Skip the Persuasive Marketing Seminar

I just received an email from a chapter of the American Marketing Association inviting me to a seminar on the topic of “Persuasive Marketing.” The speaker (who shall remain nameless) is offering insights on how to use decoys in marketing and trigger impulsive behavior on the part of customers. He uses game theory and negotiating strategies to show marketers how to win business. Now, I am sure the speaker is well renowned and highly regarded as his bio touts, but I wonder if he is living in the past. Current marketers have to think and act differently in today’s conversation-centric landscape.

Consumers today can sense manipulative marketing a mile away. They will not only recognize and turn off any obvious persuasion tactics – they will get on Twitter and Facebook and AIM and tell everyone they know. They will trash your reputation in less time then it took you to sit through the seminar.

Today’s consumers respond best to real and authentic marketing. Tell it like it is. Engage them in a dialog. Listen and learn. There are some relatively easy and quick ways to go social today. If you have a good sense for who your valued customer is and what you have to offer them of value, then the next step is getting out there and engaging them in an honest and beneficial way.