[ MAR K E.
TIN G ]
Listen to the
eart eat
\
It isnotaboutsimplyreachingoutto customers with the rightproduct.
But,it isalsoaboutcreatingthat rightdesireto possessthe product
RahulMirchandani
I
t was New Year's Eve 1880. A globe of marketer's dream. Everyone of us succumbs to this
hollow glass with a thread like filament emotion fuelled by our "unfulfilled desires". To sat-
in the centre was the focus of everyone's isfy the desire, we search for possible 'satisfiers' to
attention. The gathering suddenly fell address our wants and consequently, we buy. When
silent when the hosts stepped on to the the want is satisfied, we desire more. This is per-
make-shift dais at the centre of the room. Heated haps laying the foundation for creating a demand
anticipation almost warmed the chill winter air. for any product or service - the selfish, human
The silence was broken with the click of a switch. urge to have it all.
The filament within the hollow globe instantly Flip the pages of any newspaper or maga-
turned incandescent. The electric current had zine. Glance at hoardings that scream at you
heated the thread to emit light. The world would while you drive. Marketers almost fall over each
never be the same again. Edison had just made other trying to make you feel deprived. They al-
the first public demonstration of the light bulb. most torment us with their tall promises and
The news traveled fast. A new invention brainwash us with their messages.
promised the end to the age of illumination by Consider some striking examples. A certain
wax candles and the dependence of mankind on hotel chain runs a campaign that says "Living in
sunlight. Almost overnight, aspirations changed. a Dream". Who does not want to live in dreams?
Work no longer needed to stop at dusk. Common The emotional connect is instant. The message
people who until then had accustomed themselves goes on to say "Directed by Impulse, Starring
to the flickering flame of the candlestick suddenly You". Desire is unleashed. 'Pain' intensifies see-
expected more. The demonstration had unleashed ing the visual portrait of a picture perfect stretch
an inner feeling of deprivation. It had created 'pain' of beach. We look around our immediate sur-
and an "I can get something better" attitude that roundings and ask ourselves, "What am I doing
led to sale of the first here? I would rather be there on holiday."
Marketershavebeenableto electric bulb and A leading international airline's global tele-
every single one in vision campaign asks viewers "When was the last
sellusproductswhose the decades that fol- time you did something for the first time?" Visu-
lowed until today. als show corporate executives taking a few mo-
needwasperhapsnever It is this inner ments to get drenched in the rain, an elderly lady
perceivedevena 'pain', an emotional traveling for the first time in a helicopter and
feeling of dissatisfac- ends with a little girl expectantly looking out of
decadeago tion, which is every the picture windows at an airport watching planes
82 INDIAN MANAGEMENT. APRil 2006
I
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[MARKETING]
taxi past. The almost child-like curiosity within
all of us surfaces. Action is prompted when the
airline logo appears with the simple punch line
"Keep discovering." Almost instantly, our mind
says "Let's get out and discover our world."
Marketers have been able to sell us prod-
,l'-.:
ucts whose need was perhaps never perceive~'~
even a decade ago. Life was perfect even
before the age of the cellular phone.
People were in touch with their
friends, family and business
associates. It was business
as usual, until the day
when we were pre-
sented with this won- j
der of technology that
provided us with the
convenience of staying
in touch even while on
the move. All of a sudden,
cell phone became a
prized possession. Any I
one who did not have '
one felt deprived, de- \
tached and disconnected. \,
Aspirations rose and'
mobile telephone companies
focused all their energies on telling USe
how indispensable their service w~s. OveJ'tiDte:,
every call we missed while we were travelfng
frustrated us even more. Suddenly, we wanted the
convenience of making a call even on a remote
vacation island. Pressure mounted seeing col- Marketers systematically' exploit our in-
leagues chatting away on their cell phones. De- ner desires. Identifying the features and
sire peaked and demand rose. Over time, habits benefits provided by the product or
changed. A cell phone became a necessity. service on offer is a crucial step in ,
Today, every purchase we make is prompted by the overall marketing process. It
such 'inner pain.' Think about it. The first piece of lays the foundation for prospect-
.
clothing was purchased because it provided pro- ing. Profiles or segments of po- .~
tection and addressed demands of propriety within
the community. In certain cultures, it is known to
tential buyers are drawn up on the
basis of the needs that can be ad- ~~~"
\,
~...
