2 GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR MARKETING SUCCESS
Supported by a Radio Station and Driven Home by a Poem
Guiding Principle #1:
People Make Their Buying Decisions Emotionally … and Then Justify Logically.
Yes! You too … and if truth be told …myself as well. Not sure about yourself? Just think back to the last few purchases you made. How many were made after careful analysis and thoughtful consideration vs. impulse. Examples in your life may include: new blazer, sweater, health club membership, house of worship, or new car.
Guiding Principle #2:
People Buy a Product or Service for What It Does … and How It Makes Them Feel.
Uh, Oh … Examples in your life may include: new blazer, sweater, health club membership, house of worship or new car.
The Significance of a Radio Station
No telling the origin, but an often-noted (surely mythical) radio station often surfaces in discussions of marketing and sales – WIIFM! That’s the acronym for … What’s In It For Me?
So now we come to the often unspoken question in the minds of marketing targets when you present your offerings … So What?
Marketing messages that emphasize what the product or service does miss the point for appeal to key targets … the suspect, prospect, customer or referral resource. Each of these critical audiences needs to know what it delivers to them, specifically … WIIFM!!
Four Reasons Why People Buy … And How to Best Position Your Offerings for Success
There are books written on the reasons people buy. Our position is to transform what may otherwise be complex to a simple, practical, actionable marketing strategy that works.
There are four reasons that prompt people to buy whether the motivating marketing message is the written or spoken word in selling a product, service, idea or mission.
- Save Time
- Save Money
- Make Money
- Create Peace of Mind
Save Time: This addresses productivity, efficiency, improved products, increased value and convenience. That means your customer will have more time to do the things they’d rather be doing … family, recreation, hobbies, community service, etc.
Save Money: Here we see a number of benefits of WIIFM. More money means you can invest in your business, ensure financial security, maximize the value of purchases and a better standard of living for you and your loved ones.
Make Money: A corollary of saving money, making money is a desire for most people to live comfortably, buy the things we want and have a secure future.
Create Peace of Mind: Here’s a category of reasons that support peace of mind … admittedly somewhat complex since it has to do with Principle #2: People Buy a Product or Service for What It Does … and How It Makes Them Feel. So here’s a rundown of some of the peace of mind appeals to address in your marketing messages.
- Safety
- Health
- Recognition/achievement
- Job Security
- Relaxation/pleasure
- Personal appearance
- Testimonials that demonstrate success
- Financial security
Time constraints and seemingly uncontrollable circumstances dominate our lives today. Add peace of mind to your marketing mix and appeal to making life more hassle-free.
So the four reasons presented above are strong emotional triggers that will drive your marketing success. Use them! It will help people make the decision to buy so much easier as you can cover their desires and concerns all before it goes on in their heads!
Driving the Marketing Message Home with a Poem
The following is a gift from a marketing exec who received it 50+ years ago.
BTW, “old ‘92” references the century preceding the 20th.
Tell Me Quick and Tell Me True
(or else, my love, to hell with you)
I see that you’ve spent quite a big wad of dough
To tell me the things you think I should know.
How your plant is so big, so fine and so strong;
And your founder had whiskers so handsomely long.
So he started the business in old ’92!
How tremendously int’resting that is … to you.
He built up the thing with the blood of his life?
(I’ll run home like mad to tell that to my wife!)
Your machinery’s modern and oh so complete;
Your “rep” is so flawless; your workers so neat.
Your motto is “Quality” … capital “Q” …
No wonder I’m tired of “Your” and of “You”!
So tell me quick and tell me true
(Or else, my love, to hell with you!)
Less … “how this product came to be”;
More … “what the damn thing does for me”!
Will it save me money or time or work;
Or hike up my pay with a welcome jerk?
What drudgery, worry or loss will it cut,
Can it yank me out of a personal rut?
Perhaps it can make my appearance so swell
That my telephone calls will wear out the bell;
And thus it might win me a lot of fine friends …
(And one never knows where such a thing ends!)
I wonder how much it could do for my health?
Could it show me a way to acquire some wealth …
Better thing for myself, for the kids and the wife,
Or how to quit work somewhat early in life?
So tell me quick and tell me true
(Or else, my love, to hell with you!)
Less … “how this product came to be”;
More … “what the damn thing does for me!”
(“I turn over page after page of the magazines, costing the advertisers thousands per page; and still they are talking about themselves and – as far as I am concerned – to themselves”– Comment by a reader)
Some misguided messages persist in the world of sales and marketing. Let’s not duplicate!