By Nancy Harhut (Chief Creative Officer)
Back when I was a cub copywriter, my creative director had a wall of framed quotes in his office. Some were funny, some were wry and some were inspirational—a bit like the man himself.
But, one of those quotes spoke to me more than the others, it read, “When Aeschines spoke, they said, ‘How well he speaks.’ But when Demosthenes spoke, they said, ‘Let us march against Philip.’”
Even then, in the early days of my career, I recognized the message as the key to copywriting success: It’s all about the action.
Today, marketers are awash in data. We have access to all kinds of metrics which provide us with insights into consumer behaviors and preferences. As marketers, we pay close attention to targeting, media placement, list, and offer as we attempt to move those metrics. But we often overlook a key component to achieving optimal consumer response—the words we choose to use.
Words can literally spell the difference between someone opening up your email or moving it to the junk folder. Just consider the impact this can have in situations where you may only have room for a handful of words to begin with, some of them being necessary keywords. It’s tempting to assume that as long as you deliver your message, your job is done. But the truth is, that isn’t so.
How you convey your message – your choice of one word over another – can be a real deal-breaker. Let’s explore some examples of this notion in action.
Take the word “because”…
Social psychologist Ellen Langer identified that word as a compliance trigger. When we hear the word “because” – or see it since we pronounce written words in our head) – we automatically assume that the phrase that comes next offers a good, legitimate reason. And so we start to nod yes without paying all that much attention to greater meaning of the message.
Check out her famous photocopier experiment to fully understand the power of this concept.
Or consider “easy, quick and improved”.
Dr. Robert Levine, in his book The Power of Persuasion, cites research that shows that the words easy, quick and improved have all individually lifted product sales.
In his study from Carnegie Mellon University, he experimented with adding one word to a call to action, testing “a $5 fee” against “a small $5 fee”. The addition of the word “small” increased response rates by over 20 percent.
Talk about the impact of a single word.
Additionally, there’s no shortage of research that shows people have visceral reactions to specific words. And those reactions get translated into behavior.
Some words make you eat less – or more.
A Cornell study found that diners consumed less food on their plate if the portion was described as “double-sized”. The same study showed a 28 percent increase in sales when “Red Beans and Rice” was renamed “Cajun Red Beans and Rice” on a menu.
Similarly, the Journal of Consumer Research reported that dieters, given a choice of an item alternately described as a “fruit chew” or a “candy chew” consumed more of the fruit chews, assuming they were healthier.
What’s more, Roger Dooley, author of the Neuromarketing blog, explains that brand names can lift product sales. Which is why barbecued ribs on some restaurant menus are described as “Jack Daniels barbecued ribs”.
Other words influence what you’ve seen.
Psychologist Elizabeth Loftus also showed the power resident in a word. To do so, she showed research participants a film of a traffic accident, and then asked them to estimate how fast the cars were going.
However, she varied the verb in the question. Some viewers were asked how fast the cars were going when they “smashed” each other. Others were asked how fast the cars were going when they “contacted” each other. The first question elicited a 40.8 mph response; the second a 31.8 mph answer. That’s a difference of over 28 percent.
Your name has a surprising effect on your behavior.
Several studies have demonstrated the power of a person’s name. Researchers have found you’re more likely to do a favor for someone if they share your first name. Or even if they have a first name that’s similar to yours.
An in-market test showed that simply adding a person’s first name to a text that reminded them about an appointment decreased no-shows by 57 percent.
As well, a paper published in the Judgment and Decision Making journal reported that people were more likely to donate to a hurricane relief fund if the first letter of their first name matched the first letter of the hurricane’s name.
So there you have it. The words you choose can dramatically impact consumer behavior. And given marketers’ intense focus on data, we would be well served to pay closer attention to the words that increase action as they clearly affect the numbers we chase.
This piece was originally published on The Mad Marketer.
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