For the first post of 2013, couldn’t resist this wonderful marketing cartoon from the great Tom Fishburne…
Full post at “maslow’s hierarchy of needs”.
If you’re not familiar with “Maslow’s Hierarchy Of Needs”…
“The marketer’s toolkit isn’t complete without Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, a theory of what motivates people. The gist is that as our more basic needs are satisfied, we look for fulfillment progressively higher up the hierarchy. Brands that tap these higher-order needs can deepen their meaning with consumers.”
All well and good. Direct response marketers and copywriters recognise that what really motivates a purchase decision are the emotional benefits that will result, a similar (although not completely identical) idea and approach.
Dig deep enough and you can find an emotional benefit to pretty much any product or service.
However, that benefit may not be too lofty…and there’s no shame to that. There are plenty of fairly mundane products that simply do the job and in a small way make life better.
Where the problem comes in, of course, is where marketers lose touch with reality and indulge in pretentious flights of fancy.
“Many brands claim to fulfill higher-order needs in Maslow’s hierarchy. Some overreach and come across as silly or out-of-touch. The proof I think is whether they can compete without deep discounting.”
The collision with reality takes place, as Tom points out, when customers are asked to hand over their money.
I guess there are two points to consider here…
1. Firstly, if discounting is needed to make sales then regardless of what the marketers might think, the brand really isn’t delivering what they fondly believe are the “higher order” benefits
2. Secondly, if marketers succumb to the temptation of deep discounting, the damage to the brand can be significant, even if it does deliver those “higher order” benefits.
In timely fashion, the great Drayton Bird points out once again the potential perils of indiscriminate discounting…
“A prediction that came true. Read it as you plan your marketing for 2013.”
Key point…
“…a habit I see as the marketing equivalent of crack cocaine addiction: heavy discounting.
This gives an immediate boost to sales, but you become addicted to it. And you get nasty after-effects – as with crack.
- The people who buy most from a promotion are your best customers, who would have bought anyhow
- People bring forward their buying so there is a slump afterwards
- You are training your customers to expect bribes”
Read the whole thing for some interesting research that backs up this point.
So 2 points to takeaway from all this…
1. Don’t get too detached from reality when looking for the emotional and higher level benefits of your product or service (all too easy to do if you make the mistake of “falling in love” that product or service)
2. Beware of indiscriminate discounting.