Visualize this scenario: You publish a printed catalog. Someone asks you to send the catalog and, because of ZIP code demographics, you suspect the individual will be a logical customer. So out goes the catalog, in an envelope that includes a rubber-stamp message: "This is the catalog you requested."
No. Don't do that.
We're in the 21st century and two rules militate against "This is the catalog you requested."
The first rule is generic to the early years of this century. Informality is the rule, because informality is the key to rapport. Oh, exceptions exist, but not when you're fulfilling a request for a catalog. So instead of "This is the catalog you requested," it's "This is the catalog you asked for." (Yeah, I know it ends with a preposition. So does conversational speech.)
Now another trend: increasingly emphatic persuasion. We add that to the mix and replace "This is the catalog you asked for" with: "You asked for this." The difference? "You asked for this" is a sure-fire guilt-generator, and guilt is one of the great motivators.
In today's brutally competitive marketplace, successful customer relationship management walks the third rail. We don't treat customers with arrogance and contemptÉ at least, we're not supposed toÉbut neither do we worship at their shrines. Except for the lowest economic levelsÑand I'm not even certain of thatÑtoday's customers are certainly sophisticated enough to see through phony toadying.
The surname of CRM is management. "Management" suggests somebody is the manager. (Before I forget, note how much more powerful that statement is than the more genteel but weaker version: "Management" suggests someone is the manager.) A manager takes control. In an era of equivalence, in which we appear neither as self-appointed masters nor as self-denigrating sycophants, we have available to us some subtle techniques to establish customer rapport and agreement. For example, we have "doubling."
Doubling helps the reader to agree by changing a challenge statement to a "we concur" suggestion. Doubling in question form eliminates rejection.
And what is doubling? Doubling exists in two principal forms, the question ending and the question beginning: Instead of "You've never touched precious stones so smooth," you would write or say, "You've never touched precious stones so smooth, have you?" Instead of "You've heard what the experts say," you would write or say, "You've heard what the experts say, haven't you?" or "Haven't you heard what the experts say?" The word-use mildly forces agreement.
Here's another mild grammatical trick: Using the "ing" form of a word makes an action more personal and imminent. Compare these versions of the same statement: I suggest you switch your auto insurance to our company. or, I'm suggesting you switch your auto insurance to our company. or, to double the "ing" effect, I'm suggesting you consider switching your auto insurance to our company.
The first "ing" appended to the word suggest makes our suggestion more timely. "I'm suggesting" is now, while "I suggest" is timeless. The second "ing" appended to the word switch (with consider added to avoid illiteracy) masks our aggressive salesmanship.
A disclaimer is certainly in order. Don't assume the dynamic is always the best road. Effective copy carries the reader at a controlled pace. Sometimes we speedÉand sometimes we tarry to sightsee. Knowing when to speed up and when to slow down is what separates powerful force-communicators from our competent but less-aware competitors, who regard CRM as a necessary but uncomfortable hair-shirt.
Another advantage of "ing": The action appears to be continuous. "We receive many requests for information" is nowÉbut not an unbroken line. "We are receiving many requests for information" seems to be endless.
The CRM-aware communicator usually can dip into a magical bag of response-skewing words to influence a state of mind and blunt objections to negatives. One little word in that bag is the seemingly innocuous "Oh."
"Oh" before a concession statement reduces the essence of the concession. Suppose you've been asked whether a wristwatch is water-resistant. Note the difference between these two replies:
1. "Water-resistant? A drop or two might sneak through. That's all."
2. "Water-resistant? Oh, a drop or two might sneak through. That's all."
"Oh" becomes a throwaway, reducing the significance of the negativeÉjust as "I'm glad you asked that question" increases the significance of a positive.
One more suggestion for this issue: In a written sales messageÑ whether printed letter or e-mailÑ reader comfort is a major factor in generating positive response. One little four-letter word you should approach with caution is read.
Why? "Read" represents one of the more ghastly four-letter words in CRM: w-o-r-k. It requires education and time. So when your copy is pitched below the highest levels or when reading isn't part of what you're selling, weigh the possibility of adding apparent reader-comfort by a simple switch: Instead of "Read what users say," we write, "Look at what users say." Looking isn't work.
I hope you agree, as you look at the words in this column!
Herschell Gordon Lewis (www.hershellgordonlewis.com) is the principal of Lewis Enterprises, Fort Lauderdale, FL. He writes copy for and consults with clients worldwide and is currently at work on his 25th book, "E-Mail Marketing."
