Appeal to the emotions

We like to think we make buying decisions based on logic.

We buy one washing machine rather than another because it is more energy-efficient, we buy one car rather than another because it has a better safety rating.

Don’t kid yourself. We all frequently make purchases based mostly on emotion and then justify them later as rational decisions. That is also how your customers make choices.

Of course, logic plays a role in purchasing, particularly in a business-to-business (B2B) environment where decisions are subject to review.

But do not underestimate the role of emotions. People working in corporate purchasing are still people.

Here are three very simple, practical examples of emotional marketing techniques.

1. Greed. Greed is not necessarily a vice. It is simply wanting some reward such as a promotion at work. You can appeal to this in a variety of ways. For example, in a B2B sale, you might emphasise how good making the right decision (ie, buying your product) will make the purchaser appear to the boss – and thus help gain that promotion.

2. Altruism. If you can talk about benefits of your product for others (eg, a safer working environment) this can be a powerful motivator. Especially if you point out that the buyer will get the personal credit for this.

3. Envy. When selling to consumers you can use messages about ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ and in a ‘B2B’ situation messages about keeping up with leaders in the industry.

At each stage in a buyer’s ‘journey’ to making a purchase, he or she has different emotional, as well as logical, needs. By dealing with both you can help the buyer along the route.

At the earliest stages, buyers are usually looking for the answer to a problem. As well as providing factual information about solutions, it may be helpful also to give emotional reassurance that they are looking at something that has worked for others. As they move along the buying journey they hopefully start to focus on the particular benefits of your product or service. At this stage you may need to provide not only factual evidence that you can meet their needs better than your competitors, but also ‘emotional support’ with things like guarantees to make this a low risk option.

Listen to your children negotiate with you about pocket money or bedtimes...

They know most of this without being taught.

How can it be that we’ve forgotten?