I listened to a podcast the other day with Russell Howard interviewing Jimmy Carr. I’ve listened to a few Jimmy Carr interviews recently; he seems to have a take on life I can relate to. As they were chatting, he said something that I had to roll around in my head for quite some time – a real head scratcher. I challenge you to do the same.
“When is the last time you really changed your mind on something?”
We’ve all been stuck at one time or another with that person driven on trying to persuade you otherwise, whether it’s politics, music or sport. But does it work?
My Instagram feed is full of ads with people proclaiming, “They’ve been lying to you”, or “What you didn’t know”. I just stumbled across one telling me “the top three things men get wrong about body wash”. Personally, that passive-aggressive approach switches me off faster than you can say, “Oh, do shut up!”
Our job as marketers is to steer, not to persuade. To guide people so that they make a decision based on their own reasoning.
But don’t take my word for it.