“Fueling” your Messaging – Ingredient #6 ”Building Anticipation”

As we begin closing out this thread of articles about “fueling” your messaging, I’d like to briefly speak about the idea of “building anticipation” in your audience.

Whether we have a new product that might be coming to market, or a new process or service that will greatly enhance our ability to meet a client need, the ability to build anticipation can go a long way towards the eventual success of that product or service.

So, let’s look at how Mr. Webster defines “anticipation”:

1a: a prior action that takes into account or forestalls a later action

hired more security guards in anticipation of a large crowd

b: the act of looking forward; especially: pleasurable expectation

looked forward with anticipation to their arrival

2: the use of money before it is available

3a: visualization of a future event or state

b: an object or form that anticipates a later type

4: the early sounding of one or more tones of a succeeding chord to form a temporary dissonance — compare suspension

I call your attention in particular to number #1B – the act of looking forward, a pleasurable expectation, as well as #3 – visualization of a future event. By mastering the ability to use “anticipation” in your marketing messages, you build intrigue and “tease” your audience with information that creates excitement and expectation. An additional side-benefit to this technique is that it begins to also build acceptance. That is, acceptance that the new product or service soon to be revealed is necessary and solves the problem it was intended for.

To use this strategy most effectively, messages about the upcoming product/event/service should be created in steady increments. Each new message reveals just a bit more information than the last, but never so much as to be completely revealing. This not only continues to build on the anticipation, but also allows for any changes that may need to be made between the initial product mention and the final version that will come to market. This is especially true when the anticipation involves a product with a longer development cycle.

Ah yes, “anticipation” is an incredibly powerful emotion. And it come “hard-wired” in all of us. Take advantage of this fact by using these anticipation techniques to build excitement, expectation, and revenues!

Next time, we add the final ingredient into our mix – “Monitoring your Results” - Stay Tuned!