When marketing your services, being nostalgic doesn’t help.
Instead of yearning for the past, you’ll need to look forward. Provide your target audience with a compelling vision for the future. A direction and a reason to get moving.
Now, we can all be a bit nostalgic now and then. When we reminisce about our childhood for example, or think about a former job. But, when we do, our minds construct an image that’s rosier than what happened in reality.
This is caused by the fading affect bias. We tend to forget memories associated with negative emotions more quickly than those associated with positive emotions. So, when we look back, we don’t see reality. We construct our own positive image of the past.
When marketing your services, being nostalgic doesn’t help. Comparing a rosier version of the past to the reality of today, is actually just delusional. The world has changed. The need to reduce GHG emission, geopolitical unrest, digitalization and the rise of AI are all impacting society and our economy. There are new challenges. And, new opportunities.
Your services can be a solution to these challenges. Or, a way to seize these opportunities. But, in order for your clients to realize this, you’ll need to open their eyes to the bigger picture.
Provide them with a vivid description of an envisioned future – as Jim Collins says. Show them what the best possible future looks like. For them and their organization. Keep it positive. Provide a clear direction and a reason to get moving.
Don’t look back. Keep looking forward. And help your clients do the same.
Hope this helps!
Thank you for reading Nudge #011, sent to busy subject matter experts on November 28, 2023.
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