Behavioral psychologists and marketing experts would tend to agree that the average consumer (call him "Norm" on the bell curve of demographic life) is much more readily motivated by fear of pain or loss than by opportunity. Frightening 'doomsday' article headlines catch more views than do their positively-framed counterparts. They tend to force a defensive call to action on the part of the reader, who may then become a consumer -- albeit a bit reluctantly or resentfully.
Excessive or belligerent scare tactics or scareware pop-ups and other negatively-oriented defensive calls to action [i.e., threats], while somewhat effective in forcing conversions in the short-run to action will ultimately make your brand a target of loathing, and you will be perceived as either untrustworthy or weak. Weakness may be occasionally forgiven, but a growing sense of mistrust will put your brand, regardless of its quality, in the litterbox. People have a limited appetite for warnings and threats, and, after a fashion will head toward positive information from trustworthy sources.
Take a peak at the article excerpt below, and then hit that "BACK" button on your browser to return here. We'll be waiting with punch and finger sandwiches.
The article excerpt which follows appears courtesy of ZDNet:
Symantec accused of using 'scareware' tactics
Anti-virus maker Symantec is charged in a lawsuit with misleading users into purchasing full versions of its software by peddling 'scareware' tactics.
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Threats, when employed in marketing should be implicit, humorous or cleverly and interestingly informative. Your Marketing, Branding and Promotion campaigns should be based more upon features, benefits, value propositions and problem-solving than on problem-identification.
Too many of today's disenchanted, skeptical customers (whether consumer-direct or business-to-business) are already suffering from "threat fatigue." The more that they sense that they are being manipulated by fear, the more likely that they will become distrustful of you. Once you've lost trust, reputation repair and re-establishment becomes a very expensive and time-consuming proposition.
Remember what we've learned here today about Marketing, Trust And Scare Tactics...or else you might just be eaten, piece-by-painful-piece by a pack of flying, rabid wolverines...
Douglas E Castle for MAD MARKETING TACTICS!
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