Impassion Your Shoppers

“If you can find a better deal, TAKE IT!”
     That slogan’s being used by Pentagon Federal Credit Union in marketing their auto loans. Not “We guarantee you won’t find a better deal.” Not, “If you find a better deal, we’ll match it.” Not “We dare you to find a better deal.”
     The only vapor of passion in “If you can find a better deal, TAKE IT!,” is in the use of ALL CAPS and the exclamation point. The problem for this retailer is that passion sells. Consumers are guided toward purchase decisions by their emotions more than by their reasoning.
     There are countless ways to arouse passions. Among the most influential are those using sex appeal. Psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud claimed pretty much everything we do springs from the sex drive. Lots of people thought Sigmund was taking a good thing too far. Still, it's true that the sex drive does move the merchandise.
     In using this fact, realize the sex drive refers to much more than raw passion. In consumer psychology, it means the mutual attraction of masculinity and femininity toward each other. It's the Yin and the Yang. The complete package of passion is in the interaction.
     Researchers at University of Texas and University of Southern California observe that consumers associate masculinity with products and services which are disciplined, stable, and serious and associate femininity with products and services which are delicate, whimsical, and changeable.
     Your customers make purchase decisions based in part of how well the purchase can project their desired degrees of masculinity and femininity. It's true across age groups: Children as young as twenty months old distinguish toys intended for girls from those intended for boys. Northwestern University research found that boys are much more likely than girls to prefer rough chunky peanut butter to the smooth variety.
     It's true across cultures. Classic research by a psychologist working for IBM showed how the descriptions of masculinity and femininity differ from one culture to another. What stays the same is the drive of each type to show off their credentials.
     Use phrasing which your target audience associates with either masculinity or with femininity, and avoid mixing the two sets of words in the same message.
     For auto loans, the masculine in all of us might like, “After doing the research, you’ll come to us.” The feminine might like, “The best deal for you today and tomorrow.”

For your profitability: Sell Well: What Really Moves Your Shoppers

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Give Your Products & Services Sex Appeal