Stop Selling Fear! Give Hope Instead.

Selling fear works. If it didn’t, marketers would have abandoned this technique a long time ago. The sad truth is that tapping into your target audiences’ fears can motivate them to rush right out and buy your product or service whether they need it or not. Sending them into panic mode about a potential risk and offering up your brand as the solution can drive sales like nobody’s business. Fear-based marketing has the potential to perform twice as well as other styles of marketing campaigns because it triggers an emotional – not rational – response from our brains.

Fear is not the only emotion marketers use to elicit a strong response from consumers. Making people happy or sad also can work in an advertising campaign. Happiness makes people want to share the reason for their feelings, while sadness can evoke empathy and connection. However, fear does something that happiness and sadness can’t – it builds brand loyalty. Think about it. When people are scared or anxious, what do they do? They cling to what is comfortable and familiar. Brands that play the fear card well can entice consumers to view them as the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel, increasing their sales. It’s a sneaky trick, but it works.

I know what you must be thinking. If fear-based marketing works this well, why would any brand not use it? I’m going to go out on a limb here and suggest something radical. People are tired. They are emotionally and physically drained from two-plus years of a pandemic that has paralyzed them with fear. Panic fatigue is real, and some people have reached their limits. What people seek now is hope. Brands that inspire their target audiences have a better chance of building long-lasting relationships with them. Here’s how to stop selling fear in 2022 and give hope instead. 

The science behind selling fear

More than a hundred years of psychology and behavioral science research supports the notion that people seek experiences that make them feel good while avoiding those that cause them pain. Fear-based marketing urges consumers to act based on their fears. The model consists of three elements:

• Providing information on the perceived threat that evokes feelings of anxiety or fear.
• Providing information on how the target audience can be affected by these threats.
• Providing solutions (ideally your product or service) as the solution or safeguard for reducing the negative effects of the threat.

Appealing to their emotions can compel people to immediately act, especially when tapping into their anxieties or fears. The American Psychological Association (APA) found fear appeal is quite effective under the right circumstances. Brands that insist on using the fear factor in their marketing campaigns must adhere to one of the APA’s recommendations: provide an immediate solution. Otherwise, you risk leaving prospective clients with the impression your brand identified a problem but has no idea how to solve it. In other words, you’ve gotten them worked up and they now associate your brand with a negative connotation.
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Fear-based selling techniques are manipulative, and consumers have become wise to them. Too much of it can create burnout, prompting audiences to turn away from your brand instead of running toward it. Even when you present an immediate solution that involves your products or services, you risk creating a one-time customer who has no emotional connection to your brand. Is it worth it? Probably not. 

Is fear-based marketing ethical?

I would be remiss if I devoted an entire blog to the topic of fear-based selling tactics without addressing whether they are ethical. The ethics of fear-based marketing has been a hot topic among communications and marketing professionals for years. Triggering fear in your intended audience has social, physical, and emotional ramifications that can border on unethical business practices. Let’s take a closer look at why I feel this way.

• Social impact. Let’s say your brand launches a social media campaign designed to prompt your followers into action based on a perceived threat. Anyone who ever has used social media knows how quickly something like that can snowball into an all-out crisis online. Raising anxiety on a global social media platform can backfire by leading to the spread of misinformation that can hurt your brand’s reputation.
• Physical impact. Creating a crisis that only your product or service can solve can lead to questions of credibility if your claims are untrue. If customers believe your product or service can solve a physical problem, you’d better be 100 percent certain it can or risk a hit to your reputation.
• Emotional impact. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 1 in 13 people globally suffers from anxiety. Pushing a fear campaign onto someone already struggling with an anxiety disorder can cause lasting emotional trauma. Worse yet, it may prompt those with anxiety disorders, or posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to harm themselves.

For these and other reasons, I believe fear-based marketing campaigns to be unethical and best avoided. I recommend my clients focus on brand storytelling techniques that help their target audiences build lasting connections for the best return on their investment. 

How selling fear can go wrong

I’ve already explained that fear-based marketing tactics can be extremely effective. It’s why so many companies use them. However, convincing your target audience to make quick – possibly irrational – decisions based on their anxiety can backfire. Here are some ways focusing on fear can go terribly wrong.

• It can turn clients off from your brand. Constantly sounding the alarm can drive people away from your products or services. They may begin to relate your brand with negativity instead of as a solution to their problems.
• It can hurt your brand’s reputation. Customers know your mission, vision, and values. Veer too far away from them during a scare tactic campaign and it can tarnish an otherwise good image. All it takes is one headline that crosses too far into the fear zone to break the trust of your loyal customers.
• It can make your brand seem insensitive. We saw this with some of the advertisements released during the height of the pandemic. Some brands put profit ahead of brand values and it backfired. One example that comes to mind is Boohoo’s fashion face mask. It was a clear money grab, and their customers called them out on it quickly. 

