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Marketing Psychology Question

by JoshuaG
6 replies
If you are writing an article about the pros and cons of a certain product/service which is better to talk about first?

If you talk about the advantages first, you give them the opportunity to solidify how great the product is in their mind. They go from a blank slate to "this is for me and I want it"

By the same token, if they read the disadvantages last then maybe that's what they will remember.

Does anyone know how this generally works?
#marketing #psychology #question
  • Profile picture of the author Paul Myers
    Joshua,

    There are a lot of different approaches. The simplest is to start with "problem/promise." State the biggest emotional pain associated with the topic and then promise to fix it.

    Next, you make them feel the pain acutely, so they remember that they really have it. Then list the emotional benefits of relieving that pain. Then tell them how, with a link to what they need.

    Works quite well.


    Paul
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  • Profile picture of the author EricM2141
    Whenever I read critiques and reviews for various products/services formatted in a pros-and-cons listing, I usually see the writers listing the positive notes in the beginning...not reading anything into that, just noticing a pattern in what I've observed.

    Having a fair amount of literary background in all my writing classes I've had over the years in high school and college, I would say that perhaps alternating may be a good tactic. Specifically, list a few strong pro's, followed by a few of the weaker points, and wrap it up with a solid presentation of some of the better features. The beginning and ending of a written work have the most impact on the reader, and every class I've ever had on writing essays has said to put your weaker points in the dead center between strong arguments or points. It wouldn't be unreasonable to assume that a similar principle could be applied to this situation.
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  • Profile picture of the author meet1ngex
    Let's see, the most honest review of a product I can recall reading about a month ago. The author focused on all the praises he could about the product first. And then he listed the cons at the end and was very honest with them.

    And you know what? The pros were so compelling that they made the cons less important.

    And he gave me the impression that I could trust his review, because he didn't worry about the cons-at-the-end leaving a negative impression.
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  • Profile picture of the author havefunandlive
    On my squeeze page, I basically did what Paul described. I try to remind my visitors about the problem the have, then promise to fix it.
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  • Profile picture of the author MichaelHiles
    Wherever possible, turn the negatives into positives.

    Maybe a "missing feature" actually makes the product "more compact".
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  • Profile picture of the author EricM2141
    What Paul outlined is mostly standard IM sales methodology...draw the readers' attention to a need they have and then "lift the weight off their shoulders" by presenting whatever you're selling as being able to satisfy that need. The more emotional the problem, the stronger the impact...the issue with that is, it's not really related to pros and cons exactly. Using that system, you probably wouldn't even list any cons to your product (at least, it wouldn't be inherently necessary and as such would likely be excluded to avoid any negative views on your product).

    I do agree with MichaelHiles though, painting your negatives in a positive light can be useful and effective for getting your readers to view them as less of a downside. If you're shooting for a direct review or critique, the full-honesty tactic may be useful as well however.

    It really boils down to what you're hoping to DO with your review.
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