'.
,. ;
.'
have been used to indicate social status. Even some- dressed by the offering. Prospective
thing as basic as a match box was successful as its customers are enlisted and positioning strate-
use allowed human beings to dispense with the in- gies are developed to suit this target audience.
convenient, time consuming process of making fire The next step is to engage the prospective cus-
by friction. Once a group of consumers made fire tomers. This is achieved by seamless, clear com-
with the easy flick of a match, it hurt non-use~to, munication with the potential users. Messages
waste time and energy endless'
the same purpose. It is """,
to get rid of the feelinJ .
of deprivation that w
do thinq.s like build~
ing home's-and
buying cars, \(1
use banks and
purchase insur-
ance policies.
>';-"~
INDIAN MANAGEMENT. APRIL2006 83
[MARKETING]
THE4-E APPROACHFOREXPLOITING'PAIN' The 'pain'-pride relationship
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Recall the first time you saw an advertisement
:Evaluate
features : :Communicatefeatures: for a laptop computer. As a consumer, this was
:andbenefits : \
\
: & benefits : the first time that you were exposed to the prod-
uct and its benefits. Evaluating its features lead
you to perceive the utility for it. A few days later,
:~~~~~~~~~][~~~~~~~~~:
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:~~~~~~~~~][~~~~~~~~~:
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you are in transit through an airport and you see
:Assess
fit consumer: : Inducetrialsand : a fellow passenger using his laptop. The pangs
:profiles
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i
J
:~ demonstrations :
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of "Do I need it?" change to "I want it". The level
of 'pain' peaks and the desire to possess mani-
.---------.
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ENLIST ENGAGE :Purchase : EMPOWER
:& use!
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.--------------------.
I I ENSLAVE
.--------------------.
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I Wordof mouth I- I Positive reinforcement I
~------------ ---_J ~- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - J
should be direct and focused. Visuals are perhaps fests itself. A survey of available options follows
the most powerful way to engage a potential user naturally along with an evaluation of afford-
and generate interest in the product on offer. ability. "Is it worth owning?" Purchase follows
Show them what they are missing. and 'pain' metamorphoses into pride. As you use
Marketers also try to induce trials or demon- your new possession, pride grows and feelings
strate the product at this stage to connect with of deprivation but vanish. Until, perhaps a year
and engage the consumer. Being candid is ab- later, when an image of a new brand of laptop
solutely essential. Higher the level of engage- with superior features arrives on the billboards.
ment with the user, higher the 'pain', more will 'Pain' resurfaces and marketers once again make
be the desire for possessing the product. It is, how- you feel deprived. You tell yourself "I need more."
ever, essential to use the right triggers, based on This cyclical process is the same whether we
the profile of the enlisted prospects. A campaign are buying a laptop or something as common as
depicting high interest rates on term deposits a T-shirt. Peaks and valleys of 'pain' appear with
will not engage a consumer in an Islamic coun- almost clockwork regularity. Every time pain
try, where cultural taboos on accepting interest peaks, we buy.
exist. Low bank charges or systematic invest- If the product is found to be too expensive,
ment plans could perhaps engage such a customer the inner feeling of deprivation persists. It forces
in a more productive way. us to keep looking for alternatives, special pro-
Engaging industrial buyers involves more motions, direct or indirect substitutes. If the per-
than just catch phrases and visuals. It is achieved ceived need is intense, we find ways of borrow-
using systematic cost-benefit analyses, compar- ing to buy. The credit card industry works over-
ative statements, simulations and sampling. How- time to provide us with a way to spend money
ever, the core issue is to generate enough inter- we have not earned to address two sources of 'pain'
est and understanding of your product or service - the frustration of not having enough money
that it prompts a consumer to believe that he will to satisfy our needs and the desire of possessing
be better off after making a purchase. The promise the product itself.
of a better deal is hard to ignore.
