The 9 Learned Human Wants
In digital marketing, the concept of ‘learned human wants’ stands out as a force driving consumer behaviour. Unlike basic needs essential for survival, these wants are shaped by our experiences and societal interactions, influencing every choice from the brand of water we drink to the car we fancy driving.
By aligning The 9 Learned Human Wants with The 8 Natural Human Needs, The 7 Emotive Triggers, and The 12 Brand Archetypes, we ensure our messages resonate deeply, compelling action and fostering lasting connections.
Understanding these wants isn’t just about recognising what consumers desire; it’s about delving deeper into why they choose one product over another and how these choices align with their aspirations and lifestyles. For marketers and advertising experts, mastering the art of appealing to these learned wants can drastically uplift the effectiveness of their campaigns.
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Across the diverse spectrum of marketing agencies—whether they specialise in SEO, PPC, or full-scale digital strategies—tailoring campaigns that resonate with these human wants can transform potential interest into concrete action. This approach doesn’t just meet the eye; it captivates the mind, ensuring that every campaign isn’t merely seen but felt, remembered, and acted upon.
Let’s unpack these learned human wants and explore how they can be leveraged to craft marketing campaigns that are not only seen but truly resonate on a human level.
The Power of Human Wants in Marketing
Dive into the dynamic world of marketing where understanding the nine learned human wants isn’t just beneficial—it’s transformative. These wants, far beyond basic survival needs, drive the choices and preferences of consumers, influencing everything from the mundane to the monumental in their daily lives. Here’s a brisk tour through each want and its marketing magic:
- To be Informed – In the age of information overload, consumers crave clarity and truth. Marketing that educates and enlightens not only builds trust but also empowers the audience, making them feel valued and respected.
- Curiosity – This natural human tendency can be a goldmine for marketers. By crafting campaigns that tease the mind and tickle the imagination, brands can drive engagement through the roof.
- Cleanliness of Body and Surroundings – With a growing emphasis on health and hygiene, marketing products that promise cleanliness appeal to a deep-rooted desire for safety and purity.
- Efficiency – As lives get busier, efficiency becomes more attractive. Highlighting how your product or service saves time will attract consumers looking to streamline their lives.
- Convenience – Easy access and user-friendliness are paramount. Products that simplify tasks or make them more convenient are always in high demand.
- Dependability and Quality – Quality never goes out of style. Dependable products that deliver on their promise build brand loyalty and trust over time.
- Expression of Beauty and Style – Everyone wants to look good and feel good. Marketing that connects products with personal beauty and style resonates deeply with self-expression.
- Economy and Profit – Everyone loves a good deal. Showcasing the economic benefits of a product can make it irresistible.
- Bargains – The lure of getting more for less is universal. Highlighting discounts and promotions can drive quick sales and high volumes.
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To Be Informed: The Human Want for Clarity and Truth
Clarity in Communication: Empowering Consumers
In the age of information overload, consumers crave clarity and truth. Effective marketing that educates and enlightens not only builds trust but also empowers the audience. When people feel informed, they perceive that their choices are respected and valued.
For instance, Mercedes Benz provides detailed information about the safety features and engineering of their vehicles, enhancing consumer knowledge and trust in the brand’s commitment to quality.
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Enlightening Your Audience: Building Lasting Trust
Through clear and truthful communication, we can transform how the audience interacts with a brand. By providing essential knowledge and straightforward facts, marketing campaigns create a foundation of trust. This approach not only satisfies the want to be informed but elevates the consumer’s experience, making them feel like an integral part of the brand’s journey.
Take Kmart, for example, which uses detailed product descriptions and educational content to help customers make informed purchasing decisions, thereby boosting confidence and satisfaction.
The Power of Informed Decisions in Marketing
Empowered consumers are likely to make confident decisions, appreciating brands that have contributed to their knowledge base. Brands that commit to transparency in their marketing efforts not only foster loyalty but also encourage consumers to advocate on their behalf. It’s a strategy that turns ordinary buyers into informed brand ambassadors, resonating deeply within their networks.
A prime example is Evian, which shares the source and purity of its water, educating consumers about what makes it different and worth choosing over competitors like Mount Franklin.
Curiosity: Unleashing the Power of Wonder
Teasing the Mind: Sparking Interest
Curiosity is a potent force in “human want: psychology, and it serves as a goldmine for savvy marketers. By crafting campaigns that tease the mind and tickle the imagination, brands can captivate audiences right from the outset. Take Calvin Klein, for example, which often uses enigmatic ad campaigns that leave more questions than answers, compelling consumers to engage further to unravel the mystery.
