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Throughout the history of marketing, a lot of highly successful marketing campaigns have been able to elicit an emotional response from consumers. This still holds true today, as companies try to produce an emotional response that will spring potential consumers into action. If you can successfully identify the emotional triggers that would connect you with your target audience, even you may be able to stimulate them into action to support your business/cause.
When consumers make the decision to purchase something, they typically feel something for the product or service and then act on those feelings. Just like a woman feeling attractive in her new dress or a man feeling confident in his new car, feelings are often the overruling factor in decision-making. Here are some common emotions that are seized upon in many marketing messages today. Perhaps you can seize on some of the following to connect with your target audience and stimulate them into action.
- Fear is a common emotion used by insurance companies, video surveillance companies, etc. Your audience would be scared to not use your product or service. Ever seen the Brink’s Home Security commercials? These are a perfect example of this concept. Just search YouTube for “Brink’s Home Security commercial” and you will see what I mean.
- Guilt is a common emotion that nonprofit organizations use by showing suffering animals or children that would evoke their audience’s sympathy. The Sarah McLachlan PETA commercial is a perfect example of this concept.
- Trust is one of the most important emotions that will lead consumers to choose banks and credit cards with sayings like “no hidden fees.”
- Value, as in getting a good deal, is always coveted by consumers. Companies can trigger this emotion by offering matching a better price on the same product.
- Everyone wants to have a sense of belonging to a group. You can appeal to this emotion by marketing your product as offering a chance to be a part of a specific group.
- Most people also have a natural sense competition in them, where they want to be better, or at least appear better, than their peers. This emotion is commonly used by companies that sell material goods such as cars, clothing, and jewelry. Similarly, consumers want to be trendsetters, and using celebrities is a good way to trigger the emotion.
- Time-saving messages are important for today’s busier-than-ever consumers. If you’re selling a cooking tool, marketing it as a time-saving product will appeal to consumers who want to conserve their time.
This list could go on much longer, but I think these are some of the most valuable emotional triggers that can be utilized to create successful marketing messages today. No matter what the goal of your business or organization is, you can surely rely on some kind of emotional trigger to help elicit a response from your audience.