Use of the product will prove its utility and Pain, price and affordability
cause feelings of satisfaction. The consumer feels
empowered, having been provided a product or The realisation of every feature or benefit asso-
service that meets his specific needs. This em- ciated product or service serves as a catalyst in
powerment temporarily curbs the 'pain' prompt- the 'pain' creation process within us. However,
ing the purchase, until the need is felt again. Re- whether the feeling of deprivation is sustainable
peat purchases make the consumer flaunt his till a point that it leads to a purchase depends
"better deal" to others. More prospects get enlisted on several external and internal factors.
and the cycle continues. It must be stated that the levels of pain vary
84 INDIAN MANAGEMENT. APRil 2006
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[MARKETI NG]
TRACKINGLEVELSOF 'PAIN' LEVELOF PRE-PURCHASEPAIN
Price
,.
ENGAGE Low High
Prospects rI ir . .. 'I
I Consuma bles... I
I S pecla IItles... I
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~ :Telephone :Owned House :
:c::Cosmetics
InsectRepellant
::Annual
Car
Holiday ::
:Insurance :Computer :
~
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:
~ ~
:MedicalTreatment: ~
a. :Commodities...
I
:Durables... :
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Aild :Food & Drink :Refrigerators :
3: :Matchboxes : Video
Camera :
.. ..
feature .9: Newspaper
I
: Printer
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Attention' Interest Desire Action I
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depending on the individual's preferences. The discount during the off season months to liqui-
above classification is purely indicative. A per- date inventory. Make an offer that the consumer
son who has not eaten for a prolonged period cannot afford to refuse or ignore.
would place even basic necessities of food in a Marketers have always used their communi-
different quadrant, most likely high pain -low cations to make us realise that we need more or
price. For a poor person who cannot afford even that their products and services are capable of
a square meal a day, food would perhaps move giving us a better deal. The more they tell us, the
to the high pain - high price quadrant. more we filter and evaluate their brand mes-
Familiarity with the product is another fac- sages. But marketing campaigns are persistent and
tor. A person buying his second car or a third com- our needs beyond any limit.
puter would have had a much higher inner feel- Levels of pain within each consumer would
ing of deprivation when he had bought a sirni- most certainly vary. For the same prospective
lar product for the first time. This is true across buyer, the same
all product categories. As we get used to a prod- product or service Beingcandid is absolutely
uct, we take its utility for granted. But the need would evoke varying
for "one more" certainly does cause enough pain levels of desire at dif- essential. Higher the level of
within us leading us to buy an upgraded version ferent points in time
of the same product. and within different engagement with the user, more
Perhaps the most crucial determinant of the environments. How- will be the desire for possessing
level of 'pain' within a prospective consumer is ever, the inner feel-
the timing of the decision. After a major natural ing of deprivation the prodUd
calamity where an individual has lost a great undoubtedly mani-
deal, insurance products would suddenly be- fests itself within us. It is this psychological 'pain'
come a top priority. Previously, the desire to pur- that serves as the primary influencer that drives
chase insurance policies may have been rele- us to buy. We buy to curb this pain and buy more
gated to a much lower level. The need for a video when the pain resurfaces. The satisfaction that
camera peaks just before a vacation or a major ari1,es post purchase is addictive. We do all we
family event. Here, though all elements of the mar- can to make the pain go away. We crave to have
keting mix remain constant, levels of pain rise. it all. And this is every marketer's dream. .
Seasonality may also cause differences in the
classification of products within the grid. Look-
ing at an exquisite pashmina shawl in the peak
of the Indian summer would not cause enough ABOUT THE AUTHOR
'pain' to induce an immediate purchase. A pur-
chase may be prompted using inducements other Rahul Mirchandaniis executivedirector,Aries AgIO-VetIndustries I
than the product itself, most commonly a deep Limited,
Mumbai. ~
INDIAN MANAGEMENT. APRIL 2006 85
