Research- Marketing Psychology

Marketing psychology is invisible bond betwen people and products. It is the happy force that influences people's minds about what they need and don't need, what makes them better and what doesn't any more. Through crafty manipulation of words, sounds, and pictures, marketers can make a person believe just about anything about their product. It helps mother Earth, it attracts the opposite sex, it repels evil spirits- just about anything will fly if the information can be tailored in the advertisement to the targeted audience. Through effective use of marketing psychology, a person can reach out, grab, and hold people with an advertisement. How does someone make the masses believe them, though? How do they even reach them through the thousands of ads that already surround them every day? In this paper, we will cover topics concerning marketing psychology that answer these questions:
What tactics are used in marketing psychology?
Are there different forms of marketing psychology?
Are there ineffective or harmful methods of marketing psychology?
How does marketing psychology affect peoples' thought processes?
Are there people who are more or less susceptible to marketing psychology?
How does marketing psychology help or hinder businesses?
Does marketing psychology affect people outside of the market?

Hot damn, you have a great idea for a new hula-hoop! You have got stock ready for purchase, and everything is set up to go- but wait, someone else has already cornered the hula-hoop market. How does a person succeed in this impossible situation?

Analyze the chief competitor's product for a vulnerability which can be exploited. It can be almost anything, no matter how insignificant. The smallest of flaws can knock the biggest company off the consumer ladder. Remember that perceptual positioning inside the consumer's mind requires an attack on the competitor. Do not just compare - attack! Most attacks just point out a fact consumers overlook. They can take a concerned approach, or even deliver the knock-out punch with humor, if possible.

Take the viewpoint of the consumer and list all the problems of the competitor's product. On every problem, see if it could possibly create a fear consumers would shy away from, causing them to buy other brands more readily. Products need to be more acceptable than the competitor's. The most successful messages make advertisements which first emphasize competitors' problems, whether physical, social, or mental. A social approach is often effective, since people always care what others think about them. Everyone used to have stinky armpits, it was a fact of life. Then one day, someone realized he could create a fear inside people that made them think smelly pits were unattractive and gruesome. Now, even 'The Author' cannot go to school without deodorant. That is because someone revealed deodorant to the stenchy youth. It removes all the problems! No stink, all charm. It's what people come to beleive.

Keep hammering the message into people. In today's world, no message easily stays with a person. Emphasize the same message in all avenues of media, until sales figures improve. Use research to show that ones has targeted a vulnerable point, and give the message time to create a positive image of the product, and a negative competitor image that will be around for a long time. Be careful, though- make sure oneself is not vulnerable to attack. If a competitor finds a small weakness, they too can exploit it and bump a person back to start.

So the company is selling a great product, but the marketing message does not create the image in the customer's mind that is desired - the product won't sell. What's most important is how valuable one's product seems at first glance. That initial value is controlled by the marketing message, so the product had better be marketed right. There are a lot ways to take a good marketing idea and go down the toilet with the wrong message.

Making the slogan or message difficult to understand will confuse the consumer and deter them from the product or service. When consumers see the company's name and slogan, they should immediately recognize the business and what it provides. If the message sounds better with the phrase, "in other words," after it, the message is probably too cryptic for the casual consumer to bother with.

If the message is confusing, all the important aspects of your business will not reach the reader's mind. Do not assume that the reader knows anything about the business. People will not bother wasting time to figure out exactly what's going on. They will most likely not look for missing information, so make sure to make the message fast, simple, and easy to understand. Many advertisements are created with the idea that readers care enough to wade through garbage that explains the product in detail. Always remember the KISASS rule- Keep It Short And Simple, Stupid!

No matter what you are advertising, consumers are not getting ulcers becuase they're so excitied to find out more about your product. Make interesting and attractive ads that creates desirable images in the reader's mind. Photos are the first thing that most people notice in your ad. For example, McDonald's does not make commercials with pictures of real hamburgers and real employees of their restaurants, they fashion commercials of heavenburgers and smiling college-graduate burger boys. Imagine that the product's message is like a piece of furniture- is it presented as Oakland quality furniture, or Goodwill quality? If consumers see Goodwill quality ads, they expect Goodwill quality merchandise.

The marketing message should stimulate some important desire in readers and promise to satisfy it. But the promise must pass their 'smell' test - if it smells rotten, it probably is. For example, it could be believable to say they can lose several pounds a week with the so-and-so diet and exercise. But it is not believable to promise they will drop five dress sizes in a week. Treat readers with the intellectual respect that is demanded. Advertising legend David Ogilvy once said that he wrote every ad with the same respect as he would show to his wife.

Today there are hundreds mistakes that can destroy your business. Many of them are out of your control. Don't become a victim of ones that can be controlled.



Works Cited

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