Yes, you read that right. Good marketing is timeless. Despite what “everybody” might be saying, not much has changed. Fair enough, our understanding of marketing and people has improved. Along with that, there is more competition, and ads have become better in general.
But at the heart of it all is human nature:
All good marketing is aimed at using human nature to sell.
Here are 6 reasons why good marketing is timeless:
1. Customers always ask: WIIFM (what’s in it for me)?
In order to sell, trade or rent out anything, whatever you offer has to be of more value than whatever the customer or prospect is trading for it. If you offer a product or service in return for money, it has to be worth more (to the buyer) than the money.
The same goes for an employer – he/she/they value the work/time of the employee more than they pay for it.
As long as the prospective customer or client can see the value in what you offer, they will be interested.
2. Buyers all want the same thing: Health, wealth and happiness.
Everything in life comes down to the pursuit of one of those three things. Yes, the ratio of desire for each may vary depending on age and circumstances, but everything we buy and/or consume fall into one of these three categories.
People buy houses because they associate it with security, which contribute to their happiness. They buy lots of things that contribute to their (physical, emotional and mental) health. They work hard – for a boss or in their own business – for wealth.
Fair enough, the perception of each of these three differ not only due to age, but also due to background, current situation, and past experiences.
However, as long as you can connect any of these three to what you are offering – in some way – there will be people who are interested in what you have to offer.
3. We all respond to the same psychological triggers: Pleasure and pain.
Everything we do in life – whether it involves buying something, the pursuit of something, or even just procrastinating, is connected to pleasure or pain.
We buy fancy cars in the pursuit of pleasure. We work to avoid the pain of not being able to pay the rent. We procrastinate to avoid the pain of doing an unpleasant task.
Add to that the fear of loss, and you have leverage.
For instance: “Limited stock. Buy now to avoid disappointment.” Or “Stop your hair loss before it’s too late”.
This works regardless of whether the prospect is trying to gain
pleasure or avoid pain.
4. Basic human needs:
Humans have four basic needs – to eat, to sleep, intimacy (the nature of which varies along with age), and human dignity.
Much of what we do is in pursuit of one of these four. People will spend lots of money on cars, travel, dining out and more in order to find intimacy.
People rent and buy housing so they can sleep in peace, safely.
People spend money on clothes and education, and even change jobs to preserve their human dignity.
5. Most people are insecure: They buy to feel better.
Most people appear to long for some sense of security, and some validation. They buy stuff because it makes them feel secure. The mere thought that they are able to do so makes them feel better about themselves.
As for validation, far too often we rely on the opinions of others. We ask the opinions of friends and family, or even colleagues, about people, cars, clothes, real estate, and many other things they are probably not qualified to comment on.
Maybe that is why most people want to belong to a group or some sort – it satisfies a primitive instinct that there is safety in numbers.
Knowing that there are people who agree with you, and having those people know you value their opinions…
It can drive people to buying things they don’t need or want, just for the approval and/or validation of others.
They follow the herd.
6. Most purchase decisions are based on emotion.
Yes, most of them. About 5% of people are able to separate their emotions from their critical thinking. Eerily enough, that 5% makes the most money by far.
For the other 95%…
They buy based on emotion, and then try to justify it with logic afterwards.
For instance – they would buy a car, let’s say a BMW, which is marketed as “the ultimate driving experience”, and then try to justify the purchase with things like safety, build quality and fuel consumption afterwards.
In reality though, they just want to belong to the “club” of people who drive expensive German cars.
Why? Because that’s what they wanted, and it makes them feel good.
So – when creating your next marketing campaign, figure out how people would want to FEEL after buying from you. And then sell that feeling.
After all, people almost always forget what you said to them (unless it was really hurtful or insulting), they mostly forget what you did for them, but they ALWAYS remember how you made them FEEL.
In conclusion:
Yes, the playing field for marketing and branding has changed. The standard of advertising is higher, and the costs are often astronomical.
Unlike twenty years ago, you now have a multitude of options to reach potential clients and customers.
And each of these have things you need to know in order to reach as many people as possible for your time or money.
But once you reach them, you can always rely on one thing:
Human nature.
Understand it, and use it to your advantage.