Psychology and marketing are linked in an inextricable way: marketing is actually all about psychology! And if you want to succeed in business, you must be a student of marketing. Which means…

To succeed in business, you need to be a student of psychology.

At least, that was the big lesson I learned a few years ago: when I started to realize that there's a lot that goes into truly successful marketing. Truly successful marketing can be distilled into a few key points, and the point I believe is most important is “Be a student of marketing” which also equates to “be a student of psychology.”

If that doesn’t make sense to you, think of it this way…

Marketing is all about how we can influence other people to do something (such as visit a website, take action to purchase something, etc). In its purest form, marketing is influence. (Robert Cialdini’s book, Influence, talks about this, check it out if you haven’t!) Which is why marketing and psychology are so closely connected: psychology is the study of how people are influenced.

As a student of psychology, I’ve got a few major tips on marketing. Today I’m giving you one of my top tips…

The Takeaway

When I taught sales training (So long ago!) I was taught The Takeaway as a closing technique. Here’s how it works.

Toward the end of a sales meeting, prospects often get hesitant. So we were told to take away their opportunity to buy by saying something to the effect of “Hey, I think maybe this isn’t the right product/service for you.” We were taught to pretend that we were taking away their opportunity, which often works as a closing technique! No one likes to miss out, so they automatically say “Hold on, I wanna buy!”

The challenge is, this technique often feels slimy and weird.

When applied to sales, sometimes it is! But there are ways of applying it that don’t feel slimy and weird. You can apply this technique without freaking someone out or tricking them into buying your product. And most of them involve using this technique in marketing.

Take-Away Marketing

When used in marketing, this technique is golden!

And here’s why:

Reason 1: Exclusivity

When you apply the Take-Away in your marketing, here’s what you’re saying: “We’re only the right choice for a certain kind of people.”

Instead of catering to everyone and subconsciously telling people that they are just a number to you, you’re saying “I’m looking for specific people to serve.” In other words, you’re telling them that the people you’re serving are special to you. You specialize in serving these kinds of people. It means that not everybody is going to like your service/product, and gives you a level of exclusivity that broad-aimed marketing doesn’t have. 

You become more than a company, you become an entity that only cares for a specific group of people. You go from being a fast-food chain, to a country club.

Reason 2: The Premier Choice

Take-Away marketing makes you the premier choice for the people you’re looking to serve.

For example...

Anyone can get their protein shakes at Wal-Mart. But I can almost guarantee that you won’t find bodybuilders looking for their protein shakes in the Wal-Mart Aisle, because they’re getting their protein shakes from the people who are working specifically with bodybuilders. They need specific things, designed specifically for their lifestyle. So they aren’t looking in Wal-Mart.

When you create exclusivity with Take-Away Marketing, you become the specific brand a person is looking for. You become the best choice for your target market, because you specialize in your target market. In the above example, you become the specialized protein producer that the bodybuilders need. 

Reason 3: Interest

Take-Away Marketing also triggers a kind of FOMO that makes people look twice at your marketing.

People instinctively find pleasure in proving others wrong, and no one wants to be left out. So, as soon as you say “I’m not for you,” you trigger a Fear Of Missing Out in people. As soon as we (humans) are told we can’t have something, we lose a little of our rationality and start to get emotional and take action. We either look twice, or do some research to try and prove wrong the statement “you can’t have this.” 

You can leverage this in your marketing. They might not be the kind of buyer you want! And in that case, they’ll either realize that through their research or they will become the kind of buyer you want. Either way, you’ve used psychology to grab their attention long enough for them to figure out if they need/want your service/product. 

Ultimately…

The Take-Away is a tactic that is extremely effective in marketing, and helps you stand out from the rest of your competitors. It grabs people’s attention, and forces them to pay enough attention to know if they should purchase your product or not.

Still not sure where you should go with your marketing? Check out my Marketing Engine Ignitor to get some help on jump-starting your marketing!