There is what we need and then there’s what we want.
Sometimes we buy out of real need. But most of the time, we buy simply because we want. And want is a very powerful motivator.
Let’s talk about what it is your customers really want. I think it boils down to just a few simple things.
1. We Want Life to Be Easier
If you can promise me you will make things easier for me, especially the things that bug me the most, I will buy. Tell me about simplicity. Tell me about automation. Tell me about convenience. Tell me you’ll save me time. Then just show me where to sign.
2. We Want to Feel Good
If you paint me a vivid picture of how amazing it’s going to feel the first time I slip into my new 1,800 thread count sheets after a steamy soak in my new deluxe jacuzzi tub after a long, hard day at work, I will dip into my savings fund for you. Tell me about comfort. Tell me about relaxation. Tell me about pleasure. And tell me I deserve it and can have it today and every day…
3. We Want to Be Mentally Stimulated
We are unfathomably brilliant creatures. Our brains are considered the most complex object in the known universe. I’ve always thought that claim to be egotistical to the point of irony, but the fact remains: our brains want to be fed. We love games, we love art, we love to be entertained. A world filled with stimulation is our brain’s natural habitat. Without enough of it, we get bored and life seems monotonous. If you can engage me and turn the lightbulb on inside my head, I will give you all of my attention. Tell me something fascinating. Teach me something new. Show me something I’ve never seen before. And I will follow you and your train of thought wherever you lead me.
4. We Want Reinforcement
Specifically identity reinforcement. We have an ideal for ourselves, an image we’ve painted over the years. Our parents helped paint it, our teachers, our peers, our bosses, colleagues, our countries, our cultures helped paint it too. If you tell me that you can help me be the person I know I can be, I want what you’ve got. Tell me about the type of person who drives that car. Show me what I’ll look like if I join your gym. Reassure me that by buying the green bottle rather than all those clear bottles, I’ll be contributing to a cleaner future. And I’ll make the move towards a better me.
5. We Want Acknowledgement
This trails right on the heels of the reinforcement of our identities. It doesn’t matter that I know I’m cool. I want you to know I’m cool! All we are is how we think others perceive us. So if you have something that will prove something about me, I want it. Give me the reinforcement that yes, I am who I think I am. Then sell me the proof so that my friends know too.