Emotion is always your customers’ motivation

Published 9:13 am Wednesday, September 29, 2010

There is a difference between what your customers say their motivation is for buying your product, and what truly motivates their decision. Are you confident you know the difference? The wrong assumption can cost you sales.

Most consumers believe they employ a logical thought process in making purchasing decisions. However, many studies demonstrate that most decisions are motivated by emotion, not logic. That being said, most consumers still rationalize their purchases.

“This is called post-hoc rationalization, and it is found in every aspect of our life, whenever we make decisions, says University of Texas at Austin marketing professor Raj Raghunathan. “We are ruled by our emotions first, and then we build justifications for our response.”

He has conducted numerous studies on how people make decisions. Emotion is the true motivation in both consumer and business purchases.

I know this to be true, professionally and personally. When I bought my last car (a sporty red Acura with a high performance engine), it was purely an emotional decision. Of course, I tried to rationalize the purchase to my wife. On my way home from the dealership I called her (using the hands-free Bluetooth) to share the news. “I just bought a new car honey; it’s a pretty red Acura, gets 30 mpg and you’ll love the navigation system … Come outside, I’m pulling in the driveway.”

As I set the parking brake, I noticed Sandra already standing in the front doorway. I waved enthusiastically, then I made the mistake of racing the engine … busted! She gave me the look — the kind of look a husband deserves after 20 years of bliss — then rolled her eyes, turned around and went back inside.

So what does this revelation mean to your business? It means you should focus more on your brand image and the emotional connections your market makes with your product. It means you should focus less on features and comparative data, and adjust your messaging accordingly. And you’ll want to make that adjustment sooner than later.

“The earlier you make the emotional connection the better, because once consumers have decided they like a particular option, the more difficult it is for them to backpedal,” the professor goes on to say. “Their thinking falls in line with the emotions.”

It is widely accepted in the branding research community that feelings lead to emotion, emotion leads to preference, preference leads to behavior and behavior leads to financial performance. So before you redirect you’re promotion from the left to the right brain, consider the beginning of the equation and do your best to tap into the “feelings” of your customer.

Don’t bother asking your customers for the reason they bought your product (or bought from you), because their conscious mind will take over and they’ll share rationalizations. The secret to successful qualitative research is getting customers to talk about their “feelings.” You need to dig deep to expose what’s often buried in the subconscious mind.

If you can find the true motivation for your customer’s buying decisions and act on that knowledge, you will likely experience a significant increase in sales. At the very least, your customers won’t roll their eyes and walk away.

Andrew Ballard is the president of Marketing Solutions, specializing in research-based growth strategies. Call 425-337-1100 or go to www.mktg-solutions.com.