In ancient times cats were worshipped as gods; they have not forgotten this.  -- Terry Pratchett

By and large, people who enjoy teaching animals to roll over will find themselves happier with a dog.  -- Barbara Holland

If a dog jumps into your lap, it is because he is fond of you; but if a cat does the same thing, it is because your lap is warmer.  -- Alfred North Whitehead

The art and science of marketing has come a long way since the early 20^th century classical conditioning model based on Pavlov's famous bell-ringing experiments with drooling dogs. While many experts have attempted to create new paradigms to replace the old-school theories, there is little agreement on any one model for marketing in today's increasingly complex multimedia "flat-world" sales environment.

The authors of "Waiting for Your Cat to Bark? Persuading Customers When They Ignore Marketing" have set forth an intriguing set of principles which they call Persuasion Architecture. The formula is not for the faint-hearted -- it involves hard work to navigate a complicated matrix of psychological, technical and demographic approaches in order to develop a customer-centric marketing focus. In the process, it requires a business to be willing to relinquish control of information about its product or service; indeed, transparency is key to the entire process. But the authors guarantee results, whether your target clients are individuals or other businesses.

Bryan and Jeffrey Eisenberg, the authors of "Waiting for Your Cat to Bark," are co-founders of Future Now Inc., a New York City-based consulting firm focused on helping clients transform their Web sites' traffic into leads, customers and sales by applying Persuasion Architecture methodology. Co-author and colleague Lisa T. Davis writes the GrokDotCom e-newsletter.

Marketing overkill: the kiss of death

The Eisenbergs are critical of many of the "new age" marketing models which often use Maslow's "hierarchy of needs" pyramid as a formula for motivating customers to buy. The top of the pyramid, self-actualization, is particularly stressed as marketers imbue their products or services with an ability to help customers "be the best they can be." The authors state that this attempt "accounts for much of the over-reaching that often damages more than it benefits a brand."

Another traditional marketing strategy is to subdivide the masses of consumers into increasingly narrower, self-identified audiences. But, the authors argue, regardless of the slew of targeted markets, focus studies and demographic profiles employed by marketers, current consumers who are familiar with today's over-saturated media pitches have become ever more cynical and demanding. "These days, people's BS meters operate in high alert mode," the authors assert. "People can spot a false claim, a hyped pitch, or an over-reaching associative clue in a nanosecond."

This is no surprise. The marketplace is characterized by "an exponential growth of products and services clamoring for our attention." At the same time, a dizzying array of media options -- blogs, Internet consumer sites, slick TV ads, satellite radio, target market mail campaigns -- compete in a climate where customers are engaging with media more often than ever. The Eisenbergs cite a Ball State University study which reports that the average person spends 11.7 hours a day with media. Indeed, even the least media-active person spends more than five hours daily with media.

The result? Consumers are better informed than ever. Many are even better-informed than the sales people they are likely to encounter at car dealerships, electronics stores and telephone sales help desks. The authors tell businesses to face up to the unpleasant fact that in many cases customers -- not your company's PR -- determine the reputation of your product. All this spells the end for the conditioned-response model in traditional marketing. It simply no longer works.

The truth about cats and dogs

The basic difference between cats and dogs, the authors assert, is motivation. Where dogs are social and act in ways that maintain and support the social order (they are pack animals), cats are solitary and act in ways that benefit themselves. "Yes, the cat may come running when she hears you going for the can opener," the book states. "…Ultimately, though, her engagement with you lasts only as long as she wants it to last. A cat is not out to please you; she's in it for herself."

We've always been like cats, the authors observe; all it took was a little media fragmentation and a critical mass of information for businesses to notice. "Understanding the 'what's in it for me?' focus in our customers' behavior patterns is central to success," they say.

This is where Persuasion Architecture comes in. Marketers want to build persuasive systems that acknowledge modes of behavior as opposed to simple patterns of behavior. Individuals in demographic market segments can move from mode to mode, even within a single interactive experience. Example: a 48-year-old woman may be passed over as a marketing target for Viagra. However, she may have an interest in this product on behalf of her partner. Persuasion Architecture accommodates this scenario.

The authors' definition of Persuasion Architecture is "the discipline we created to address the needs of both businesses and customers in an emerging media landscape that establishes a new experience economy." It identifies all the angles from which a customer might approach a product or service as well as the vocabulary that could lead a customer to a company's doorstep (virtual or otherwise).

In this process, the customer becomes the central focus and the experience is designed around all the potential interfaces for maximum effectiveness. By implementing specific measures, a business can sidestep sticky troubles with even the most sophisticated Web technology.

The book presents some striking (and often humorous) fumbles resulting from even the best designed interactive scenarios. Here's one example:

"Jeffrey is on Google, investigating the source of his dog's unfortunate bout with diarrhea. He submits the query "dog diarrhea" and gets over 2,400 results along with some pay-per-click ads. One pay-per-click catches his eye and has him thinking he's hit pay dirt … until he reads it:

"Dog Diarrhea. Huge selection of Dog diarrhea. Low prices, cheap shipping, secure. www.MonsterMarketPlace.com.

"What has MonsterMarketPlace.com done? They've merged Jeffrey's query with their generic copy. It's a "form letter" pay-per-click. Is Jeffrey impressed? Well, aside from the fact that this gave us all the best belly laugh we'd had in ages, Jeffrey is not likely to consider MonsterMarketPlace.com a credible resource and click through on one of their pay-per-clicks in the future. This is actually a pity, because if you dredge up the courage to follow the link, you do find some reasonable, relevant options."

While it's true the authors have a vested interest in catching the attention of businesses interested in following up with consultants' software and presentations, the book isn't merely a tease. Its chapters lay out viable and comprehensive information on how to implement the Persuasion Architecture strategies.

Bottom Line:

The six phases of Persuasion Architecture:

Uncovery -- The goal is to identify the value of the business and articulate it in a way that matters to the customer, so a business can create the best merger between selling and buying for its particular situation.
1. Wireframing -- This defines the "what" of the creative process, providing the structure that will deliver the persuasive experience.
2. Storyboarding -- This involves creating mock-ups in which the wireframe structure is fleshed out, designing the different elements that will help reinforce the purpose of a business's persuasive system.
3. Prototyping -- The storyboard is frozen and the prototype is virtually indistinguishable from the final product.
4. Development -- The goal here is to produce everything that was specified in the prototype.
5. Optimization -- The finished product offers a starting point for testing and measuring. Ongoing optimization requires monitoring metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of the scenarios designed during wireframing.