OK, I love food. If you know me at all...you know that's true. So what? This is a B2B sales and marketing blog...well, as it turns out, the science of selling is wonderfully demonstrated on a good menu.
This weekend I ran across this wonderful article in...
This weekend I ran across this wonderful article in Mental Floss: http://mentalfloss.com/article/63443/8-psychological-tricks-restaurant-menus
Mental Floss is a Birmingham based magazine of the fun, quirky and delightful. It's high on my list of "B'ham great stuff."
A few highlights and applications from the article:
Paradox of choice
The "paradox of choice" is a theory many sales people will know. In product design you see it not only on a menu, limiting the choices to say 7 items, but in car dealerships, grocery stores, clothing stores and so on. Does your offering have to much complexity? Consider it.
Design
So does design matter? Yes. Choices such as how to print a number, where to place it on the page, to include or not include the $ symbol... These are all design choices and make a difference. They lead, drive, and convert customers to purchase. Perhaps B2B companies should not ask if design is important but ask is leading people to sales important. If so, yes then design is a serious business tool. Use it.
Emotion
Sell the dream. I have heard this idea over my career. But you are a dirty manufacturing firm or an industrial service provider and that is not all that sexy. Maybe true but the dream is still powerful. If your product or service allows a buyer to do more, make more, be more profitable, be more efficient then sell that dream.
What is the power of "buy our industrial remediation services and YOU will make more money and have less risk of plant failure or employee injury" vs. "we clean industrial stuff with our big trucks and unbeatable customer service"?
Ok, the point is. Have fun, read the article. Think about your B2B sales and marketing while you are doing it. The good restaurateur can teach us both a thing or two.
Oh. Thank me later for introducing you to Mental Floss.
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