Congruity has to do with appropriateness and agreement, and it is a very important aspect of internet marketing, especially when setting up an effective sales funnel. Let me give you an example that will help clarify this concept.
Let’s say you have set up a pay-per-click advertisement that says something like Toilet Training for Cats – New training method will teach your cat to flush after using your toilet! To get your free report go to Kitty Flush dot Com clickfunnels $19 plan.
Congruity dictates that when a potential customer clicks through the ad, he or she will be brought to a squeeze page with a free report available, and the title and content of the free report has to do with Toilet Training for Cats. That would feel “right”. What would not feel “right” would be a free report about Cat Grooming, or Selecting a Pet, or How to Train Your Dog.
Then, when the subscriber has opted in by giving you their name and email address, you begin to send email messages you have pre-written in your autoresponder. Those email messages must be congruent with your ad (or article), and with the report. If your subscriber wanted information about cats, and you started sending information about dogs, the subscriber would likely unsubscribe because of the lack of congruity you have demonstrated. They’re thinking “cat” and you’re talking “dog”.
The classic example of non-congruence in a brick-and-mortar sales process is the age-old technique of “bait-and-switch”. The advertiser “baits” the potential buyer with one product, but the customer comes in and discovers THAT product has been sold out, and replaced with a much different product. This is a short-sighted sales technique that usually leaves the customer feeling duped, and vowing never to return.
Going back to our subscriber list, and building an effective sales funnel, I think you can see now how important congruity is to the whole process. People want to trust that they are going to get good quality and appropriate information that meets or exceeds their expectations, before doling out their hard-earned cash for your product.
If, at any point along the process, you provide poor quality or inappropriate information that does NOT meet or exceed the expectations you have set in your marketing, you will lose the necessary trust.
Once you have lost your subscriber’s trust, you will probably never be able to regain it.
Subscriber list building is arguably the most essential element of a successful internet marketing business. Honesty, high quality content, and congruity at every step of the sales process will go a long way to build the trust that is necessary to turn a potential customer into a paying customer.