What people REALLY want...

...probably isn’t what your advertising or your salespeople talk about.

I like to do wood-working. And one of the tools I use is a router that puts fancy edges on wood. Most people, if they were designing an advertisement for a router, would talk about how much horsepower it has, how inexpensive it is, how it has a built-in light, or how easy it is to clean. But those things aren’t why I bought the router. I bought the router because:

1) I want people (especially my wife) to “ooh and aah” over my projects.
2) I want to feel the glow of competency and pride from building useful, attractive pieces.
3) I want to avoid making mistakes that will cost me wood and time.

So to the extent the advertising, or the sales pitch for any woodworking tool “promises” to help me fulfill one (or better yet, all) of these desires, I will be much more likely to buy that product. I don’t really care about the horsepower, or the light, or (if the desire is strong enough) even the price, as long as the product gets me what I REALLY want.

Think about your commercials, advertisements, brochures, website, and salespeople’s scripts. Do they address the fundamental reasons people buy products or services like yours? Or have you slipped into the trap of just describing features, and assuming that people will be able to figure out how those features will help them get what they really want? How much have you even thought about your customers’ real “wants” recently?

To the extent that your persuasive communications address fundamental motivations, you will be able to command a higher price and build greater brand equity than competitors who sell on features. Let’s get together sometime and talk about how “fundamental” your advertising is!