(By Jeffrey Hedquist) You have needs. I have needs. We all have needs. But for each of us, those needs may differ. Trying to sell luxury vehicles or high-end jewelry to someone trying to just survive can be a losing proposition. Selling basic necessities at discount prices to a financially comfortable audience might be insulting. Selling a status symbol to someone whose altruism is their highest priority won’t work.
Each person is focused on one or more areas of Abraham Maslow’s famous “Hierarchy of Needs.” Knowing your client’s audience intimately can be the key to unlocking the success of their campaign.
Following Maslow’s theory, people pursue the satisfaction of their needs. After lower needs are met, we move on to the next higher need.
From lower to higher, Maslow listed:
- Physiological: hunger, thirst, bodily comforts
- Safety/security: out of danger
- Belongingness/love: a desire to be accepted, affiliate with others
- Esteem: to achieve, be competent, gain approval and recognition
- Cognitive: to know, understand, and explore
- Aesthetic: symmetry, order, and beauty
- Self-actualization: finding self-fulfillment, realizing one’s potential
- Transcendence: helping others become self-actualized
When you can demonstrate to a potential customer that they need your client’s product or service, and then intensify that need, you are much closer to making a sale. Creating a campaign with Maslow’s “Hierarchy of Needs” in front of you will help you focus on that customer and show them how your client can satisfy their needs.
HOWEVER – the needs someone experiences are not static. A person whose demographic profile would indicate a higher position on the hierarchy might be in a situation – i.e. thinking about their child – which would mean a commercial targeting #1 or #2 might be effective.
Someone whose basic needs are unmet might still be persuaded by the higher-numbered needs.
As you create, consider the environment, situation, time, weather, event that the person is experiencing as well as their demographic and psychographic profile.
In the end, the message trumps all. Rather than trying to reach everyone, a really compelling commercial targeted to your best shot at hitting the hump in the bell curve will touch some of the potential customers you’re targeting and inspire some to refer others to your client.
Remember, this is art more than science.
When you communicate that your client’s solution satisfies the felt needs of the target audience, that audience will respond…and your needs will be met.
Thanks, Abe.
(By the way, Abe’s advice is just one part of a nutritious breakfast. Contact me for more.)
Jeffrey Hedquist, “Advertising’s Storyteller,” has won over 700 awards and brought in millions of dollars for clients. His articles, ebooks, seminars, and coaching have helped stations nationwide prosper. Got a question about radio marketing? Email [email protected]. Read Jeffrey’s Radio Ink archives here.
Thanks for sharing