Tickle the Imagination: Driving Engagement
This natural human tendency to know more can be strategically harnessed to skyrocket engagement. Brands like Louis Vuitton employ storytelling in their advertisements that hint at luxury and adventure, enticing consumers to discover more about their products and the stories behind them. Such strategies not only draw attention but also encourage consumers to spend time exploring deeper into the brand’s world.
The Allure of Mystery in Marketing
Creating a sense of mystery can lead consumers on a journey of discovery that enhances engagement and brand loyalty. For instance, KFC occasionally runs campaigns teasing secret recipes or introducing mysterious new flavours, which drives curiosity and conversation among its audience. By not revealing all the details upfront, KFC keeps consumers guessing and coming back for more, trying to piece together the flavour puzzle.
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Cleanliness of Body and Surroundings: The Purity Appeal
Health and Hygiene in the Spotlight
In today’s world, the emphasis on health and hygiene has never been more pronounced, making cleanliness a key selling point for many products. Marketing that highlights the cleanliness of products appeals to a deep-rooted desire for safety and purity. Brands like Kmart and Big W effectively use this strategy by promoting their range of household cleaning products that promise a germ-free environment, catering to the consumer’s need for a safe home. This aligns closely with principles I’ve discussed in my Spring content, focusing on renewal and maintaining cleanliness during seasonal transitions.
Safety and Purity in Product Choices
Consumers increasingly look for products that not only serve their basic needs but also contribute to their overall well-being. For instance, Dollar Store capitalizes on this trend by offering affordable cleaning supplies that promise effective results, aligning with consumers’ desires to maintain cleanliness without compromising their budget. This approach not only meets the practical needs but also reinforces the emotional peace of mind that comes with a clean living space, a concept I’ve explored under Social Media Strategy emphasising the importance of clean, clear, and direct messaging in marketing.
Clean Marketing: A Strategy for Trust
When brands communicate their commitment to cleanliness, they build a foundation of trust with their customers. Products like Evian Water leverage this by emphasising their filtration process and how it ensures the purity of the water, appealing to the consumers’ intrinsic need for clean, safe drinking water. This clean marketing strategy effectively taps into the health-conscious trends, ensuring that the product’s cleanliness becomes a significant part of its appeal. In a similar vein, I’ve discussed the Evolution of Facebook Ads and how transparency and clarity have become paramount in digital advertising, much like the purity in product marketing.
Efficiency: Streamlining for the Modern Consumer
The Value of Time: Marketing Efficiency
As lives get increasingly busier, the appeal of efficiency grows stronger. Highlighting how your product or service saves time can powerfully attract consumers looking to streamline their routines and enhance their daily lives. Brands like McDonald’s understand this well, emphasising how their quick service allows customers to enjoy meals without a long wait, catering directly to the time-sensitive needs of their clientele.
Streamlining Lives with Smart Solutions
In our fast-paced world, consumers value solutions that simplify their tasks and save time. This desire for efficiency is not just about speed but also about the integration of convenience and quality. For instance, Amazon uses its E-commerce platform to streamline the shopping process, offering one-click purchases and same-day delivery, thus saving consumers time and effort. This approach has revolutionised retail and set a benchmark in the Digital Marketing Industry.
Efficiency in Marketing: A Strategic Edge
When marketing a product or service, it’s crucial to communicate not just what it does, but how it makes life easier. This concept of efficiency ties closely with features like Automation and Personalisation, which enhance the consumer experience by minimising hassle and maximising satisfaction, making the customer’s decision-making process both quicker and more informed.
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Convenience: The Key to Consumer Satisfaction
Easy Access Drives Demand
Convenience is a cornerstone in marketplaces since in memoriam; easy access and user-friendliness are paramount. By focusing on making products and services as accessible and easy to use as possible, brands can significantly enhance their appeal. For example, QANTAS streamlines travel with user-friendly online check-ins and real-time flight updates via its app, greatly simplifying the travel process for passengers.
Simplifying Tasks for Enhanced Demand
Products that simplify tasks or make them more convenient are always in high demand. Look at how Apple has mastered this with its ecosystem of devices that seamlessly integrate and synchronise, making daily tasks more manageable and efficient for users. This strategy not only meets the practical needs of consumers but also provides them with a satisfying and hassle-free experience.
Leveraging Convenience in Marketing
In marketing, emphasising a product’s convenience can significantly influence consumer choices. Brands like Uber highlight how they transform the necessity of transport into a simple, effortless service. With just a few taps on a smartphone, consumers can book a ride anywhere and anytime, which perfectly illustrates the power of convenience in modern marketing strategies. This approach taps into the deep-seated desire for effortless solutions in our increasingly busy lives.
