What’s the worst that can happen?

It’s important to remember that your audience of potential clients/customers is human.

And, quite frankly, humans are weird.

One of those strange human behaviors is that we constantly try to maintain the status quo — even when it’s not serving us well.

This is called cognitive inertia.

Cognitive inertia — the tendency to resist change in beliefs, attitudes or behaviors — matters for those in marketing or building a brand because we’re constantly battling this built-in resistance.

So how do we write copy that changes people’s ideas or behaviors?

By reminding them of the cost of inaction.

And one of the best ways to do this is to show the worst that can happen.

Marketing from the “failure” side

Since humans have a natural instinct to stick to established beliefs and behaviors, we have our work cut out for us to provide compelling new information to persuade our audience!

Most (all?) of our marketing stories probably demonstrate what kind of success a customer can have with a certain product or service.

But it’s also powerful to show what their life might look like without your help.

Most people won’t move unless they see what they’re losing by staying the same. (Another human quirk is that we seek to avoid loss more than we strive for gain!) 

That’s why it’s crucial to highlight the gap between their current state and their better future — basically, a story about the worst-case scenario of not acting.

Examples:

• If you’re a financial advisor, show the significant dollar loss of delaying investments and losing out on compounding interest.

• If you’re a personal trainer, highlight how life could be impacted by mobility issues or pain by neglecting strength training today.

• If you work in tech or SaaS, emphasize the wasted hours and cost a business might face without your product.

Your turn, Friend: Take a look at your website or sales landing page copy. Are you answering this question: “Why should I act now?” AND giving them an action to take?

(For example: “don’t lose another week to inefficiency - book your free trial right now.”)

If yes, you passed the inertia test.

If not, it may be time to make some tweaks:

• Show your audience what happens if they don’t act

• Paint a clear picture of failure they want to avoid

• Give them a way out with an immediate Call to Action