Do you
know
what your customers really want?
People buy
your services or products for a lot of complex reasons -- or so you think.
But if you dig deeper, you find there are really only two reasons why
anybody buys anything:
To make
yourself irresistible to your target customer, make sure your website and
other marketing materials resonate with your prospect’s inner needs. Go
deeper. Look beyond the obvious, surface benefits you provide.
As a small-business marketing consultant, this is one of the first things
I do with any new client. Then we make sure their copy addresses those
deeper, inner needs and desires.
But you can do it yourself. Just ask yourself: What deeper need or
desires do your services and products satisfy?
For example, a carpet-cleaning service does more than remove dirt and
extend the life of your carpets. It also satisfies the owner’s pride of
ownership, their desire to protect their children from germs, to preserve
the look of their home, enhance its resale value, etc.
See what's below the surface? Can you see how much more effective
your marketing could be if you addressed -- and satisfied -- those inner
needs?
Take life insurance. People buy it to make sure their families will be OK
financially if they get hit by the proverbial bus. Sure, money is the
obvious reason. But it’s also about self-esteem. Men, especially, want to
feel like they're a good provider. It makes them feel good about
themselves.
What do you think a lawncare service really sells? A thick,
healthy lawn? Sure, that's the obvious, surface benefit. But there are
other, underlying reasons. Like the homeowner's desire to "fit in" with
the neighbors – or maybe outdo them. Some prospects might want to
demonstrate that they are affluent enough to afford a lawncare service,
too. Others might feel that yard work is beneath them, a threat to their
dignity or self-image.
Emotions drive B2B (business-to-business) selling, too.
A business coach might be retained to provide an experienced, unbiased
sounding board for a client’s decision-making. But also to ease their
understandable fears and uncertainty. To keep them from making a mistake
that makes them look foolish or naive.
"Emotional triggers" come in four basic flavors:
-
Things we
want to GET
e.g., health, wealth, happiness, sex/sex appeal, freedom,
self-confidence, recognition, status, rewards, leisure.
-
Things we
want to AVOID
pain, worry, fear, embarrassment, criticism, wasting time or money,
overspending.
-
Things we
want to BE
cool, popular, respected, creative, free, independent, influential,
healthy, attractive, a good parent, a recognized authority.
-
Things we
want to DO
e.g., express our creativity, win someone's affection, satisfy our
curiosity, improve ourselves, achieve a goal or milestone, get in shape,
travel.
Re-examine your products and services with these four types of emotional
triggers in mind. What deeper need does your product or service
satisfy? What emotional need does it fill? What problem or pain does it
ease or cure?
Make a list. If you're not sure, ask colleagues, a trusted customer, or
hire a consultant.
Bottom line: No matter what you do for clients or customers, your
business almost certainly touches them emotionally. Make sure your
marketing and copy does, too.
* * *
This is an
excerpt from my special report, "Website Killers: 21 reasons why your
"killer website" isn’t generating enough leads, customers and cash."
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and get it for a special discounted price.
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