Understand Your Buyer > How to Engage > The “People like you” Effect

What is it?

Communicating with a “type” of person that uses your products and services in a way that identifies them either through their behaviour, motivations, pains or thinking. This might be “fashionistas” or “fisherman” – it will be a type and group of potential client with identifiable characteristics.

Why does it work

An extension of The Empathy Effect, the “People Like You Effect” demonstrates your knowlege and understanding of a certain client type through your communication to them.

Your knowledge and anticipation of their needs and situation creates a connection and an impression of confidence and control. This is the one time in sales messaging where jargon and industry/insider terminology is welcomed.

How can you use it

To identify potential client types in your communication you can use phrases like:

If you’ve ever thought XX then you need to do / think/ say XX
Have you ever had this problem? We work with people like you
We work with people who….

So for fisherman that might look like this:

If you’ve ever thought Fishing is underrated, then you are not alone.
Have you ever run out of XC-2 bait hooks? We supply replacement and repairs for this baiting system.
We work with people who know that fishing isn’t about the fish – it’s about getting away from the world and being in nature.

Those are obscure examples, but the goal is to be obscure and to get the reader to identify with the messaging and be “singled out” as the ideal person that you need to communicate with.

See also

THE ‘PEOPLE LIKE YOU’ EFFECT

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