There is a myth that floats around, especially among people from more analytical backgrounds that goes something like “people should make the right decision if they only know the facts.”
This is the sort of thinking that drove the Hillary Clinton campaign.
It is the kind of thinking that drives a lot of B2B marketing and advertising.
And, it is the kind of logic that leaves too many marketers and salespeople missing their goals and struggling to move customers along the path to a sale.
Yet, the myth of the logical buyer won’t stop.
The truth is that buyers have always been illogical in their decision making. For several reasons this is likely to hold true until the end of time.
First, logic and rationality doesn’t make you move. You need some sort of emotional spark to take action.
In sales and marketing, that is some sort of fear or improvement.
Second, even really logical sales like B2B sales are still driven by emotions.
If you are making the purchase of a new computer system for your office, that’s a scary thing…what if it goes wrong?
Most salespeople are likely taking the logical approach, but they are failing.
Third, why do you think that more people are involved in the decision making process now?
Not because of more logic?
No.
More people are involved because if we make a decision together, we all can’t be wrong…right?
It is the same thing that drives people to hire the Harvard MBA even if the person without an MBA is the better choice.
You can’t get fired for hiring the Harvard MBA, right?
On and on this kind of thinking goes.
The question I have for you is, are you allowing yourself to be trapped by the myth of the logical buyer as well?