Stand Out

You want your selling messages to be prominent so they’ll catch the attention of shoppers. Yes, the payoff is convincing the prospect to make the purchase. But you have to catch the attention first. And yes, there are ways to draw in the consumer aside from message prominence. Still, your attention to perception is fundamental.
     Researchers at University of Southern California and University of Texas-Austin summarized what consumer behavior studies say about standing out. Here is my adaptation of their list:

• Live large. Consumers are more likely to notice bigger ads than smaller ones and to listen more closely to the same salesperson when she’s making effusive gestures rather than restrained movements. Enthusiasm persuades, particularly when the enthusiasm is genuine.
• Color consumers’ worlds. Signage which employs a range of hues grabs more attention than the black-and-white. It is also true that B&W commands attention when surrounded by colorful stimuli, but this effect is weaker.
• Be bold. Product claims made in boldface print or in a slow, deep voice achieve perceptual prominence. To turn shoppers’ heads, surprise them with daring humor or unexpected claims. Do be sure to promptly follow up with a comforting resolution, though.
• Cement with concrete. Concrete words like apple, engine, and hammer are easier for consumers to process than abstract words like aptitude, essence, and hatred. Because they are easier to process, these words will stand out. This is not to say you should completely avoid abstract words. Once you stop the shopper with the prominent stimuli, you’d like them to spend time contemplating what you’re saying. Abstract words help do that.

     The shopper psychology underpinning for all of this is Weber’s Law: In the 1830’s, Ernst Weber reported that weight lifters would notice an increase or decrease in the load only when the change was about 20% of the prior load. For 100 pounds, it took a 20 pound difference. But for 300 pounds, it took a 60 pound difference. Experimental psychologist Gustav Theodor Fechner extended Weber’s Law to cover all sorts of human perceptions, including whatever the shopper in your store encounters.
     The point for retailers: To achieve prominence, make the ads, gestures, signage, wording and the rest about 20% different from what surrounds it. If everything in your communication comes across to the consumer as really loud, the loud won’t stand out. In addition, odds are with you ending up annoying the person.

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