Dependability and Quality: Foundations of Brand Loyalty
Quality as a Timeless Standard
Quality never goes out of style. In the world of consumer products, dependable items that consistently deliver on their promises are highly valued. Brands that have built a reputation for quality, like Mercedes-Benz, showcase this through their reliable vehicles known for longevity and superior performance. This commitment to quality assures customers that their investment is sound—a key factor in building trust and brand loyalty.
Building Trust with Dependability
Dependable products are the backbone of consumer trust. When customers know they can rely on a product to perform as advertised, it creates a strong bond between them and the brand. This is clearly seen in the Fashion E-commerce sector with companies like Zara, where consistent product quality and dependable service have fostered a loyal customer base that returns season after season.
The Impact of Quality and Dependability in Marketing
In marketing, highlighting the quality and dependability of a product can play a significant role in attracting and retaining customers. Universal Music Group demonstrates this principle by ensuring that every music release meets a high standard of production quality, which not only satisfies but also exceeds customer expectations. Promoting these attributes effectively communicates the value of a product, reinforcing the consumer’s decision to choose quality over cheaper, less reliable alternatives.
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Expression of Beauty and Style: Enhancing Self-Expression
The Desire to Look Good and Feel Good
Everyone wants to look good and feel good; it’s a universal desire. Marketing that effectively connects products with personal beauty and style taps deeply into this need for self-expression. Brands like Louis Vuitton exemplify this by associating their products with sophistication and luxury, allowing consumers to express their personal style and aspirations through high-end fashion.
Marketing that Resonates with Personal Style
The connection between products and personal identity is powerful. When a brand like Calvin Klein markets its clothing, it’s not just selling fabric and thread—it’s selling an image, a lifestyle, and an identity. This marketing strategy resonates deeply with consumers’ desires to express themselves through their clothing choices, making the brand a part of their personal and social expression.
Beauty and Style in Consumer Choices
In the realm of consumer choices, beauty and style play pivotal roles. Archie Rose, a premium spirits brand, uses beautifully designed packaging and branding to appeal to consumers’ aesthetic tastes and sense of style. This not only enhances the product’s appeal but also makes it a statement piece, reflecting the consumer’s taste and sophistication in their choice of beverage. Such strategies ensure that the product stands out in a crowded market by aligning with the consumers’ desire to express their uniqueness through beautiful and stylish choices.
Bargains: Harnessing the Power of More for Less
The Universal Lure of Getting More for Less
The appeal of bargains is universal, tapping into the consumer’s desire to maximise value while spending less. Highlighting discounts and promotions is a time-tested strategy that can drive quick sales and high volumes. Retail giants like Kmart and Big W excel in this area, regularly advertising sales and special offers that attract throngs of bargain hunters eager to snap up deals.
Driving Sales Through Strategic Discounts
Discounts and promotions are not just tactics to clear inventory; they are powerful marketing tools that can create urgency and increase customer traffic. For example, Fashion E-commerce platforms frequently use limited-time offers to encourage shoppers to make purchases while fostering a sense of excitement and exclusivity. This strategy effectively turns occasional shoppers into frequent buyers, boosting brand engagement and loyalty.
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Leveraging Promotions to Maximize Reach
The key to successful bargain marketing lies in strategic promotion. Brands like McDonald’s use value meals and seasonal discounts to draw in customers, offering more for less in a way that not only satisfies immediate hunger but also positions the brand as an affordable option for quality food. Similarly, in Digital Marketing, flash sales and coupon codes can be advertised across social media platforms to reach a wide audience quickly, turning a regular day into a high-traffic event.
By cleverly utilising bargains and discounts, marketers can significantly enhance the appeal of their products and services, encouraging consumers to act swiftly and decisively, driven by the compelling value proposition of getting more for less.
About the Author
Crom Salvatera is a veteran copywriter and esteemed copywriting coach, bringing over two decades of dedicated experience to the field of persuasive writing. Specialising in the nuances of the Australian market, Crom has adeptly honed his skills to masterfully craft copy that resonates deeply with diverse audiences. His career is distinguished by his efforts to mentor aspiring copywriters, where he imparts both foundational techniques and advanced strategies that merge psychological insights with compelling content creation.
Crom’s significant impact on the industry is underscored by his commitment to elevating the standards of copywriting practices, consistently focusing on forging lasting connections between brands and their audiences through meticulously crafted messages. His innovative approach not only adheres to but also drives the continuous evolution in the dynamic worlds of digital marketing and copywriting, marking him as a leading figure in his field.
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