Red Rocket Media Group

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Psychological Factors that Influence Consumers

We, as people, act pretty strangely a lot of the time – especially when it comes to the way people buy certain products and not others. Have you ever wondered why people buy some of the things they do? Have you ever considered why that guy in the shiny, new sports car next to you at the stoplight decided it was the right car for him?

If you ever rolled down your window and asked him why he bought that car, he'd probably have to sit and think about it for a second. Then, you might get answers like "Because it's cool" or "Because I wanted it." Those are legitimate answers, sure, but there have to be some additional reasons behind them, right?

Well, in fact, there are. Red Rocket's marketing researchers have identified 30 unique factors that influence a person to buy a particular product. Our experts call them the 30 Psychological Factors that Motivate People to Buy, and they're something we stress when developing any marketing materials.

We stress them because we've seen the amazing results they get. Our researchers have tediously tested the effect of changing a marketing message – even going as far as testing individual words. It was a lot of work, yes, but it also helped us identify the 30 Psychological Factors and revealed how powerful they are in a marketing message.

What are the 30 Psychological Factors? We've broken them down into two groups: those that play on people's fear of losing something and those that deal with people's desire to gain something. Let's take a look at them.

The fear-based factors are:

To avoid feelings of fear or worry
To avoid losing money
To avoid change
To avoid effort
To avoid embarrassment or looking foolish
To avoid physical pain or sickness
To avoid loss
To avoid stress
To avoid problems
To avoid criticism
To avoid missing out

So, looking at just those, let's use the sports car example, again. Which of those factors could buying a nice, shiny new car fit into? Well, all of them, but it's not necessary to use each one. Take a look:

He avoids the fear of getting into an accident by purchasing a car with anti-lock brakes and airbags.
He'll avoid losing money on repairs by buying a new car.
He'll avoid feelings of embarrassment, since he'll have the newest model car and not that 1971 Ford Pinto anymore.
He'll avoid criticism from friends, since he has the latest, greatest car.

That's only four examples. You can literally go through each of those 11 factors and come up with several different examples for each one, but those are just the fear-based factors. Things open up when you consider the remaining 19 factors that deal with satisfaction.

Those 19 satisfaction-based factors are:

To gain pleasure – in any way
To make money
To satisfy greed
To save time
To gain status
To gain comfort or remain comfortable
To gain praise and recognition
To be popular
To attract the opposite sex
To have fun
To gratify curiosity
To be happy
To have or hold beautiful, coveted possessions
To be accepted by others
To be unique
To protect a reputation
To have safety
To boost their image or ego
To be or appear to be smart

Now, let's go back to the guy with his sports car. How many of those factors can you see coming in to play to convince him to buy that car? Pretty much all of them, and some of them are very obvious. Now, if you had the opportunity to ask him why he bought that sports car and you get the "Because it's cool" response, you'll know he is trying to gain status.

So, there you have the 30 Psychological Factors, and, simply put, the 30 factors boil down to this: No one likes being afraid of something, and everyone likes feeling good. When you can play off of these intrinsic human qualities, you're pretty much guaranteed to make an impact when you're selling something. Think about it for a second: How many commercials have you seen where the auto company boasts its safety record? The reasoning is simple: They're trying to touch on people's fear of injury or death.

Not every ad focuses on fear; some will focus on people's desire to gain something. You see, a successful marketing message will identify three or four of the 30 Psychological Factors to use. Any more than just those three or four,and you begin to dilute the message. Furthermore, a good marketing company will study the target market to focus the selected psychological factors to garner the most impact out of that particular market. When they do, the marketing campaign can get dramatic results.

That's why, when Red Rocket's clients ask us to help them promote their goods or services, we give them our proprietary Visionary Kit which includes a section on the 30 Psychological Factors. Once filled out, the client can begin to see new ways of how their goods or services appeal to the consumer. That gives us a starting point where Red Rocket and the client can begin planning the marketing message.

Now, we do the same thing, essentially, back at the office, identifying the three or four best factors that will affect the target market the best. With us doing it, you get an outsider's view of your product or service and shows how we think it appeals to the consumer. Then, and only then, do we feel ready to start working on the marketing materials. Red Rocket's goal is to ensure the materials we produce for our clients get results that are better than what they expect.

Red Rocket understands marketing. It's what we do. We've done the research behind it, so our clients can rest easily, knowing they've hired a company that will get results. When you're ready to take your marketing to the next level, look no further than Red Rocket.