Today, people tend to pride themselves on making “rational” decisions, carefully analysing all the available information before determining the best choice. But, like it or not, people subconsciously make purchasing decisions based upon emotion and then rationalize the purchase by coming up with explanations for the decision after the fact.
As Douglas van Praet writes in his book, Unconscious Branding, “Influence is born by appealing to the emotions while overcoming rational restraints.” In fact, he claims that according to recent research, we make 90% of our decisions without consciously realizing we’re doing it.
So while buyer education about your products or services is important, marketers must focus on engaging consumer emotions. There are a variety of ways this can be done—through the use of images, storytelling, persuasive subject lines, and compelling copy. Once you have persuaded potential buyers emotionally (albeit unconsciously), they will rationalize that choice on their own.
With email being a push channel – using tactics such as emotion is all the more important as we need to work harder then pull channels such as websites who are working on converting already interested consumers who are in essence trying to complete a purposeful mission they initiated themselves.
A good example of this is an email from Hilton’s HHonors program. The text is evocative and persuasive – “Exclusive Travel Specials,” “escape to your paradise,” “unforgettable memories,” which then leads to the call-to-action: “Treat yourself to the getaway you deserve.” This email example uses persuasive and compelling text-copy aimed to trigger an emotional response from the reader.