Secret No 3: Greed
Introduction
The good news
Secret No. 1: Social Networking
Secret No. 2: Spheres of Influence
Secret No 3: Greed
Finding the easy way or the hard way
This final secret will sound crazy-simple, but it's incredibly effective. And despite its simplicity, few marketers use it.
We've already established that fewer consumers want to share information about themselves today than ever before. If you ask nicely, they'll still politely decline. But people want stuff, and if you have something they really want, your customers will get downright irrational.
The typical consumer will go out of his way to tell you more things about himself if he can get something in exchange for free.
Few consumers really consider that paradox. They will share significant details about their personal preferences (and even the preferences of those in their own sphere of influence, by the way) if they have the chance to get something for free, even if the cost and value of that freebie is minimal.
Even if they have just a chance of getting something free, you'd be surprised what they'll tell you.
It's a win-win situation. Your customers get something they want, and you get information that will help you build a longer-term relationship with them.
Consider that this same customer wouldn't give you the same information when you asked politely, and you start to understand both the irrational behavior and greed involved.
We want stuff that's free. Even when we don't need it, we want it. And just like the last few seconds of an eBay auction, we often temporarily suspend our otherwise tightly-held values and privacy concerns to get that which is free.
This happens every day. Thousands of people sign up for new credit cards (and summarily deeper debt and lower credit scores) at sporting events in exchange for a T-shirt or beach towel.
Research companies get consumers to fill out lengthy questionnaires for no more than a $3 Starbucks card. Behavioral, demographic and purchase preference information in exchange for less than the typical cost of a grande latte? Not a bad trade-off.
The reason why few companies take advantage of customer greed (and irrationality) in this way is the cumulative cost of paying $3 across thousands, sometimes millions, of customers.
But if that $3 gives you pause, you're not thinking hard enough. Or, more specifically, long enough.
Pay $3 now, learn something about your customers, and that could convert into a much longer, more profitable relationship for years to come. Pay $3 dollars now, and make dozens or hundreds more down the road.
I don't care what business or industry you're in, do the lifetime value math and you'll likely find that you're willing to spend far more than $3 to get that thirty-question survey filled out.