Make customers feel happy, not scared

Finding new customers can be downright difficult for some brands. Launching advertising campaigns can be costly, so some businesses choose to focus on customer retention rather than finding new leads. Building customer relationships through inspirational messaging is one of the most effective ways to boost engagement and overall satisfaction with your brand with existing clients. It is an investment that produces amazing returns when done well.
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When customers feel happy about your products or services and secure in their relationship with your business, they turn into brand loyalists with the power to increase your profits by 25 to 95 percent. Not only do they keep coming back to do more business with you, but they also recommend your brand to their family, friends, and colleagues. Word-of-mouth recommendations are more effective than paid ads, producing five times the sales. As a bonus, winning over your target audience can safeguard them from competitors eager to scoop them up. 

Brands that give hope, not fear

Some brands have hope marketing down to a science. They do it and do it well. Here are just a few of the inspirational campaigns that have stood out to me as winners over the last couple of years.

• TikTok “A Little Brighter Inside” Campaign – the creative team of Adam King and Lewis Raven brought this little tidbit to life with the help of Agile Films back in 2020. Under the direction of Social Lab, this 60-second video helped bring hope and joy to people during a time when everything seemed a bit bleak and hopeless. It’s a classic example of how to inspire rather than evoke fear. It acknowledges that the current circumstances quite frankly suck, but that a place exists where people can turn to lift their spirits anyway.
• Extra Gum’s “For When It’s Time” Campaign – surely this long-form film advertisement will win an award for its ability to take a stressful and unpleasant situation and turn it into a total positive. There is no pandering, no stress-inducing fear tactics, only pure hope and happiness.
• Shapermint’s “Remember Dressed” Campaign – sitting around in comfy sweats and leggings has become a bit of a habit for most of us over the last two years. When there’s nowhere to go, there’s no point in getting dressed. Amiright? This fun and flirty ad convinces a couchbound woman to get her groove on again in some stylish new clothes, giving her hope that there is life outside her living room.
• UPS’s “Little Girl, Big Future” Campaign – this is an older ad, but one that deserves mention in this list. It tugs at the heartstrings, for sure, but it also gives us hope and motivation to pursue our dreams.

These are just a few of my favorites, but they certainly are not the only examples of inspiration-based marketing out there. If there are others you would like to share with my readers, please include them in the comments. 

Replace selling fear with relationship-building

Brands that commit to replacing selling fear with relationship-building efforts can increase brand loyalty among current clients and attract new customers. Establishing an authentic brand voice and offering value can lead to lasting customer relationships that increase sales without evoking panic. Here are some ways brands can do it.

1. Become an authority
   Good storytelling can help your brand highlight a problem it solves without sounding the alarm. Presenting facts shows the value your product or service provides without going overboard with the drama. A hero’s journey is a great way to establish yourself as an authority instead of an alarmist. Create a scenario in which the customer is the star who uses your product or service to solve a real problem. Taking this approach can help customers connect more deeply with your brand, making them more likely to become repeat customers.
   
2. Ditch the threats
   Ask yourself a simple question. Do you want your target audience to crave your products or services because they are simply amazing? Or do you want them to be so fearful of what can happen without them that they feel bullied into using them? Other copywriters may disagree with me on this point, but I always recommend highlighting the benefit your customers will get from using your product or service rather than scaring them into what they are missing if they don’t do business with your brand. No one likes to feel threatened. Ditch the threats and offer positivity instead.
3. Stick to the facts
   Making wild claims can backfire on your brand and tarnish your relationship with your target audience. The quickest way to erode the trust of your customer base is to make promises for your product or service you can’t keep. It is best to stick to the facts and remain consistent in your messaging. Do you want consumers to associate your brand with fear, or feel empowered to solve their problems using your products or services? One of these marketing tactics can backfire. Can you guess which one? Fear drives short-term results. Trust encourages long-term engagement. 

Wave goodbye to scare tactics

Customers are complex. Brands that reduce their target audiences to a basic fear response do them a great disservice by overlooking their overall value. They reduce consumers to nothing more than dollar signs, which is not the best way to achieve sustainable growth. Here are some better ways to build lasting relationships with your client base to keep them coming back without the scare tactics to drive them.

• Customer loyalty programs reward repeat business. From points-based programs to VIP clubs, loyalty programs put the customer front and center, letting them know their value to your brand. A Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) study revealed that customers were 77 percent more likely to purchase from brands that rewarded them over competitors. Consider finding a rewards program that works for your brand and launching it in 2022.
• Personalized interactions help your customers feel valued rather than exploited. Adding personal elements to your marketing emails (like using first-name greetings) is one way to incorporate personalization. Customers want to feel like they matter, not like they are just part of the collective.
• Reliable customer service is a must when building lasting relationships with your customers. Whether they are first-timers with questions before they buy, or making their 100th purchase from your business, ensuring they have access to a team member who can help has a huge impact on brand loyalty. Make sure members of your customer support team have the training to offer consistent support, including appropriate methods for responding to feedback and inquiries.

Not sure how to create a marketing campaign that inspires hope instead of fear? Reach out to the team at The Write Reflection™ to schedule a planning session for all your 2022 content needs.