Buyer Psychology

Buyer Psychology

Why would anyone want to buy what you have to sell? Because it’s the best? No…Because it’s the cheapest? No…Because it’s the best value? Not necessarily. Sometimes you’ll accept lower quality because you want speed. The fast food industry exists on the insight that people order food because they’re hungry now – not that they are planning to feel hungry an hour from now. Sometimes you’ll pay double for a T-shirt because it has a little alligator on it – a designer alligator! Sometimes you’ll buy because you get a second one free (BOGOFF promotions: buy one get one for free).

Much of this we know intuitively. It’s easy to figure why someone might want a pizza, but why must he have an alligator logo? Abraham Maslow — a psychologist who came up with a lot of good stuff – classified human needs as follows:

* Physiological needs…………………….. food, drink, shelter, sex etc,
* Safety needs……………………………… personal and financial security, stability
* Belonging needs………………………… family, clubbing and affiliation etc
* Esteem needs……………………………. respect, accomplishments, status
* Self-actualisation needs………………. higher needs, total self fulfilment, maximise gifts and talents

Why does mainstream advertising push our psychological buttons so successfully? Easy!
Professional advertisers think about these things. Football clubs understand the affiliation needs of their fans and sell them club merchandise. You wear the scarf and the kit to the game and you belong! Nike understands that the esteem needs of kids are so strong that if they position their sports shoes (through the manner in which they market them, see positioning) at the high status end of the market, their parents will pay double for shoes with a check mark on! You say that’s just branding? Sure, but branding has to be based on something and it is based on an appreciation of the kind of need you are catering to. Think about these things. What kind of need are you catering to?

According to a report from eMarketeer the top five factors that motivate online buying are:
convenience, security, customer service, variety and price.

You should take all of these into account.
Remember this. If your competitor knows all the same things you do and can deliver the same product as you but is not aware of any one important fact (that is known to you) about his customers – there’s your competitive edge! Knowledge is power. Never lose an opportunity to find out more about how your customers feel and about what motivates them to buy