This four-stage process overcomes the prospects instinctual response to disregard our advertised products. We can now use clever design to appeal to emotion and overcome the fight or flight response. By stating the variables in terms proportionality we position the independent variable as the cause and the dependent variable as the effect, while the constant is the unchanging variable. This formula allows us to anticipate the response of the audience.
During this process, content is the constant and gives us the most power. By avoiding the negative response, we are able to design a digital campaign to overcome it. This diffuses the reaction and enables an appeal to reason. An effective means of decreasing the product involves building an emotional connection. Most reactionary responses are defense mechanisms. The reaction is triggered by a very old center of the brain called the medulla oblongata and is described as the fight or flight response. Building trust reduces the impulse to click away from the website.
Often the digital campaign is immediately perceived as a threat. In order to avoid this we must design the form and content in such a manner that it appeals to emotion. Offering free knowledge functions to build trust during the start of the conversion cycle. The free offer is the first stage of building the relationship. Clever web page design gives us the ability to do this in a way that is not threatening. We don’t want the audience to become suspicious and leave the page.
The digital media must be cleverly designed to appear as a trusted resource. People have begun to simply ignore advertisements. When they encounter a sales pitch, they respond with a fight or flight defense mechanism. This occurs even when they want the product and there is a legitimate need. When the digital campaign has the wrong content for the context of the situation, the target audience will disregard it. When improperly designed, the user can become psychologically resistant to something they both want and need.
The balance between form and content helps us overcome the instinctual response in the target audience. Trust is gained by offering help solving a specific problem with a free product. The offer must be useful and it should not have strings attached or the person will become suspicious. When the form and content are in balance, the emotional response to the digital campaign happens on a sub conscious level. Getting a basic product for Free, starts the Buy-Cycle with the B.I.K.E process.
Reason is used by the conscious mind later to analyze the information by deliberate contemplation. It is not a defense mechanism or an instinctual response, but should not be used as the initial method because instincts are more powerful. The best way to earn someone’s trust is to show that you care about him or her as a person. By giving your Basic Product away for free it helps them feel you are trustworthy. The emotional bond begins a process that will eventually lead to a client relationship. The strategy is to get them to develop loyalty slowly as they interact with the page.
