When I started my career in direct response a bajillion years ago, we said that all the reasons people buy could be lumped into one of two categories – Fear or Greed.
This puzzled me. After all, the old mantra is that “sex sells.” Whether it’s used to make a product sexier or the product is to make me sexier, sex is a primary motivator for humans.
But the “grayhairs” (people with decades of experience) claimed that sex was actually a form of greed. Meaning that it was something people wanted more of. To be sexier, that is. And this desire made them “greedy.”
Fear was actually considered the stronger of the two genres. And not just the fear of something tangible (think insurance and home security) but also the fear of being left out or missing out. This accounted for deodorant ads, fashionable clothes, and stock portfolio advisors.
After a couple of decades of experience, I’ve decided that 2 buckets does not provide businesses with enough context and understanding for building new messaging.
So, to better understand what motivates your prospects – and to better frame the conversation with your sales team, your marketing staff, and any outside agencies – I suggest expanding this list to five.
Here are my new 5 Buckets of Motivation –
- FEAR
- GREED
- SEX
- BELONGING
- ALTRUISM
FEAR – Still the big kahuna. And don’t get trapped into thinking it’s only about bodily damage or property loss. It also covers “Don’t be left out!” (e.g. the only one without a new xyz device).
GREED – The vice-kahuna. So many pitches are built around offering you the chance to be better, smarter, richer, faster, more efficient, less costly, higher value for the dollar, and more. The offer is for something the buyer “wants more of.”
SEX – ‘Nuff said. It’s such a basic instinct. In this category I include “appearance” and vanity appeals, too. My main reason for separating it from “Greed” is that I view Greed as materialistic and Sex as intrinsic.
BELONGING – Humans are social creatures. In the main, we crave acceptance from others and thrive only when we have a social group to support us. Sales messages that focus on peer acceptance and social standing can be powerful motivators. “I want to be cool, so I better buy these sunglasses.” Or “Use our network and stay connected even in the middle of nowhere!” We need our connections!
ALTRUISM – Many people are highly motivated to do good, whether it’s for others, for the environment, for animals, etc. People “help” for a variety of reasons. Regardless of what those reasons are, I don’t think related sales messages fit any of the other categories very cleanly. So I gave it its own. Perhaps as a society we’re moving further towards Maslow’s 5th Hierarchy of Need – Self-Actualization – than we realize!
I thought about including “Health” as a bucket. It’s a huge concept and covers so many things in our lives. But I think sales messages for medicine and drugs fit in the “fear” category pretty well. And fitness messages fit the “sex” bucket nicely. I’m open to changing my mind on this one, but for now, I decided Health doesn’t merit its own category.
My list is far from perfect. You may have other buckets you use when crafting messages for your market. I’d love to hear what you think. Please add your suggestions to our “bucket list!”