[ MAR K E.TIN G ]

Listen to the\

eart eatIt isnotaboutsimplyreachingoutto customerswith the rightproduct.But,it isalsoaboutcreatingthat rightdesireto possesstheproduct

It was New Year's Eve 1880. A globe ofhollow glass with a thread like filamentin the centre was the focus of everyone'sattention. The gathering suddenly fellsilent when the hosts stepped on to the

make-shift dais at the centre of the room. Heated

anticipation almost warmed the chill winter air.The silence was broken with the click of a switch.

The filament within the hollow globe instantlyturned incandescent. The electric current had

heated the thread to emit light. The world wouldnever be the same again. Edison had just madethe first public demonstration of the light bulb.

The news traveled fast. A new invention

promised the end to the age of illumination bywax candles and the dependence of mankind onsunlight. Almost overnight, aspirations changed.Work no longer needed to stop at dusk. Commonpeople who until then had accustomed themselvesto the flickering flame of the candlestick suddenlyexpected more. The demonstration had unleashedan inner feeling of deprivation. It had created 'pain'and an "I can get something better" attitude that

led to sale of the firstelectric bulb and

every single one inthe decades that fol-lowed until today.

It is this inner

'pain', an emotionalfeeling of dissatisfac-tion, which is every

RahulMirchandani

Marketershavebeenableto

sellusproductswhoseneedwasperhapsnever

perceivedevenadecadeago

82

-

marketer's dream. Everyone of us succumbs to thisemotion fuelled by our "unfulfilled desires". Tosat-isfy the desire, we search for possible 'satisfiers' toaddress our wants and consequently, we buy. Whenthe want is satisfied, we desire more. This is per-haps laying the foundation for creating a demandfor any product or service - the selfish, humanurge to have it all.

Flip the pages of any newspaper or maga-zine. Glance at hoardings that scream at youwhile you drive. Marketers almost fall over eachother trying to make you feel deprived. They al-most torment us with their tall promises andbrainwash us with their messages.

Consider some striking examples. A certainhotel chain runs a campaign that says "Living ina Dream". Who does not want to live in dreams?The emotional connect is instant. The messagegoes on to say "Directed by Impulse, StarringYou". Desire is unleashed. 'Pain' intensifies see-

ing the visual portrait of a picture perfect stretchof beach. We look around our immediate sur-

roundings and ask ourselves, "What am I doinghere? I would rather be there on holiday."

A leading international airline's global tele-vision campaign asks viewers "When was the lasttime you did something for the first time?" Visu-als show corporate executives taking a few mo-ments to get drenched in the rain, an elderly ladytraveling for the first time in a helicopter andends with a little girl expectantly looking out ofthe picture windows at an airport watching planes

INDIAN MANAGEMENT. APRil 2006I

..L

[MARKETING]

taxi past. The almost child-like curiosity withinall of us surfaces. Action is prompted when theairline logo appears with the simple punch line"Keep discovering." Almost instantly, our mind

says "Let's get out and discover our world." ,lMarketers have been able to sell us prod- '-.:

ucts whose need was perhaps never perceive~'~even a decade ago. Life was perfect evenbefore the age of the cellular phone.People were in touch with theirfriends, family and businessassociates. It was business

as usual, until the daywhen we were pre-sented with this won- j

der of technology thatprovided us with theconvenience of stayingin touch even while onthe move. All of a sudden,

Icell phone became aprized possession. Anyone who did not have '

one felt deprived, de- \tached and disconnected. \,

Aspirations rose and'mobile telephone companiesfocused all their energies on telling USehow indispensable their service w~s. OveJ'tiDte:,every call we missed while we were travelfngfrustrated us even more. Suddenly, we wanted theconvenience of making a call even on a remotevacation island. Pressure mounted seeing col-leagues chatting away on their cell phones. De-sire peaked and demand rose. Over time, habitschanged. A cell phone became a necessity.

