Story From The Caribbean (And How It Relates To Marketing)

As my regular readers know, I was on a cruise in the Caribbean last week. One of our stops was St. Maarten, a gorgeous island in the Netherland Antilles. While we were there, my wife and I experienced something which demonstrates a few solid marketing principles you can (and should) use in your Internet business.

Actually, viewing our cruise with a marketer’s eye, there were marketing principles at work everywhere. These islands depend heavily on tourism. At the same time, Americans are pretty much viewed as walking dollar signs. The cruise line conveniently routes us to little pockets of paradise, and much of it is geared toward sales. Sure, the cruise is relaxing and it is a great vacation. But, face it – when you’re on a cruise, you’re also a sales prospect.

While walking in St. Maarten awaiting a sailing excursion, we were walking in the shopping area. We got stopped by a couple of natives who engaged my wife in conversation. And therein lies marketing motto #1…

There are two very powerful factors in persuasion at play here:

1. Likability. If the person is likable, it is harder to refuse them.
2. Commitment and Consistency. Once you have engaged in some action, the natural inclination is to follow through.

Likability

When these people engaged us in conversation, they immediately put both principles to work. They did not engage us in a sales pitch. Instead, they asked us how we were doing, what cruise line we were on, etc. Next, they asked us to play a scratch-off card. If we scratched off 3 of the same symbols on the card, we would win one of the prizes on the back. She also explained how much it would help her out. How do you say no to that?

By this time, my inner marketer was becoming amused. My wife, however, went for it and – surprise! – she won. I didn’t. I won a free drink. She would win either a $600+ cash prize, a $500 gift card, or a free vacation. In order to find out what (and here’s the kicker), we had to go to their office, participate in a sales presentation. I got this information in a round-about way. It took awhile to figure it out because these guys were very busy being likable and trying not to have us look at this as a sales pitch. The lady gave us this nice story of how this was so great for her because the company would give her $100 and some time off if we followed through.

After several minutes of conversation, I found out they were with Coast To Coast (aka Grand Getaway Vacations). A quick search on this doesn’t lead to much information, however the general consensus seems to be that this is a total rip-off scheme. But, that is beside the point here. What I’m interested in is the marketing.

Likability is a powerful marketing tool. It is also incredibly common sense. You’re more likely to talk to (and have a harder time saying no to) somebody you like.

Commitment and Consistency

So, my wife obviously wanted to claim her prize. The two people were very likable (influence factor #1) and we had taken the time to scratch their little cards. Not only did they play the mystery card (everybody hates an unknown and we didn’t know what we won yet), but the commitment and consistency card (influence weapon #2) was in play and we felt compelled to follow through.

The rule of consistency is powerful. If your sales funnel is designed around it, big things can happen. If you get somebody to make some small commitment, it is easier to get them to make a larger commitment.

Reciprocity

Another influence factor was at play here, however: reciprocity. Essentially, when you do something for somebody, they are a little more compelled to do something back. It is human nature. So, Coast to Coast gives us a nice prize. As part of their sales presentation, the rule of reciprocity would no doubt come to play as they tried to sell us some large travel package.

This is why free reports are so popular online. When a person gets something, they are that much more likely to give back later on. This is also another reason why blogs can work very well in online sales when used properly. If you provide a lot of great content for free, then you are better able to sell related products to your audience later. It is reciprocity at work.

How It Panned Out

In the end, we ended up in their office. We sat down and I listened to about 5 minutes of their sales pitch. The guy was good. My inner marketer was impressed. But, we had places to be and getting suckered into a big travel package wasn’t part of the plan. So, we got up and left. There were about four other couples in the room that all “won” something, too.

I want to make something clear here. These factors in influencing others are used all the time when it comes to sales, but not always dishonestly. Coast to Coast may be a scheme, I have no idea. But, this in no way means that all people who employ these influence tools are con artists. So, please do NOT jump to that conclusion.

Lastly, I’m not making up these influence factors. They come from a book which is very powerful (and well known) in the world of marketing: Influence by Robert Cialdini. If you want to learn more about the art of influence, I highly recommend this read.

Next time you’re on a cruise, realize this: you’re a walking dollar sign. You will be pitched to and sold things all the time. You will be herded into places to buy things. Don’t get upset by it, though. If you want to make money online, you need to learn the art of marketing. And there is no better way to do that than to observe how people sell things.