What's your name?
I read somewhere that the average consumer sees 5,000 ads in a day (no, that’s not a typo). If we believed every marketing pitch we saw, we’d all be bankrupt. To combat this, consumers discount marketing messages. They sometimes discount them by 10%, sometimes 30%. If the marketing message is especially outrageous, they ignore them completely. For a marketer, this poses a problem, one that is solved through the use of implied marketing.
I know some of you prefer to read articles and some of you prefer videos. We’ve included both for this article. Continue reading below to see how implied marketing can have a dramatic impact on your success, or watch the video below.
Implied Marketing vs Stated Marketing: How Can a Marketer Better Persuade the Modern Consumer?
As modern marketers, we should apply unexpected and subtle strategies to persuade shoppers. This is where implied versus stated marketing comes into play.
Let’s say you are an energy drink mix company and want to let the world know how great your product is.
Here is the stated version of part of your pitch:
THERE ARE OVER 122 ENERGY DRINKS ON THE MARKET. THEY ARE ALL TERRIBLE.
Here is the implied version of that same pitch:
THERE ARE OVER 122 ENERGY DRINKS ON THE MARKET. WE’VE TRIED THEM ALL.
Notice the difference between implied marketing and stated messages?
In the first instance, we’re making a very specific claim. Can the consumer really trust us? Probably not. So they’ll discount this message by 30% (or dismiss it entirely if they’re especially skeptical).
The implied scenario isn’t saying we’re better than the competition. It just states, “we’ve tried them all.”
But that’s an incomplete statement because we don’t reveal what we discovered after testing the 122 energy drinks on the market.
Our brains have evolved to fill in mission information. So when the consumer reads “we’ve tried them all.” their brain completes the missing info with something like:
In essence, the reader is filling in the punchline on their own.
Nothing could be more persuasive.
Does this implied vs stated example make sense? /
Another Implied Marketing Example: Increase the Impact of a Sale
Stated version: Sale ends in 10 hrs 12 min
Implied version: Today: $27.68
Note: I’d like to make a point here. Marketers should never lie or mislead readers. If you’re going to lie you’re not a marketer, you’re a criminal. The goal is to use the flexibility of the English language to craft a compelling message. In this particular example, if anything, the marketer is understating things.
Since you're liking this article on implied marketing you're gonna love the conversion ideas I share in my weekly newsletter. Signup below. If it isn't as good as I'm making it sound unsubscribe with one click.
Ok, Ok, One More Example…
Imagine you sell long-term food storage (this is freeze-dried food with a 25-year shelf life).
People buy your product because they are concerned about one day being in an emergency situation without access to food.
Basically, you are selling an insurance policy for an unknown future event.
Here is an example (taken from 4Patriots.com not a client):
A potential buyer may look at the offer above, feel compelled, but ultimately conclude, “What are the odds I’ll be in an emergency situation? Seems unlikely.”
To diffuse that thought the retailer could show a message like this:
It’s tempting to hope one never has to be in an emergency situation.
And 9 times out of 10 that is true.
Notice how the retailer is saying 9 out of 10 times you don’t need their solution. Because it was left unsaid the reader’s mind will immediately jump to the 1 out of 10 scenarios.
No matter what your industry is implied marketing is an effective and, unfortunately, seldom-used tactic. Gain an edge over your competition by adding it to your copywriting tool belt.
Now that we’ve covered the importance of implied marketing let’s return to the page that brought you here: Let’s Talk Editing. If this is the first page you are seeing on our blog boy do we have a surprise for you: The Frictionless Process.
Comments 11
Absolutely love it!! A good speaker commonly does this by starting a sentence and letting the crowd finish it. And comedians do it all the time. That’s what makes a Joke funny, what it implies.
Very cool stuff Rishi, thank you for sharing this!!
Author
Glad you liked it. This post might be one of the best insights I’ve had all year. Will be exploring this theme further because there is more marketing gold here. Expect to see more posts about implied versus stated. Glad you immediately saw the potential. We think alike. –Rishi
There are over 122 Marketing blogs on the internet, and I’ve tried them all. 😉 Nothing compares to the cool, chrisp taste of Rishi’s wisdom!
Great points, and interesting perspective. Thanks for sharing, Rishi.
Author
Thanks, Deborah. Coming from you, this means a lot.
Oh my goodness I absolutely love this!!!! I am totally going to use this, I need to rewrite the homepage of my website anyways, so I’m going to give this a shot!!
Thank you Rishi!!
P.S. thanks for putting the takeaway into a yellow box in the middle of the pitch it made it even easier for me to grasp!
Author
Tommy: P.S. thanks for putting the takeaway into a yellow box in the middle of the pitch it made it even easier for me to grasp!
Rishi: I’m so glad. That yellow box was a last-minute addition so I’m glad I did it!
Love the idea of implied, get’s all the impact with none of the slimy!
Author
Thanks, Sam. Impact without the slime is exactly what marketers need to aim for 🙂
Ahhhhhhh this is beautiful!! Just loved reading through this and seeing the psychology here! THANK YOU for sharing Rishi! I might just use this in some material soon! Appreciate you!
-Tommy
Author
Hey, Buddy. Every time I email this article you comment on it. That clearly means you connect with it, which I love!
Hope all is well. Talk soon. –-Rishi