Persuasion, seduction, negotiation, and fear have lost their effectiveness to clinch the deal, close the sale, and make cash registers ring. Whiter, brighter, faster, and better -- while intriguing -- no longer motivate consumers to act. Today's savvy marketers are shifting strategies to more strongly connect with customers; they are harnessing the power of the four Ps of high voltage communications? -- personhood, purpose, persona, and presence -- to promote their products, services, issues, and organizations.
Sick of the impersonal quality of much of their daily lives, Americans are seeking to reconnect and build stronger relationships. "In all walks of life, we see a trend toward wanting to convert impersonal transactions into personal relations," reports famed futurist Daniel Yankelovich.
Connection, or the feeling of belonging, is one of the top three human needs, according to psychologist Abraham Maslow, after physical needs. In our well-fed society, almost all of our physiological and safety needs are being met, but for many the need for connection is not, and smart businesses are responding.
The image of business today is being altered, says futurist Faith Popcorn in her bestselling book Clicking. "(Business will be) no longer seen as a war to be won by trouncing the competition, but viewed as a complicated mosaic to be developed, one relationship at a time."
Sharp marketers forge stronger connections with their constituents by building deeper relationships that result in trust, and this trust is built on the four Ps of high voltage communications?.
Personhood: Personhood requires companies to be self-aware, self-accepting, and self-disclosing. In order to be self-aware and accepting, many marketers use a tool called "gap analysis." During a gap analysis, research is conducted to determine if a company's current reputation matches its desired one: if it doesn't, further research is required to find out why. If it's because of consumers' perceptions, marketers know they must do a better job of promoting, and if it's a real problem, they understand changes must be made.
Personhood also requires being authentic and after too many recent corporate scandals, being authentic has never been so important.
"In the current environment, it's time for brands to rethink their basic brand foundation and consider adding a pillar around trust. They must clarify their company's values and synchronize them with their customers' values," says Ed Keller, CEO of RoperASW, one the world's most respected market research firms.
Smart marketers earn consumers' trust when they are self-disclosing and/or willing to make fun of themselves. A good example is when Jaguar confronted its reputation for mechanical problems and turned its business around by promoting, "We kept what you loved. The rest is history."
By putting a face on a product, issue, or organization, high voltage marketers? use personhood to personalize their products. But a pretty face is not enough; they are also using storytelling. "The power of the story is upstaging the power of the sound bite in advertising," writes Melinda Davis in her book The New Culture of Desire: Five Radical New Strategies That Will Change Your Business and Your Life. A good story is more personal and credible than a contrived advertising slogan, and we will remember a story long after a catchy tagline has faded from our memory.
Dave Thomas of Wendy's, Scottie Mayfield of Mayfield Dairies, and Chrysler's Lee Ioccoa are good examples of how marketers have used personhood to promote products. These CEOs are comfortable talking about themselves and are able to connect their stories to customers' needs. Personalizing and storytelling work because they help people form emotional bonds with the company and its products.
Purpose: Most companies express purpose in the form of a mission statement, and while many companies have written mission statements, few live them. Many mission statements boast noble virtues, principles, and intentions, but it's really profits that steer the corporate ship, and constituents know it. Smart companies realize that when they put employees, customers, and society first, profits follow. By creating excellent work environments, they attract the best employees, and consumers will choose them over competitors if they offer hiqh-quality products and excellent service at a good price, and if they are socially responsible.
The last few years have seen an explosion in the field of corporate social responsibility. Today, almost all big companies have specific guidelines on social responsibility and are consciously engaged in efforts to give back to society.
Some call marketing with purpose "cause branding," and one of the country's leading experts on cause branding is Carol Cone, president of Boston-based Cone, Inc.
"As cause branding continues to evolve, so too will the public's expectations about the role companies play in addressing societal needs. In the new reality, companies must implement meaningful, substantive programs around social issues to bring their values to life, articulate their 'soul', and answer the question, 'What do you stand for?" Cone says.
Those that do put their money where their mission is -- such as the BodyShop, Ben & Jerry's, and Patogonia - are richly rewarded by consumers.
Persona: Persona describes the masks we wear, or the image we assume, in order to facilitate communication. In business, we call persona "branding."
"Branding is merely establishing a relationship," says Charlotte Beers, former head of two of advertising's most prestigous brands, Ogilvy & Mather and J. Walter Thompson. Much has been written on branding and for good reason. Without it, a product, service, issue, or organization is no different than its competition and will die. But futurist Melinda Davis predicts that the power of the brand is waning. In its place, she says consumers will come to depend on new meta-brands that are idenified with a creed, or marketplace manifesto, and not tied into one product category. Davis sites Oprah Winfrey as an example of this emerging trend. Women interested in bettering themselves turn to Oprah for advice on a wide variety of issues from what recipe to cook to the right books to read. The Oprah meta-brand is also an excellent example of high voltage marketing? because it possesses all four Ps: personhood, purpose, persona, and presence.
Presence: Presence refers to the way a company operates in the world including how it communicates with constituents. In the past, marketers depended primarily on one-way communication vehicles such as advertising and publicity. No longer.
Consumers want a say. "(They) are hoping to connect, to be heard, to be found - at least, to be seen - in a world that makes us feel increasingly invisible," writes Davis.
