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Let's continue to discuss the various marketing principles that are involved in "popcorn marketing":

4. Engaging the "Senses"

You may already know that people usually buy for 'emotional' reasons more than 'intellectual' reasons. You can try to sell to a person by appealing to his intellect i.e. by providing dry facts. Or, you can sell to him by stirring up / appealing to his emotions, i.e. by offering him a 'taste' of what the future will be like when he has your product in his hands. The latter is a more powerful and effective way to sell.

People buy for emotional reasons. So, what can we use to stir up their emotions? We engage their 5 senses!

Movie theatres make full use of this strategy by engaging your sense of smell (using the aroma of freshly popped corn all around you,) your sense of sight, (situating the popcorn machine right in the middle of the theatre so it's the first thing you see, using slides and ads about popcorn on the movie screen several minutes before the movie starts), and your sense of taste..or at least the memory of it from your last popcorn-eating experience. And, of course there's the visual images of others around you munching on, and enjoying, their own bag of popcorn.

The bottom line is, the customer can either pay the high prices or fight the aroma, the visual images, and physical reactions (drooling) for the next 2 hours.

You can use this strategy for your product as well, by describing in vivid detail how the product will benefit the customer. Paint a vivid, graphic picture of what the future will be like for him after he buys your product. Sell the benefits, and engage all his senses! Get him drooling over the product before he has even seen it.

There are many businesses out there who are still trying to sell their products only by talking about the 'features' of the products.

That's equivalent to selling popcorn by saying "You will get approximately 200 pieces, approximately 1/2 inch in diameter, white on the outside and golden brown on the inside."

It sounds crazy, I know. Yet, this is exactly how most people sell their products. They focus on the 'features.' Not on the benefits or 'end results' that the customer is seeking.

If you're selling a fishing rod, don't just give them the dimensions and physical attributes of the product. Explain to them how each of those features will benefit them. More importantly, paint a picture of the satisfaction he'll get out of holding that big fish, of enjoying the praises of his companions, of tasting that first bite of his favorite fish, prepared just the way he likes it, etc.

You're not just selling the fishing rod. You're selling the 'result' the buyer will experience by owning and using that rod.

5. Preselling the Idea

Continuing with the above concept, theatres are using the smell, sight, and pre-existing memories within the customer to "presell" the popcorn. The customer may not necessarily be hungry or even want popcorn before he enters the theatre. But once that aroma of freshly popped, hot buttered popcorn hits his nose, and his 'mind', he suddenly 'becomes' hungry for some popcorn.

Can you use a similar strategy to sell your product? Absolutely.

Before you sell the product, show the customer why that product is so important and valuable to him?

For example, let's say you're selling home security products. When you initially approach a customer, he may not be that interested in spending money on alarms and light sensors, etc. But'the moment you start sharing burglary statistics from his area to him, as you start to explain the increased crime rate and the lack of effectiveness of most other security systems, he is suddenly interested in learning more about your product. By educating the customer about your product and the need for it, and by showing him why he'll miss out on the benefits, you'll be able to convince him that he needs the product.

You can also presell your product by offering a 'sample' or trial of your product, with no obligation. If you're selling cookies, offer him a 'taste' of it. Once he takes a bite, he will probably want more. If you don't presell the idea by offering him a taste, he will never know what he's missing out on. Thus, he'll not care about what it is that you have to sell.

I remember a time when I went to the movies and just happened to be genuinely hungry. I don't usually buy much from the theatre concession stands, but this time I didn't have a choice. And, popcorn just wasn't going to do it for me. So, I decided to buy a hotdog to hold me over till the actual meal (after the movies.)

Here's what's interesting'My friend was sitting next to me, so I offered her a bite. She took a bite of mine and seconds later decided that she wanted one of her own, and she then ran off to buy one. Taking a bite out of mine (just like the cookie example above) made her realize that she did want a hotdog even though she really wasn't hungry or even in the mood for a hotdog.

Sometimes, you don't know what you're missing until you get a small taste of it. That gives you a frame of reference.