FunMarketer Lesson of the Week

Craig, should I use Greed or Fear in my copy?

The FunMarketer answer is: Often you can combine Greed and Fear into a one-two punch that is just about unbeatable. It is fast and it works.

A powerful formula is to leverage the OFFER to play on GREED (2 for 1, fifty percent off, etc) and then have the Call to Action push the Fear button.

This is a powerful, tested formula. The best copywriters and retail salespeople use it all the time. I bet you’ve ran into this in a retail store or when you were buying a car. It works.

But why?

Part of Greed/Fear effectiveness relates to Maslow and the hierarchy of needs. When you employ greed and fear as motivators, you can play directly into the basic, physiological needs without requiring your copy to engage the higher needs, such as esteem. Let’s look at trying to:

1. Get somebody to buy a hamburger
2. Get somebody to buy a diet-drink
3. Get somebody to eat healthy.

With One, the hamburger, you simply play on greed: “I’m hungry and I’ve got to eat now!” Greed isn’t always about money – sometimes it’s about food. So, you super-size the burger (a double layering of greed) and then you garnish with a limited-time offer that they won’t want to miss out on.

Using Two, the diet-drink, you just play on the basic hunger need, barely touch on the esteem need (a higher-level need), and then garnish with sex. It is no secret that “skin is in” for so many diet ads. With the diet ad mix-in the basic need for sex with the basic need for hunger–you are playing to the prospect’s Greed with two powerful basic needs. For the fear factor, you can either play off the fact that they won’t be thin in time for swimsuit season, or that they will be left out from their friends. Here you are bouncing up the ladder to the esteem needs again, but it’s almost inevitable in a diet-drink pitch

OK, how about #3 – eating healthy? With the hamburger, you apply techniques to play on the the greed for the basic physiological need of “hunger”. With the diet drink, you must consider the esteem needs, but you can double-down on greed by leveraging the basic sex need. But, to incent people to eat healhy, you must kick in the higher needs, needs for esteem. But beyond that, you also must involve the safety needs.

Much harder.

Now your copy and graphics must be muscular enough to go two or three levels higher up the ladder. #3 is much tougher sell to a general audience. It is why it is so important that when dealing with a #3 type of customer, you already have them thinking about the higher needs already.

So, if your audience for #3 is reading a health-related magazine, they are already predisposed to eating healthy and already engaged in thinking about the need for esteem and for safety.

Here the “greed” you are going for is more life. In reality, you are probably going to use “salvation” more than greed in this sell. I suppose one could say salvation is being greedy for more life. Here’s a link to a Denny Hatch article that has solid info on eight copy “emotional hot buttons” put together by Bob Hacker and Axel Andersson.

What if your #3 target is reading a general interest magazine? Now you may need to reverse the Greed/Fear order I’ve suggested above and lead with Fear. Your headline and graphic may have to jolt them into instantly afraid for their health, and kickstart their mind into immediately thinking about the safety needs.

There are other examples when we can lead with Fear, but those we’ll discuss another day.

FunMarketer Free Campaign Idea of the Week

Photo: Istock #5012478

Headline: I Just Spent My Last Buck and Now You Tell Me Acme Burgers are on Sale?

Alternate Headline: The Tooth Fairy is On Strike?
Subhead: At Least Acme Burgers are Still on Sale -

Got any great ideas of your own? Just reply to the Funmarketer blog with your istock number and your headline and subhead (Clean Only, Please).

Oh, if you do use the campaign, make sure you give credit where due.

FunMarketer Tip of The Week

Boredom is your enemy. Anytime the customer is anywhere near your store, your website, or your presentation, you must surround them with distractions to keep them from being bored. Boredom puts the customer into a negative mood.

Isn’t your kid happier when she’s coloring or playing with a doll? If you want her to do something, such as pick up toys or help tote in a small bag of groceries from the car, won’t she be much more likely to perform such a chore without backtalk if she is seamlessly sliding from a pleasant activity rather than sitting at idle bored out of her mind?

It’s the same with your grown-up customers. Whether they are going to buy something from you, return something to you, or complain to you, your chances of a positive customer expereince are much better if you can keep them from being bored before they interact with your company.

Remember, not everything you have to engage them with to shoo away that spectre or boredom has to be sales-related material. A nice cup of coffee and a tv and a magazine to browse through is better than nothing.

Remember that little girl with the crayons that took in the groceries? She’s your customer, now.

FunMarketer Phrase of The Week

“Scared Speechless”. Oh, if only it would happen to the presidential candidates. Have No Fear of that happening any time soon….

Happy Marketing!

Craig Lutz-Priefert