Secrets of Successful Marketing: Are You Hitting Your Customers’ “Pressure Points”?

The number 1 rule in customer behavior: purchase decisions are always 80% emotional and 20% intellectual. That rule should be reflected in all of your marketing copy. Unfortunately, most of us find it much easier to talk about “what we do” than “what you get.”

Here is a depressing reality; most people don’t give a damn what you make or sell. No matter how much you wish it were true, they don’t. However, they DO care immensely about the results of what you make or sell. So guess what you should focus on?

A few months ago my 3 year old laptop finally bit the dust (in the computer years it must have died of old age) and I found myself in a “Big Box” store completely stumped by the options. A helpful young man came up to me and started asking me what kind of computer I needed. Good so far, right?

He was very bright and knowledgeable, pestering me with questions about RAM, CPU options, video subprocessors, etc. I stood up and nodded my head as if I understood what he was talking about and finally replied, “I always thought they put the little Keebler goblins somewhere and I make sure to sprinkle cookie crumbs on the keyboard to keep them fed and happy.” “.

I could tell from his eyes that I had just lost my provisional membership in the “Geeks-R-Us” club and had just become “One of Them”. Well, so be it.

The mistake this guy made is assuming that I had the same interest in technology that he did and naturally asked me the same questions that he would like to answer.

Most of us make the same mistake, face-to-face and (more importantly) in our marketing copy. The secret is to focus almost exclusively on the “Pressure Points” of our clients. These are the emotional triggers that create tremendous motivation to act.

And, fortunately, there are only two main “pressure points”. Desire for gain and avoidance of pain… or more simply, “Greed and Fear”.

Furthermore, the best marketing combines both, creating a large perceived gap that prospects are powerfully motivated to close. For proof of this, the next time you’re stuck in checkout line at the grocery store, flip through the National Enquirer and look at the ads.

You may think your offering is much more sophisticated than anything found on the Enquirer, but if you see an ad there more than twice; It is a safe money generator. That’s because the National Enquirer controls some of the most expensive advertising real estate available. In short, emotions are not sophisticated, but they are enormously powerful.

By touching these “Pressure Points” you will be attracting people who are motivated to take action (resolve the emotional tension that has been created) instead of people who are looking for more information (intellectual curiosity).

Don’t forget that the purpose of any ad is (or should be) to motivate the customer to make a purchase decision and take action RIGHT NOW. That action will most likely include pulling out a credit card, which is the ultimate measure of success for all of your marketing.