CredibilityLIVE: Using Brain Science in Your Business with John Assaraf

Last week we launched our video conversation series, CredibilityLIVE, with John Assaraf as our first presenter. It was an unique event in that he spent much of the time taking questions directly from the live audience through Facebook Chat.  The result was a hugely informative conversation that you can watch here:

(Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4)

To give you a flavor of the discussion, here are just some of the interesting exchanges from the event:

Guest: “How can we be ‘business smart’ and honest at the same time?”

John: Made it clear that should always be the case, in fact, “they go hand in hand.” He also pointed out in today’s world of social media that you “cannot be dishonest in business” because “people will find out.” John finished up on this point by saying, “don’t look for the quick buck. Have honesty integrity.”

Guest: “How do you make your product or service stand out in a crowded marketplace?”

John: You need to show what makes your specific product or service unique. He recommended creating “a differentiation factor that people recognize isn’t the same as everyone else.” As an example of this he mentioned our own, CredibilityLIVE because of how it tries to create an experience for customers which allows us to stand out.  John also advised in using “real people, real results” as a way of standing out instead of just trying to create unrealistic hype. He explained that hype doesn’t work in the long run and that evidence is much more powerful.

Guest:  “What about giving back to the community?”

John: “One of the things that is really, really critical is cause marketing. Cause marketing is when you create an association between a cause you believe in and your product or service.”

Guest: “What about free in a service industry with high entry costs and heavy labor inputs such as video production?”

John: If there was no way to give them the experience, instead use mirror neurons. Mirror neurons cause our own neurons to light up when seeing someone else experience something. By combining this with his previous point on “real people, real results”, John mentioned that it is an excellent choice if offering free products or services is not an option.

Guest: What about niche products? I invented and am marketing a holder for placemats. It’s a great space-saver. How do I make it appealing to consumers?

John: People don’t buy products, “people buy benefits.” With any product, including niche products or services, he emphasized the importance of relating it to the consumer and how it benefits them. To further hit the point home, John said that “all of your marketing, all of your messaging should be around the emotional benefit to the end user.”

Want to take part in our next event?

Thanks again to everyone who took part in the first CredibilityLIVE event!   Our next event will be on May 5th, with Robert Berkman who will be speaking on Simple Tips & Tools for Monitoring and Managing Reputation on Social Media Sites.  Make sure to register for the event and we look forward to seeing you on May 5th!