Do you love your pet kitty Grumpy? (and what it means about how your brain works…)

by BenJamin Prater on August 11, 2008

Snifff! on Flickr - Photo Sharing!.png“Value attribution” is the magic factor or variable or weight that makes your business win or wither. I didn’t make up the phrase, but I really like it.

Value attribution is the act that the mind goes through in assigning some kind of weight to everything we encounter on a daily basis.

We then use this weight in deciding whether we marry Sally or Edna, and whether should live in a two-story condo or a farm with five acres, and whether we drive a BWM or a Ford pickup.

Some people might call it “trust” or “loyalty” or “likeability”, but really, it is all about our brain assigning a high or low number to every human or book or idea we encounter.

Let’s see what that means if we use a 1 to 10 scale…

  • Your kitty, Grumpy — we’ll give him a pretty high value attribution, a 10.
  • Your English leather sofa — reasonably high value attribution, after all, it is your property, a 7.
  • Your neighborhood — you feel some connection to it, so let’s give it a 5.
  • The car you passed 20 minutes ago: zero.
  • The car you passed 20 minutes ago that was being driven by Bono — ah, value attribution: 8. (Let’s assume you like Bono.)
  • The hilarious TV ad you are broadcasting next week — your goal is to have folks assign it a value attribution of anything over zero.

I’ve looked through many phrases to describe how our brains put value on everything in our lives, but the phrase “value attribution” feels most accurate.

When we can find ways to pump up the “value attribution” for our company or our products, we win.

When we do things that deflate our “value attribution”, our company slowly marches toward death.

We’ll talk a lot more about this in the future, I just want to get the concept out into the open.

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How QVC Hacks Us…

by BenJamin Prater on August 11, 2008

Google Image Result for http___www.liveworld.com_images_logos_logo_qvc-new.gif.pngI love QVC. When you flip it on, you are watching years of refining how to hack humans into desiring a hairbrush or a dehumidifier and quickly parting you and your money so you can possess that item.

A few techniques I noted that they use:

  • Attractive hosts. Humans like to look at other attractive humans.
  • Units sold/left. Social proof that the current item is in demand by the tribe.
  • Time left in offer. Appeals to the brain’s sense of loss.
  • Guest experts. We are willing to defer to our tribal chiefs to guide us. If they say we need Australian toothpaste, then we must need Australian toothpaste.

But wait, there’s more…

  • “Imagine using this at your next Christmas party…” This super-powerful technique tricks the human mind into playing a mental movie with you and that Italian cookie jar at the center. What are your guests saying? How does it make you feel?
  • Strong Guarantee. You don’t see them pitching an item and then saying, “You bought it, you own it.” The mind wants options.
  • Order over the phone or through the web QVC doesn’t force you to use their preferred ordering method. They find options that fit with what people are comfortable using.

But if you order now…

  • “New Today!” Mmm… you can be the first person on the block showing off your new in-pool go-kart.
  • Millions of product use ideas. QVC doesn’t spend 20 minutes showing you a frying pan. They show you 20 minutes of the pan in action. If you want to sell the sizzle, create a visual image they can grab onto. Trigger hopping.
  • People having fun using product. Have you ever seen people having so much fun using a measuring tape? I haven’t, but the enthusiasm is contagious.

Don’t wait, only a few more are left!

  • Call in testimonials. More social proof that people are buying and enjoying the product.
  • You see the item in action. At Wal-mart, you aren’t going to see that juicer in action, but on QVC you do. This makes it easier for us to create a mental narrative in situations with us using the item.
  • They teach us, for free! We learn stuff! QVC is teaching us unique ways to use the item. This promotes QVC as an expert and someone we can trust and rely on.
  • That hairbrush comes in 8 colors! We love options! It removes barriers. We can visualize that turquoise hairbrush in our turquoise bathroom.

Only a few minutes left to order, call now!

  • Using stories. How often do you hear the host or guest say, “Let me tell you a story.” Humans love stories.
  • Using 2 people. QVC uses two people, often a host and guest, so that things unfold in a conversational way. Host asks questions, guest answers them. We are drawn in.

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