Several years back, I had a conversation with a gentleman by the name of Porter Stansberry.
If you don’t know who Porter is, he’s the guy behind the largest financial division at Agora publishing. His group was responsible for the marketing juggernaut called “The End of America” which sold hundreds of thousands of subscriptions to his service. It’s also made him the top producer at Agora which is no small feat. So it’s safe to say Porter knows a little bit about marketing.
Anyway, I was chatting with Porter and he shared an insight I thought was incredibly accurate. Incredibly profound. And incredibly powerful. We were talking about the reasons that people buy things. (I’m sure you, as a savvy marketer, understand that people buy for emotional reasons. And then rationalize their purchase after the fact. That’s nothing new.)
However, the point Porter made – the one I thought was so powerful – was something most marketers never fully comprehend…
Your prospect’s emotional desires – the drives that lead them to make whatever purchase they make – are never fully satisfied.
Here’s what I mean.
Let’s say I’m into buying books. I most likely buy them because I want to be viewed as smart, educated, well versed in a lot of topics. You can poke a lot of emotional hot buttons where that’s concerned. Maybe I got made fun of and was embarrassed when I didn’t know an answer in school. Maybe I feel terribly self-conscious when I’m in a group discussion. Whatever.
Here’s the important part.
No book that I buy will ever satisfy my drive to become smarter. I can read from now until the day I die, and that drive to be seen as well read will never be fully satisfied.
Why Is This So Important?
First, because it means that you’re never done marketing. If your prospects buy something once, they’ll buy again. But second, and maybe more importantly, it means your marketing needs to have a broader scope.
One “need” on the part of your prospects can easily break down into many associated needs.
For instance, if your prospects like to cook and you sell them a recipe book, you better have a cooking course to offer them somewhere. And if it’s a course on Italian cooking, you really ought to have something that will show them how to master French cuisine when they’re ready for that. And you better have a guide to cooking fresh vegetables on the back of that. And don’t forget that how-to for selecting the best cuts of meat.
See what I mean?
Every desire that your market is seeking to fulfill, can be broken down into literally dozens of associated needs. More needs that will never be satisfied.
Isn’t This Playing Dirty?
Now I realize in some ways this might sound a little unethical. To keep prodding your market’s insecurities in order to make sales. If you feel like this then let me assure you of one thing…
It’s NOT!
Provided you deliver great value to your prospects or customers.
If you don’t, if you try to get away with pitching junk to your market, you’re going to discover that situation corrects itself very quickly. You’re going to get found out. Your sales will dry up. And any reputation or credibility you built is going to be gone forever.
But if you provide great value, then your prospects will be happy to hear what you have to offer.
Remember – you’re not in business to simply make sales. You’re in business to help your prospects and customers. To offer them valuable services and information they want. That will make their lives better.
And if you can do it with one product, you can do it with a second and a third. Because the desires that drive them to buy the things they buy are never fully satisfied.
OK – So what kinds of associated, eternally-unsatisfied needs do your prospects harbor that you can satisfy?
Think it through. (Use your new marketing journal.) Share your ideas in the comments below.
Now I’ve got one more post to share in this series about marketing. It’s coming tomorrow and is more of a business/marketing concept. But it’s one that will make all your marketing easier and much more effective.