Marketing For Dummies. McMurtry Jeanette

ROI.”

       Rewards versus loss

      

As you contemplate how to appeal to emotions in your marketing, keep in mind that humans are more risk adverse than they are reward seekers. People consciously and unconsciously want to hold on to what they have more than gain a reward, especially if they could lose something in return. It’s part of the survival instinct.

      Daniel Kahnemann, psychologist and author, has conducted a great deal of research about human psychology and how people process information and make choices. His research consistently shows that when people are faced with a choice to risk losing something in order to gain something, they most often choose to avoid the risk rather than take the chance of winning the award. In other words, he found that people will pay a high price to get a sure gain and to avoid a sure loss.

      Ask yourself the following questions:

      ❯❯ What potential losses can consumers experience by not buying your product?

      ❯❯ How can your brand deliver on the promise of avoiding that loss in ways that competitors can’t?

      Being able to answer these questions and deliver on them is key to differentiating your product from others emotionally, and that is the most critical differentiation of all.

      

Brands can imitate and duplicate your product’s features, functions, and price point. What they can’t do so easily is replicate your emotional experience and fulfillment. This should be the top priority of your marketing program and everything you do based on the tactics and strategies discussed in this book.

       Survival insticts

      When viewing illusion art that shows either a woman looking in a mirror or a skull, most see the skull first. This is because the brain is wired to see threats to prevent harm before seeing the reward or joy.

      Identify the fear that drives your customers and address it directly so you can put them at ease. After you diminish the fear or present a visible solution, you can then communicate better to the unconscious mind and more clearly to the conscious mind.

      Here’s how common products tap people’s survival instincts:

      ❯❯ Insurance: Survive accidents or mishaps that could destroy critical possessions like homes and cars.

      ❯❯ Education: Survive the economic woes of not being able to get good jobs, live a quality life, and provide for children.

      ❯❯ Luxury cars: Survive the perils of not achieving a high social status, which could include exclusion from influential circles, interesting experiences, and respect in business.

      Your ESP should encompass the fears and joys sought through your product category, consciously and unconsciously, and should be present in your marketing messages, content marketing, social dialogue, customer experiences, and sales propositions. Crafting your brand’s ESP is as critical as writing a mission statement that guides your operations and values.

BORN TO SURVIVE OR CHASE THE THRILLS

      Even with all the data and research over the years that show that people are molded by environments, psychology theories hold true that many people’s attitudes and choices are part of their DNA. Psychologists maintain that humans are born with one of two affective systems that drives the emotional reactions to many of their life’s experiences and the stimuli presented to them on a daily basis. One system is driven by the human need to survive and maintain security; the other by the thrill of the chase, or a desire to take risks and live off the adrenalin of excitement. The “born this way” theory explains why kids from the same family have such different approaches to risk taking and security, yet their environment and parenting is the same.

      Knowing how each of these affective systems affects people’s attraction to brands and their promotions is essential to succeed, as these drivers are some of the strongest influences over the choices we make.

       Understanding the basics of human psychology

      To be an effective marketer in any industry, you need to understand some basics about human psychology and how the mind triggers behavior. Many agencies have popped up in recent years claiming to be experts in behavior marketing; however, most focus on projecting behavior based on past behavior. Although this is important for your database, CRM, DMP, and direct marketing efforts, it’s not enough.

      To be successful, you also need to focus on behavior that results from psychological triggers, such as the neurotransmitters mentioned earlier and other psychological processes. From psychologists and their proven theories, old and new, you can learn a great deal about how people think and act.

      Following are some insights from two of the most well‐known contributors to psychology theories, Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung.

       Freud’s personality theory

      One of the key marketing lessons from Freud is his personality theory, which suggests that people each have three personalities, or voices, in their heads that compete with each other when making basic and complex decisions. These personalities are the id, ego, and superego:

      ❯❯ The id acts like a compulsive toddler that has to have what it wants when it wants it and doesn’t care about future consequences to self or others.

      ❯❯ The ego wants to please the id but after thinking through a plan to get it in an appropriate manner.

      ❯❯ The superego is the voice of reason, deciding appropriate actions to take based on social norms and life experiences to date, what is right, what is wrong, and so on.

      Whichever voice wins out the most dictates people’s individual personalities and, for marketers, predicts their behavior when it comes to shopping and assigning loyalty.

      

Think about which personality is most involved in making the decision to purchase your category and brand within it. Are you selling cookies or doughnuts and want to spark an impulsive drive to buy some, regardless of diet and health consequences? You need to appeal to the id in a way that overpowers the ego and the superego. Oreo does this well with its ads about dunking an Oreo in milk. Shops at malls that put out the inviting smell of fresh cinnamon roles, hot cookies, and such do a great job at sparking the impulsive id.

      If, however, you’re marketing fitness and nutrition products, apps, or the like, you may want to first appeal to the ego with information about responsible diet and exercise habits and then mention low‐calorie cookies that satisfy the id without throwing out the plans made to stay on track for reaching healthy goals.

       Jung’s archetypal theories

      Carl Jung, known for his archetypal theories, believed that the human psyche is nothing more than mass confusion because so much of all people do and think is unconscious. What marketers can learn from him is that people cycle through four main archetypes:

      ❯❯ Shelf: The dark side of human nature or the unbridled carnal self

      ❯❯ Self: The place where the conscious mind connects with the unconscious mind

      ❯❯ Animus: The true person individuals are in terms of their values and personalities

      ❯❯ Persona: The person people project to others to cover up their true self, their animus

      And when you know where the core of your customers lies in terms of these stereotypes, you can again be more relevant. If you’re marketing to young Generation X adults who are a few years into their career, you may be safe to assume that they’re trying to project a sense of success, achievement, potential, and distinction in their business world to attract career opportunities. If your product can help them do this, reflect it in your messaging and creative.

      Another perspective