Have you ever wondered why people buy the things that they do? Do you think that psychology plays a major role in our purchasing behaviors? This article will help you to understand consumers lifestyles, and it will show you how to make your ads appeal to people in each phase of life.
First, let’s take a brief look at the psychological stages of life, also known as Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, we all have five major types of needs or stages of life that are listed below:
1. Stage One - Physiological needs are the basic parts of life such as food, water, shelter, air, and sleep.
2. Stage Two - Safety needs are feeling safe and secure inside your home, feeling financially secure, and having safe relationships with friends and family members.
3. Stage Three - Love and belonging needs are the ways you are accepted into the groups you want to be in, and the relationships you have with your friends and family. It is also the desire we have to be needed.
4. Stage Four - Esteem needs are self esteem, giving and receiving respect, wanting power and control, as well as the need to feel valuable.
5. Stage Five - Self-Actualization - In this stage, one feels that they have become everything that they possibly can. If you reach this stage you will have extreme amounts of peace, knowledge, and self fulfillment.
Maslow said that once you have met the needs of stage 1 you can go on to stage 2 then to stage 3, and so on. Maslow’s studies also showed us that people in the lower levels will do violent things (steal, lie, cheat) in order to fulfill these needs and move on to the next level.
Translating Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs into advertising techniques and consumer buying habits
In order to sell a product or service, you must make consumers want your product. Contrary to belief, consumers don’t have to need your product or service in order to purchase it. Research has shown that people usually buy products that they want before they buy products that they actually need. In order for consumers to want your product you must understand their needs and lifestyles. Here’s a look at Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs from an advertisers point of view.
People that are in Stage One probably do not have a lot of money. Food, shelter and transportation should be their main priorities. So they will buy cheaper things even if the quality is not very good because they can’t afford better quality items. These people are attracted to anything that will save them money. Other things (luxuries) seem minor to these people.
Advertisements for food, drink, housing, etc are directed to people at this basic level.
Stage Two - Safety needs
Consumers in Stage Two need to feel that they will be safe in the present times and in the future. They will purchase items to help them feel secure like insurance policies, retirement funds, self-defense classes, and self-defense videos and books. They will also buy things like nanny cameras, guns, and alarm systems to help protect their families and possessions.
Stage Three - Love and belonging needs
Acceptance is also a big part of this phase. Everyone likes to fit in with other people, and nobody wants to be labeled as strange, unusual or weird. People in this stage of life will follow the current trends so that they’ll be accepted by their peers.
Stage three is also the stage where people desire to be with other people. This can mean friends, family, significant others, or all of the above. Most people do not like to be alone all of the time and are attracted to items that will make them more pleasant to other people, specifically the opposite sex.
People in stage three will usually purchase the following items for the following reasons:
- magazines and anything else that will keep them updated with the latest trends
- name brand items, and trendy clothes to help them fit in and be accepted by their peers
- perfumes, colognes, make-up, satin sheets, and sexy clothes to attract the opposite sex and gain love
- self improvement books to avoid criticism and be accepted
Stage Four - Esteem needs
Once we reach stage four, we are ready to take better care of ourselves. We do things to for ourselves because we want to do them, not because Vogue Magazine said that it’s the “in thing.”
Individuality is important to these people because they are happy with themselves, have good self esteem and do not want to be like everyone else. These people will dress nice to attract praise because it makes them feel better about themselves.
Consumers in this group want others to respect them, look up to them, and value them.
People in stage four will purchase some of the following items for the following reasons:
- Work-Out equipment and healthy foods to become healthier
- Books to help them become their own boss because they want to have power and control
- Online financial investments to have complete control over their financial portfolios
- Anti-Aging cosmetics so they can look younger and have more control on the aging (or not aging as quickly) process
- Expensive clothes, cars, etc. so they will have the power to feel superior to others
Stage Five - Self-Actualization
This is the final stage, and sadly many people will never reach this part of life. However, the people that do reach stage five are happy with themselves, and the lives they have lived. They purchase things that give them enjoyment and things that will give enjoyment to others.
People in stage five will purchase some of the following items for the following reasons:
- Art, flowers, and other beautiful things to nourish their souls (Perhaps this is why we see so many elderly people working in their flower beds so often.)
- Cruises and other trips so they can enjoy themselves
- Charity items and spontaneous gifts for others because a self-actualized person feels joy when other people are happy.
Most advertisements appeal to a combination of needs.
· Need to survive – used by advertisements for food, drink, housing, etc.
· Need to feel safe – advertisements for insurance, loans and banks promise security and freedom from threats.
· Need for affiliation or friendship – adverts that focus on lifestyle choices like diet and fashion use people’s desire to be popular. They may also threaten them with failure to be liked or fit in.
· Need to nurture or care for something – advertising which shows cute animals and small children brings out this out in the viewer.
· Need to achieve - advertisements that are linked with winning, often promoted by sports personalities, tap into the need to succeed at difficult tasks.
· Need for attention – advertisements for beauty products often play on the need to be noticed and admired.
· Need for prominence – advertisements for expensive furniture and diamonds may use people’s need to be respected and to have high social status.
· Need to dominate – advertisements for products like fast cars offer the possibility of being in control through the product.
· Need to find meaning in life – advertisements for travel or music may appeal to people’s need for fulfillment.
(from: http://www.bpsoutdoor.com/blog/?p=7)
No comments:
Post a Comment