No, You’re not an Unethical Scumbug

Here’s a headline that caught my eye this morning: “Fear is an Outdated Marketing Tactic and What to Do Instead.”

The marketing “expert” who wrote it dropped these chestnuts in her article:

‣ “Using the problems that a customer faces and promoting your product or service as the answer to those problems is manipulation…”

‣ “Strategies that tap into fears and exacerbate their panic levels are deceptive and are actually contributing to a degradation of trust between you and your customers.”

‣ This kind of marketing is exploitation and “exploitation of your customers is unethical and actually sets you up for failure.”

Whoa! Manipulative? Unthical? Exploitation?

Them’s fighting words.

And if you believe them, your marketing will fail…

…because speaking to a prospects’ fear does not make you a manipulative, unethical scumbag.

When done properly, speaking to a prospect’s fear will help you build human connections, generate more sales, and serve more clients.

Here’s how I put it in The Story Power Profit Pack (Pointer #14):

When you put yourself in prospect’s shoes (empathize), you’ll discover prospects have problems, fears, and frustrations.

That’s life.

Some businesspeople tell me, “I don’t want to talk about what prospects fear. That’s “fear-based marketing.” And fear-based marketing is manipulative.”

Two things to remember:

First: Our products and services SERVE our clients. If that’s not true, we shouldn’t be in business.

When we market and sell a valuable product or service, we persuade prospects to act in their best interest.

That’s good news – if we intend to serve.

As marketing master Dave Dee says, “The difference between manipulation and persuasion is intent.”

Second: If you want to get prospects’ attention, you must meet them where they are.

When you cite their problems, you meet prospects where they are so you can lead them to a better place (envision and enable).

You don’t mislead them. You don’t create non-existent problems. You don’t exaggerate and pour fuel on the fire.

Prospects know their struggles. They know what they’re feeling.

And if you tap into those feelings, they see you as a helper and guide. They see you as someone who knows what they’re going through. They like and trust you more. They welcome you in.

The Profit Pack is the Ultimate Guide to transform your content so you land more clients with less writer’s block.

It contains 52 strategies and tactics that will help you create better emails, social posts, presentations, and other content — without getting stuck or sounding like a robot.

You can get it here.