Consumers want to escape, or change
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All of your consumers purchase for two reasons.
- They want to escape reality.
- They want to be a different person.
Escaping reality
Think about purchasing tickets to a movie, going to a theme park, buying a book, CD, DVD, getting that coffee at Starbucks, having a drink with some friends, etc. All done to get away from it all, to escape the clutches of day to day life (even if it's only for a little while). If you have a product or service that facilitates escape make sure that your offering:
- Needs the consumer to be fully focused and engaged, effectively locking all the white noise around them (reality).
- Changes the perception of time.
- Touches the consumer on an emotional level.
- Is unique to the individual.
- Requires the consumer to engage and interact.
- Gives the consumer a sense of control over the outcome.
- Has a clear end goal.
By following these steps, your product/service will become an experience. An engaging happening that pulls the consumer away from reality and let them enjoy an alternate reality.
Transforming
Even the most basic of products are bought because consumers want to change, want to be a different (better) person. Let's examine the process of buying that Ralph Lauren polo.Ralph Lauren is all about preppy, american classic, Hamptons, boat shoes, sailboats, etc. etc. When people buy this they are not buying the lifestyle, they are buying the life. Essentially consumers spending money to change into the person they see in the advertisements. People do not buy the polo to have the polo but buy it to be the one wearing the polo.
Purchasing clothing is one of the fastest ways to change, to be someone different and most often in the customers eyes, better. Let us make this buying process a bit broader.
- The customer needs/wants a new shirt.
- The customer scans the market for an appropriate shirt.
- The customer sees a shirt that they like.
What does it mean when a customer likes something. Liking something is to see the highest degree of change into the direction the customer wants to change to. A customer has a goal of who they want to be, and when purchasing an item will refer back to whether this purchase will help them achieve this goal. When a customer likes something they think: "This will get me to where I want to be the fastest."
- The customer buys the shirt with the highest perceived degree of change.
- The customer has the direct satisfaction of having transformed.
Keep this in mind when creating your product/service. Think about where your market is now, what are their financial means, what is their current life status? Then think about where your market wants to be, what does your customer want to achieve, what kind of life do they want to have? By asking these questions and answering them with your product/service you will create true and lasting value that your market will buy.
Be the solution and make your customers better.
Do you make your customers better?
