People like to think they buy based primarily on logic and reason, but they almost never do. Are you shocked? Read on…
In fact, perhaps the very few things that we do buy for rational reasons are the things we wish we didn’t have to buy at all: health insurance, life insurance, car insurance, homeowners insurance, funeral insurance.
But even these decisions carry a significant aspect of emotion with them: we buy these things because we don’t want to be unprotected against financially-catastrophic illnesses or accidents, or subject to liability in the case of auto or home accidents; nor do we want to leave our loved ones with far greater burdens than “just” our deaths after we’re shoveled off this mortal coil in the case of life insurance.
By a show of hands, who just LOVES buying life’s necessities: gasoline, water, food, and shelter? (Yeah, me, neither.) But nearly everything else consists of wants, not needs.
So it’s primarily emotion that drives sales when it comes to our “wants.” We buy everything we “want” on emotion and then justify it by rationalizing/justifying it, not by reasoning it through. (And on the rare occasions when we do “reason it through” after the fact, we often end up depressed or returning the item, if it’s returnable.)
Knowing this, product and service providers understand that unless they’re selling the basics of existence (especially in today’s tenuous economy), they have to play on consumers’ emotions if they hope to get very far. Emotions include want/need love/hate, fear/courage, greed/altruism, jealousy/equilibrium, rage/shalom, envy/contentment, and more.
Valentine’s Day, anniversaries, and Super Bowl Sundays all feed on the emotions of joy, love and anticipation.
Veteran’s Day, Memorial Day, the 4th of July and President’s Day all feed on the emotions of pride and love of country
My target audience wants (or needs) more money (although they’re seldom greedy because they’re small businesses and entrepreneurs, not multinational corporations), a higher-profile among their competitors (so they can attract additional loyal clients and respect), and to know they’re getting real value (ROI) for the money they spend.
Discover the emotional triggers that animate your target audiences and tap into them and you’ll be more than halfway to the success you’re seeking.
Listen. Pay attention. Every client has a tale and a need. Find ways to tap into his or her emotion and then satisfy it and you’ll earn a loyal customer and lots of referrals.
