The Science Of Art

August 26, 2021

Storytelling as e-commerce Website Design Trend.

Selling went from art to science, and then back to art. Why back to art you ask? 

Simple:  Sales and marketing teams figured out that people don’t buy cold hard specs. Because, as it turns out, bullet-pointed product facts are 100% unsexy.

Sales are driven by feelings. Feelings are evoked. 

It’s like tapping into the alchemy of the soul. Now I realise that the motive of the sales team is to score some cold hard cash. But that doesn’t mean that marketers should carry that same sentiment over into their consumer interaction strategies. 

Sweet Talking Keeps the Money Rolling
Buying is emotive. You need to speak to the heart of the person spending the cash. 

Consider a drive-through takeaway experience. 

You could position your business as one that sells:

• 100 grams of beef 
• on a white-bread bun 
• with a few salad leaves and some ketchup 
• to someone who doesn’t want to leave the confines of their car.

Or

You can tell everyone:

• You are supporting overworked mothers by providing a quick and nutritious meal for her family. Because you understand what she is going through daily.
• This is your company’s way of helping her care for the people she loves. 
• Nutrition. Fun. We love you. Kiss. Kiss.
• Everybody wins!

So how do you incorporate this into web design or marketing strategies?  Visuals. Video. Short and awesome copy. 

Showing a story
A picture is worth a thousand words. Besides, customers look first and read after.

The short story is: An e-commerce website that shows the product as part of a beautiful lifestyle will capture attention far quicker than an image of the product by itself.

Humans remember stories and images much better than bullet points, figures, and lists.

Buy Now! Click here to Buy! Add to cart!
The second time a pop-up badgers me to, “Add To Cart” I am outta there! 

But, show me what you got and how it will change my life. Now you’ve got my attention.

I want to shave with that blade that will allow me to soar like Messi or Ronaldo. 

Everybody knows that shaving won’t let you run faster. But the micro-animations, sexy high-impact graphics and short, emotive video clips will sell more blades than the fact that your shaving blade is made from stainless steel.

 Reading between the lines
Repeat after me:

“I am a marketer. I am not Shakespeare. I will not try to sell with a paragraph!”

 You have a few seconds to convince a prospective buyer that you share their value system. That deep down, you all care about the same things.

You can write a 200-word spiel on the durability of the three-pin charger that is coated with a ceramic overlay …Yawn… Moving on.

Buyers want to feel you. You tell them what you value by appealing to their sense of aesthetics. A shining black steed galloping down a deserted beach. Power, trust, nature, awe, transcendence.

Boom!