Experts suggest using two-way communications vehicles such as word-of-mouth marketing, the Internet, and stronger consumer relations programs to dialog with consumers and build critical relationships.
Personhood, purpose, persona, and presence are not linear, but interrelated. Each depends on the other. Personhood, purpose, persona, and presence can be pictured as the four points of a cross that is contained within a circle. Personhood is at the bottom of the cross where it grounds it; purpose is at the top. On the far left, resides persona, and on the opposite axis is presence. Where the four points join in the middle, high voltage communications? take place, and it is here that we are at our most powerful as marketers.
The roar of applause jarred Paul back into the stark reality of the high school gym. For the past twenty-five minutes, Paul had talked to 250 young people about the dangers of drinking and driving, his audience riveted to every word. As Paul shared his story of drinking, driving, and maiming a bicyclist three years ago, the words seemed to tumble effortlessly out of his mouth, surprising even Paul at their eloquence.
As Kathy reviewed her qualifications, she felt a wave of empathy rush over her. Her interviewer had just been promoted to director of product development and was eager to prove himself. In the pit of her stomach, she felt his anxiety about failing and wanted to assure him that she would help him succeed. His success was Kathys success and she knew that together they would not fail. As she spoke, she saw the tension in his eyes relax. She knew he trusted her. A week later, Kathy was hired as his assistant.
Tom took a deep breath and gathered his thoughts. In a half-hour he would make a presentation to the executive committee that would determine his future with the company. Tom knew his stuff and he knew that what he had to say was important. He began his presentation at 9 a.m. sharp, and by 9:25 it was over. Tom knew his recommendations would be accepted even before the committee voted on them.
Research has proven that communication skills are a top determinant for corporate and social success. Websters defines communications as a process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs or behavior. But in todays techno-frenetic world, we are overwhelmed by information. Now, communication must entail more than the simple exchange of information. It must cut through the clutter; it must garner attention.
While many feel that attention is the new currency in todays world, attention is still not enough. If our goal is to motivate people to listen, decide, and act, attention must be complemented by connection.
Connection is a basic human need and our world is hungry for it. In business, connection often accounts for why one salespersons firm is selected over another, why one employee receives a promotion and another does not, and why some managers attract and retain top employees and others do not.
During connection an emotional charge is transmitted between sender and receiver. Quantum physics teaches us that focused attention generates energy. When we communicate, attention creates thoughts, thoughts stimulate emotions, and emotions result in electrical charges. Higher emotions such as love, empathy, and compassion transmit higher electrical charges, and higher electrical charges create what I call high voltage communications (HVC). It is here that we are our most effective as communicators.
We become high voltage communicators by harnessing the power of 4Ps: Personhood, Purpose, Persona, and Presence. Through their collective power, we communicate in a manner that is competent, confident, credible, passionate, and likeable. We garner attention and foster connection by building bridges, instead of creating ladders.
High Voltage Communicators:
Communicate with the primary intention to connect with others, to motivate rather than manipulate.
Create instant rapport by becoming other focused and self-forgetful about their performance.
Understand that all communications, whether with one or one hundred, is one-to-one communication. As a result, their communication style is consistent in the break room or the board room.
Are good listeners with their eyes and ears. They are hyper-aware of others perceptions and ideas, and the feelings behind them, and they are attuned to what others are saying nonverbally as well as verbally.
Concentrate intently on the conversation; they are present to the person and the moment.
Are not afraid to let others see them; they allow others glimpses behind their masks.
Create a safe space, or container, in which people can speak truthfully without fear of reprisal or judgment.
Respond from deep within, sometimes to the point of being surprised at their responses.
Feel charged and energetic; they do not feel drained in any way.
Good communicators use three primary tools to aid in communication: purpose, persona, and presence. Good communicators become high voltage communicators, however, when a fourth P is added to the mix. With personhood, speakers are self-aware, confident, and credible; without it, they lack authenticity and the ability to earn trust.
Purpose transforms careers into callings, ignites passion, and empowers the way in which we speak. Persona describes the masks we wear, or images we assume, in order to facilitate communication. In business, it is the way we brand ourselves professionally, or create our professional image.
Finally, presence is the way in which we carry ourselves, and it determines in large part our ability to convey likeability, credibility, and authority, the three hallmarks of powerful communicators.
Picture personhood, purpose, persona, and presence as the four points of a cross contained in a circle. Personhood is at the bottom of the cross and serves as the foundation of the model; purpose is at the top, where with personhood it creates a stabilizing vertical axis. This vertical line represents work we must do internally. Looking at the horizontal axis, we find persona at the far left and presence on the far right.
Personhood, purpose, persona, and presence are at play every time we communicate, although most of us are unaware of it. But when we become aware of the four Ps, we can harness their power to become the powerful communicators we were born to be.
Randy Siegel has sinced written about articles on various topics from Self Esteem, Medical Malpractice Lawyers and Marketing and Communications. "The Career Engineer," Randy Siegel, helps clients electrify their careers and transform their lives by becoming high voltage communicators?. Power up and subscribe to "Stand in Your Power!" his complimentary monthly eNewsletter at. Randy Siegel's top article generates over 6600 views. to your Favourites.