Principle: Belief precedes action
There are 5 sticky ways to establish credibility:
Anti-authority: someone with lung cancer tells kids not to smoke
Details: include seemingly irrelevant details in your stories like, “blue, Colgate toothbrush” which makes it hard to believe you don’t know what you’re talking about
Statistics: careful with this one - you don’t want to overwhelm with data. Instead of saying “it’s 30% faster” tell them “it travels from DC to SF in the same time the competition only makes it to Kansas.”
The Sinatra Test: if I can make it here I can make it anywhere. “We doubled Talenti Gelato’s online presence in under a year, and we can do it for you.”
Testable Credentials: tell your prospect to test something for themselves at home. “If you want to know whether your dog has a yeast infection, smell his paws. Fritos? That’s yeast.”
Tactics
ANTI-AUTHORITY
Expose industry malfeasance: most brands optimize for a transaction, not for your next 6 months
Other brands use X in their Y. We use Z because it’s better.
I used to think X until it failed me 10x in a row…
DETAILS
Replace generic claims in your ad/email/web copy with concrete specifics
Not “customers love it” it’s “85 out of 100 of our customers say they’ll never use their old product again.”
Use UGC to have customers tell detailed stories about their success (prompt them with good questions)
STATISTICS
“Most people notice X before they finish the bottle” beats “30% improvement.”
Median customer reports significant change in 9 days
Reaction times dropped by a full second - you can be confident you’ll catch the end zone pass
SINATRA
If it works for [high-skeptic / high-failure-history group], it’ll work for you.
This works even when you refuse to change X
Have a reviews section on your website for Our Toughest Wins with some good stories of change
TESTABLE CREDENTIALS
An ad: do X right now, if you see Y, it means Z
Have customers take “before and after” photos
Disqualifying test: If X isn’t happening, this probably isn’t your issue, don’t buy.
Habits/Experiments
From now on whenever an email, ad or social post is published, check it for claims (there should be some kind of claim).
Make sure you’ve backed that claim with some justifiable credibility by using one of the techniques above. Some people will take your word, most will not.
Mike
Today’s inspiration: Make to Stick by Dan and Chip Heath