Cognitive dissonance is the term used to describe the regret buyers feel when venders have been less than impeccable with their pitch. The result is that the buyers can feel attacked by vampires and sucked dry.
The term is defined by psychology as anxiety that results from simultaneously holding contradictory or otherwise incompatible
Frankenstein 1118 (Photo credit: IowaPolitics.com)
attitudes, beliefs, or the like. When we purchase items we often have a feeling of cognitive dissonance because we wanted to buy something but when we get the purchase home we experience regrets because the item works for us slightly different than we were led to believe.
Impeccability: Keeping Your Word
Business is about trust. Trust occurs because promises are kept. Promises are about keeping true to what is expected.
In business we never promise what we are unable to deliver. But what about what the other side, the side that says we will only tell the good side of the story.
Some examples of this can be seen with products like:
Red Bull gives you wings but delivers high doses of sugar and caffeine
Eco friendly products that when they are disposed of, contaminate the evironment
Insurance coverage that when you read the small print fails to cover you for what you thought you were buying.
Pitches
Pitches are taught to everyone who sells.
Copywriting, advertising, promotional materials are all about the pitch. Headlines create fear or discontent so that the reader, listener or audience reads the copy. But that copy needs to be short. It needs to tell the benefits to the users. If legally required, warnings will be added in very small print but the pitch generally gives the prospect a reason to buy.
Elevator pitches help the owner promote their service. But time is limited so generating interest is key. Pitches are important to a business or a product.
Without a pitch, a business will be unable to exist. Even in a market, it is the pitch that helps one vendor sell over another,
Real life vampires are not like the beautiful people in Twilight, The Vampire Diaries and True Blood. These are fictional creatures who even When Bram Stoker first wrote Dracula, superstition and magic influenced the lives of people. Vampires were the stories told to keep the citizens and children behaving properly.
But the vampires of today’s business are the ones that tell their prospects anything it takes to get the sale and they never worry about the consequences of what happens later. Vampires promise to get the sale. The consequences of their action are rarely thought about because most people never complain or seek redress. Or worse the guarantee period expires before delivery of service can fully happen.
As you read this blog, think of you business and what you tell your prospects. Do you deliver what you promise or are you only interested in sucking the money and surviving another day.
In the comments below tell me your experience with cognitive dissonance and vampires?
To a better business future
Roberta Budvietas
Maven Connect
CommentLUV
Guest Blogging with Jon Morrow
