Appeal to customer emotions in your advertising 

One of the axioms I learned early in the marcom game was that people buy emotionally and describe their buys rationally!   In 1956, direct marketing guru Victor Schwab (as far as I know, he is no relation to Charles) developed a comprehensive list of what consumers want.   He organized the list in these categories:  

. People want to gain:

. They want to save:

. They want to be:

. They want to do: 

Here are a few “emotional drivers”, as Schwab called them, in two of the categories that insurance agents should definitely consider when putting together direct mail, ads, sales presentations and handling customer service inquiries. And, when developing their agency staffs. (To view the entire list, visit http://tinyurl.com/yq8m3q.)

People want to gain: 

Health

Popularity

Praise from others

Pride of accomplishment

Self-confidence

Time

Improved appearance

Comfort

Advancement: social-business

Money

Security in old age

Leisure

Increased enjoyment

Personal prestige 

They want to save: 

Time

Discomfort

Risks

Money

Worry

Embarrassment

Work

Doubts 

Using emotional drivers 

We use a Schwab-type list when we create marketing communications tactics for clients.  The question is always: what prospect/customer “hot button” do we need to touch in order to present this client’s service in the most positive and effective way?