The internet gives us immediate access to information about a company.  It also gives us a simple way to compare firms.  Prospective buyers come to your website at varying positions in the sales cycle.  Some are just starting to collect information, while others have multiple choices in mind and are looking for distinguishing qualities in those options.  Comparisons help prospects make their decisions.  They also help you move them from prospect to client.

Comparison is one of the primary decision-making mechanisms.  Comparison is also one of the fundamental ways humans learn.  Humans rarely ever see two items as 100% different from each other.  We measure them in relationship to each other.  And, we relate and compare new data to what we already know.  An apple is like a smooth orange.  A banana has a similar weight as an orange.  A dime is he same color as a quarter.  Laptop A is similar to Laptop B, except it’s faster, bigger, lighter.

You can use this as a marketing tool by taking care to help the customer determine how your product or service compares to others.  Wouldn’t you do this type of market research anyway to know what your competitors are offering?  The comparison you provide on your website or in a print piece doesn’t have to be anything elaborate – a simple 5-point comparison will do the trick.

Transparency

When people come to your website, one of the first things they look at is the AboutUs page.  They want to know the real people behind the scenes.  The simple act of including photos, personal bios and contact links to real people can go a long way to enhancing your website’s credibility.

A second element of website transparency is being clear about who you are and what you do.  This sounds basic, but so often company and product descriptions are obscured in techno-speak and advertising fluff.  Consequently, they come across as disingenuous and salesy – which negatively impacts credibility.

Credible business websites avoid sounding academic or stodgy.  They manage to communicate credible information in a personal way.  Effective websites have a personality and a voice, a voice that resonates with the customer and reflects the personality of real people who are “client-centric.”

In the past few months, I’ve become obsessed with Social Media Marketing. It’s very much like direct marketing (direct mail), but very different, too. I squeezed my brain trying to pinpoint the essence of the difference. This is important because until you get a handle on the psychological differences, you can’t be effective.

Here’s what I’ve discovered:

1. SMM is a totally different philosophy. It focuses on building relationships, not just buyers. This relationship-building process turns out to be the same one we describe in two of our books: Axis of Influence and the 5 Levels of Rapport.

2. Unlike every other marketing medium, SMM is totally dependent on good, clear writing. No graphics, no photos, no colors. Just good writing.

Question: what do you see as the differences?

- Michael Lovas

Question:

Can the specific words you use in your marketing really make that much difference? Absolutely! When you purposefully choose the right words, and deliver them in just the right way, you give your marketing its best chance of success. The specific words can easily mean the difference between success and failure.

We’ve been analyzing marketing psychology for more than 20 years, and I can tell you from experience, it is almost always done wrong. The psychology is the exact point where most people screw up in their marketing.

The biggest mistake is mindlessly simple: they think their information alone is strong enough to inspire people to respond. That is just knuckle-headed thinking. However, in their defense, it’s all they know. They just did not learn the right way to approach marketing (and selling).

Logically, your goal should be to inspire people to buy from you – again and again. So, what picture do you need to place in your target market’s mind that will inspire them to take action? Most people seem to think that picture is a customer blissfully reading a contract or the user manual. Again – knuckle-headed.

So, what do you think the right answer is?

– Michael Lovas

On your website, people tend to actually read very little of your content. Instead, they skim, jumping from point to point in an “F” pattern.

Visitors to your site tend to look at the first headline and typically read all of it (if it’s not too long). Then, they drop down to the next big, bolded line and read some of it. Finally, they skim down the left side of the page looking for something else to grab their eye’s attention.

There are only a few of these studies, and they all come to the same conclusions:

· visitors read very few words
· those words are located in an “F” pattern

The wisdom and advice for you is this:

If you want to capture your visitor’s attention, you have to reformat and edit your web content to take advantage of how people read websites. You have to take advantage of the psychology, or you will be victimized by it.

– Michael Lovas

Open a sample of various websites, and you’ll most likely see the result of a person or firm trying to adapt a printed brochure to the Internet. It doesn’t work because people read them differently.

Brochures. In a brochure, people tend to look at your headline, subheads and bullet points. They will use look at those points to find relevant information. If they find it, they’ll read more of your content.

Web. On your website, people tend to read even less and skim even more. They jump from point to point in an “F” pattern. (Jakob Nielsen) They look at the first headline and typically read most of it. Then, they drop down to the next big, bolded line and read some of it. Finally, they skim down the left side of the page looking for something else to grab their eye’s attention.

If you want to capture your visitor’s attention, you have to reformat and edit your web content to take advantage of how people read websites.

Logic. Think in these terms: smaller chunks of information, preceded by a relevant subhead, all written to give the most important information first.

Like this info? This information comes from our new eBook. It’s so new that we’re still finalizing the content, and the working title is Words that Guide Minds. It is an intense class in how to use psychology in your marketing, specifically how to use words to motivate people.

Want a sample? Just send me an email: michael@aboutpeople.com. Include your contact information and this paragraph.

– Michael Lovas