Prove It! The Power of Demonstration

My big dog isn't particular about what he eats. As result, he acquired the nickname "Canine Vacuum".

Does he care if I put before him a hot dog or a juicy steak bone?

It's highly unlikely. But, being the smart dog he is, he'll probably gobble up the steak first and then inhale the hot dog.

Yes, even a canine shows preference and is moved by choices.

In online marketing, this tactic referred to as demonstration holds a psychological power that directly involves the visitor and asks the visitor to participate in making a decision.

Demonstration is a powerful tactic commonly seen in live presentations and media like a TV commercial or a brochure. This approach asks the audience to come out of their passive state and participate in deciding why one choice is better than another. The beauty of demonstration is it strengthens the audience's belief in your service or product.

Using demonstration in a website is more than writing why a product or service is better than other; online demonstrations show proof. Would you rather participate in guessing which a dog would choose - a hot dog or a juicy steak bone or be told that a dog will pick the bone in preference to the processed meat?

You don't need a flashy media player to use demonstration in your site. All that demonstration usually requires is two simple pictures, along with a question or statement that poses a dilemma or situation that the reader is asked to solve or to side with. When the visitor clicks on a picture, the he or she is engaged in the demonstration. For instance, a website that sells dog bones could ask the visitor to select which bone is best for your pup - a chicken bone or the website's product. If the visitor clicks on the chicken bone, the website can offer information about the dangers of giving dogs brittle bones instead of safe dog bones (i.e. the website's products). If the visitor clicks on the website's dog bone, then the website can talk about the benefits of the product and reinforce the visitor's decision. Either way, visitors feel informed and moved to purchase a safe dog bone.

Involvement is the key ingredient in demonstration. You can even involve a visitor in a demonstration of an abstract service. "Props" work well to show an abstraction in a concrete manner that the visitor can wrap his mind around. The best props involve drama or some benefit of the service and include sensations such as tasting, touching, experiencing and feeling. For example, can you think of a prop for an accounting service? Many visitors can identify with numbers and savings that are part of accounting. So, you could pose a dilemma involving how to balance your budget and two picture solutions: one person dressed like The Cat In The Hat struggling to balance multiple deductibles in a very inefficient manner and in the other photo, an accountant with a sparkling smile sitting across the desk from a very happy, tidy looking businessperson. These are props with solutions that many visitors can identify with and make you want to purchase from that business.

Your demonstrations don't have to reinvent fire or involve creative masterminds before these tools will work in your website. While it may be true that the mass majority of visitors will show greater selectivity than my simple canine, visitors will be moved by the power contained within demonstration as long as they sense a good feeling about their decision to participate and buy from you.

Copyright 2005 Riki Trafford. All rights reserved.
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Riki Trafford shows you how easy it is for you to find low cost, keyword-targeted, pre-qualified visitors for your web-site. For more information,visit http://www.1dmom.com/
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