Today, every purchase we make is prompted bysuch 'inner pain.' Think about it. The first piece ofclothing was purchased because it provided pro-tection and addressed demands of propriety withinthe community. In certain cultures, it is known tohave been used to indicate social status. Even some-thing as basic as a match box was successful as itsuse allowed human beings to dispense with the in-convenient, time consuming process of making fireby friction. Once a group of consumers made firewith the easy flick of a match, it hurt non-use~to,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~inghome's-and

buying cars, \(1use banks and

purchase insur-ance policies.

Marketers systematically' exploit our in-ner desires. Identifying the features andbenefits provided by the product orservice on offer is a crucial step in ,the overall marketing process. It

~lays the foundation for prospect-

~...~

.

,..'

ing. Profiles or segments of po- .~tential buyers are drawn up on the \, ;

basis of the needs that can be ad- '. ~"dressed by the offering. Prospectivecustomers are enlisted and positioning strate-gies are developed to suit this target audience.

The next step is to engage the prospective cus-tomers. This is achieved by seamless, clear com-munication with the potential users. Messages

>';-"~

INDIAN MANAGEMENT. APRIL2006 83

[MARKETING]

THE4-E APPROACHFOREXPLOITING'PAIN'.--------------- -.I I

:Evaluatefeatures ::andbenefits ::~~~~~~~~~][~~~~~~~~~:I I

:Assessfit consumer::profiles iL J

ENLIST

.--------------------.I I

:Communicatefeatures::& benefits :

:~~~~~~~~~][~~~~~~~~~:I I

:Inducetrialsand ::demonstrations :~ J

\\

ENGAGE

.--------------------.I I

I Wordofmouth I-~------------ ---_J

84

ENSLAVE

should be direct and focused. Visuals are perhapsthe most powerful way to engage a potential userand generate interest in the product on offer.Show them what they are missing.

Marketers also try to induce trials or demon-strate the product at this stage to connect withand engage the consumer. Being candid is ab-solutely essential. Higher the level of engage-ment with the user, higher the 'pain', more willbe the desire for possessing the product. It is, how-ever, essential to use the right triggers, based onthe profile of the enlisted prospects. A campaigndepicting high interest rates on term depositswill not engage a consumer in an Islamic coun-try, where cultural taboos on accepting interestexist. Low bank charges or systematic invest-ment plans could perhaps engage such a customerin a more productive way.

Engaging industrial buyers involves morethan just catch phrases and visuals. It is achievedusing systematic cost-benefit analyses, compar-ative statements, simulations and sampling. How-ever, the core issue is to generate enough inter-est and understanding of your product or servicethat it prompts a consumer to believe that he willbe better off after making a purchase. The promiseof a better deal is hard to ignore.

Use of the product will prove its utility andcause feelings of satisfaction. The consumer feelsempowered, having been provided a product orservice that meets his specific needs. This em-powerment temporarily curbs the 'pain' prompt-ing the purchase, until the need is felt again. Re-peat purchases make the consumer flaunt his"better deal" to others. More prospects get enlistedand the cycle continues.

- - -- - -

The 'pain'-pride relationshipRecall the first time you saw an advertisementfor a laptop computer. As a consumer, this wasthe first time that you were exposed to the prod-uct and its benefits. Evaluating its features leadyou to perceive the utility for it. A few days later,you are in transit through an airport and you seea fellow passenger using his laptop. The pangsof "Do I need it?" change to "I want it". The levelof 'pain' peaks and the desire to possess mani-

.---------.I I

:Purchase::& use!~ J

EMPOWER

.--------------------.I I

IPositive reinforcement I~- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - J

fests itself. A survey of available options followsnaturally along with an evaluation of afford-ability. "Is it worth owning?" Purchase followsand 'pain' metamorphoses into pride. As you useyour new possession, pride grows and feelingsof deprivation but vanish. Until, perhaps a yearlater, when an image of a new brand of laptopwith superior features arrives on the billboards.'Pain' resurfaces and marketers once again makeyou feel deprived. You tell yourself "I need more."

This cyclical process is the same whether weare buying a laptop or something as common asa T-shirt. Peaks and valleys of 'pain' appear withalmost clockwork regularity. Every time painpeaks, we buy.

