Mind Over Matter Sigmund Freud and B.F. Skinner may be dead, but they can still help your business.

Guerrilla marketers don't rely on guesswork. Why? Becausewrong guesses are expensive. Instead, they rely on psychology asmuch as possible. Many psychological theories are actuallyconsidered laws of human behavior. Guerrillas lean on these lawsbecause they want certainty to be a hallmark of theirmarketing.

Following are 10 things guerrillas know about using psychologyin marketing to transform guesswork into science--and make theirefforts pay off.

1. Purchase decisions are made subconsciously. People maysay the words consciously, but they process the data in theirsubconscious.

2. Experts now know how to access the subconscious mind:with repetition. Put these two thoughts together--purchasedecisions are made in the subconscious, and you can access thesubconscious with repetition--and you begin to understand animportant facet of guerrilla marketing.

3. People are either left-brained or right-brained.Left-brained people respond to sequential, logical information andlove marketing that gives them 10 reasons to buy. Right-brainedpeople respond to emotional, aesthetic appeals and love marketingthat looks stunning and tugs at their heartstrings. Guerrillascreate marketing materials that attract both left- andright-brained consumers.

4. Businesses that succeed are those that form two bonds withall customers: the human bond and the business bond. The strongerthe human bond, the stronger the business bond.

5. All marketing has two messages: the stated message and themetamessage. The stated message is what you actually say. Themetamessage, often the stronger of the two, involves what yourmarketing looks like, what it feels like, where it appears, whatsize it is and how professional it appears.

6. There are two schools of marketing hard at work inAmerica these days: Freudian marketing, which is based on SigmundFreud's work and aims for a change of attitude, and Skinnerianmarketing, based on B.F. Skinner's proof of the power ofbehavior modification.

Which method does a guerrilla choose? Both. Guerrillasconstantly attempt to shape attitudes while peppering theirprospects with special offers that require instant action.

7. People hate taking the hard step of buying something, soguerrillas use soft steps to make the process easier. Soft stepsinclude things like free consultations and seminars, brochures,videos, demonstrations and free samples.

8. Full-color marketing materials increase data retention andinclination to buy.

9. Customers will look more favorably on you if you show themyou genuinely want them to succeed.

10. Customers like to feel special. That's not alwayseasy to accomplish, but it's necessary.

Jay Conrad Levinson is author of the internationallyacclaimed Guerrilla Marketing series of books and co-founderof Guerrilla Marketing International. For information on theGuerrilla Marketing Newsletter and other products and services,write to P.O. Box 1336, Mill Valley, CA 94942; call (800) 748-6444;or visit the Web site at http://www.gmarketing.com