Virtually everything we do or buy is to change the way we feel. We are emotional creatures. It’s been said we buy with our emotions and back it up with logic.

The following list below is what I believe controls our entire economy. All advertising appeals to our emotional needs.

So if you would know what your customer wanted before appealing to his/her needs, I think that would give you a slight advantage to connect with them.

So what do your customers want?

Let’s take a look…

They want Time — for themselves, for their families, for their interests and hobbies.

Love—having an intense feeling of deep affection, having a great interest and pleasure in something important.

Comfort — a state of physical ease and freedom from pain or constraint, the easing or alleviation of a person’s feelings of grief or distress.

They want Money — to save it, to spend it, to give to others.

Popularity — to be liked by friends, family, and significant others.

Personal Goals–the object of a person’s ambition or effort; an aim or desired result.

They want Praise — for their intelligence, for their knowledge, recognition of efforts, for their appearance, and other superior qualities.

Recognition—reassurance of self worth, acknowledgment of existence, validity.

Pride of accomplishment — doing things well, reaching personal goals, overcoming obstacles and beating the competition.

They want Self-confidence —a feeling of trust in one’s abilities, qualities, and judgment, to feel worthy.

Security —feeling free from danger or threat, feeling safe in one’s own home, feeling safe in old age.

Emotional Security—one’s own emotional state, peace of mind.

They want Leisure — use of free time for enjoyment, maybe for travel, for hobbies, for rest, for play, for self-development.

Dignity—the quality of being worthy of honor or respect.

They want to have Fun —enjoyment, amusement, or lighthearted pleasure. feeling like a kid again, doing something for no good reason, they want to goof off.

They want Prestige — a widespread respect and admiration, a perception of their achievements or quality, the feeling of importance, being a member of a select group, having power over themselves and others.

Enjoyment — taking pleasure in something, good food, good drink, good friends, good entertainment, emotional connection with other people.

They want to enjoy good Health — free from illness or injury, strength, vigor, endurance, long life.

Better appearance — they want to look beautiful, they want style, physically sexy and strong.

They want to be Special to someone.

They want others to be Envious — having something others desire

The opportunity for Creative Expression—making known one’s thoughts or feelings, to have their opinions heard.

Privacy—being free from being observed or disturbed by other people.

Ego Gratification — to feel important and superior to other people, and to generally feel good about themselves.

A sense of Roots—knowing of ones own origin, a feeling of belonging.

They want Business advancement — They want to feel successful, to get a better job, to create better opportunities, development or improvement.

Social advancement — keeping up with neighbors, moving in more desirable social circles.

They want to experience New Experiences—feeling alive, feeling spirited.

Now at the same time, people want to AVOID LOSS. In fact, people will do more to avoid loss than to gain pleasure.

So, the potential loss of anything mentioned on the previous list is a strong motivator — often stronger than acquiring it in the first place.

People want to AVOID UNPLEASANTNESS, such as:

  • Embarrassment
  • Offense to others
  • Domination by others
  • Loss of reputation
  • Pain
  • Criticism
  • Risk
  • Work
  • Effort
  • Discomfort
  • Worry
  • Doubt
  • Guilt
  • Boredom

People want to ACT in particular ways in order to:

  • Express what they view as their unique personalities
  • Satisfy their curiosity
  • Feed their appetite for something important to them
  • Act or appear like their heroes
  • Sexual attraction
  • Acquire beautiful or rare objects that say something about them
  • Improve themselves physically, mentally, or spiritually
  • Gain affection of family, friends, and others whose feelings are important to them
  • Be accepted into other social circles
  • Get ahead at work
  • Add beauty or elegance to their lives
  • Impress others, build and reinforce reputations
  • Fulfill personal obligations
  • Enjoy themselves or just play
  • Create or accomplish things they can be proud of
  • Get rich or make money
  • Reward themselves
  • Protect themselves from harm

People want to BE and BE SEEN as something special:

  • Smart or savvy
  • First or best at something
  • Unique, one-of-a-kind
  • Creative, either generally or in a special area
  • Good parents
  • Efficient
  • Recognized authorities
  • Up-to-date, well-educated, or “with it”
  • Gregarious and sociable
  • Influential, able to get things done
  • Independent
  • Popular, well-liked
  • Part of a group, one of the boys or one of the girls.

In no way does the above list include everything. However, it sure does come close.

Now that you know what your customers want…let’s just give it to them through what we sell.

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