The number 1 rule in customer behavior: buying decisions are always 80% emotional and 20% intellectual. That rule should be reflected in all your marketing copy. Unfortunately, almost all of us find that it’s a lot easier to talk about “What We Do” rather than “What You Get”.
Here’s a depressing reality; most people don’t give a lick about what you do or sell. No matter how much you wish it were true, they don’t. However, they DO care immensely about the results of what you do or sell. So guess what you ought to focus on?
A few months back, my 3 year-old laptop finally bit the dust (in computer years it must have died of old age) and I found myself in a “Big Box” store completely bewildered by the options. A helpful young man came up to me and started to quiz me on what type of computer I needed. Fine so far, right?
He was very bright and knowledgeable, pounding me with questions about RAM, CPU options, video sub-processors and so forth. I stood and nodded as if I understood what he was talking about and finally replied, “I always thought that they stuffed little Keebler elves in there somewhere and I make sure that I sprinkle cookie crumbs on the keyboard to keep them fed and happy.”
I could tell from his eyes that I’d just lost my provisional membership in the “Geeks-R-Us” club and that I’d just become “One of Them”. Well, so be it.
The mistake that this fellow made is to assume that I had the same interest in the technology that he had, and naturally enough, asked me the same questions that he’d like to answer.
Most of us make the same mistake, face-to-face and (more importantly) in our marketing copy. The secret is to focus almost exclusively on our customers’ “Pressure Points”. These are the emotional triggers that create tremendous motivation to take action.
And, luckily enough, there are but two main “Pressure Points”. Desire for gain and avoidance of pain… or more simply put, “Greed and Fear”.
Further, the best marketing combines both of these, creating a huge perceived gap that the prospects are powerfully motivated to bridge. For proof of this, the next time you’re stuck in the grocery check-out line, thumb through the National Enquirer and look at the ads.
You might think that your offering is much more sophisticated than anything found in the Enquirer, but if you see an ad there more than twice; it is a sure-fire money maker. That’s because the National Enquirer commands some of the most expensive advertising real estate available. Simply put, emotions are not sophisticated, but they are enormously powerful.
By tapping these “Pressure Points” you’ll be attracting people who are motivated to take action (resolve the emotional tension that has been created) instead of people looking for more information (intellectual curiosity).
Don’t forget, the purpose of any ad is (or should be) to motivate the customer to make a buying decision and take action RIGHT NOW. More likely than not, that action will include pulling out a credit card, which is the ultimate measure of success for all your marketing.