If the product is found to be too expensive,the inner feeling of deprivation persists. It forcesus to keep looking for alternatives, special pro-motions, direct or indirect substitutes. If the per-ceived need is intense, we find ways of borrow-ing to buy. The credit card industry works over-time to provide us with a way to spend moneywe have not earned to address two sources of 'pain'- the frustration of not having enough moneyto satisfy our needs and the desire of possessingthe product itself.

Pain, price and affordability

The realisation of every feature or benefit asso-ciated product or service serves as a catalyst inthe 'pain' creation process within us. However,whether the feeling of deprivation is sustainabletill a point that it leads to a purchase dependson several external and internal factors.

It must be stated that the levels of pain vary

INDIAN MANAGEMENT. APRil 2006

TRACKINGLEVELSOF 'PAIN'

,.ENGAGEProspects

. .. .. .

Attention' Interest i Desire Action

depending on the individual's preferences. Theabove classification is purely indicative. A per-son who has not eaten for a prolonged periodwould place even basic necessities of food in adifferent quadrant, most likely high pain -lowprice. For a poor person who cannot afford evena square meal a day, food would perhaps moveto the high pain - high price quadrant.

Familiarity with the product is another fac-tor. A person buying his second car or a third com-puter would have had a much higher inner feel-ing of deprivation when he had bought a sirni-lar product for the first time. This is true acrossall product categories. As we get used to a prod-uct, we take its utility for granted. But the needfor "one more" certainly does cause enough painwithin us leading us to buy an upgraded versionof the same product.

Perhaps the most crucial determinant of thelevel of 'pain' within a prospective consumer isthe timing of the decision. After a major naturalcalamity where an individual has lost a greatdeal, insurance products would suddenly be-come a top priority. Previously, the desire to pur-chase insurance policies may have been rele-gated to a much lower level. The need for a videocamera peaks just before a vacation or a majorfamily event. Here, though all elements of the mar-keting mix remain constant, levels of pain rise.

Seasonality may also cause differences in theclassification of products within the grid. Look-ing at an exquisite pashmina shawl in the peakof the Indian summer would not cause enough'pain' to induce an immediate purchase. A pur-chase may be prompted using inducements otherthan the product itself, most commonly a deep

INDIAN MANAGEMENT. APRIL 2006

Aild

feature

[MARKETI NG]

LEVELOF PRE-PURCHASEPAIN

Price

~"""i:a.

Low Highr ir 'I C bl I S

. I.. II onsuma es... I pecla Itles... II I II I I

~ :Telephone :Owned House ::c:Cosmetics :Annual Holiday ::InsectRepellant :Car ::Insurance :Computer :: :MedicalTreatment:~ ~ ~:Commodities... :Durables... :I I II I I

:Food& Drink :Refrigerators :3: :Matchboxes :VideoCamera :.9:Newspaper :Printer :

I I II I II I II I I

~ ~

discount during the off season months to liqui-date inventory. Make an offer that the consumercannot afford to refuse or ignore.

Marketers have always used their communi-cations to make us realise that we need more or

that their products and services are capable ofgiving us a better deal. The more they tell us, themore we filter and evaluate their brand mes-

sages. But marketing campaigns are persistent andour needs beyond any limit.

Levels of pain within each consumer wouldmost certainly vary. For the same prospectivebuyer, the sameproduct or servicewould evoke varyinglevels of desire at dif-

ferent points in timeand within differentenvironments. How-ever, the inner feel-ing of deprivationundoubtedly mani-fests itself within us. It is this psychological 'pain'that serves as the primary influencer that drivesus to buy. We buy to curb this pain and buy morewhen the pain resurfaces. The satisfaction thatari1,es post purchase is addictive. We do all wecan to make the pain go away. We crave to haveit all. And this is every marketer's dream. .

Beingcandidis absolutelyessential. Higher the level ofengagement with the user, morewill be the desire for possessingthe prodUd

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

RahulMirchandaniis executivedirector,AriesAgIO-VetIndustries ILimited,Mumbai. ~

85