How well do you feel you understand your clients and customers? Do you know what motivates them and inspires them to take action? Or do you struggle to know how to connect and convert clients through your marketing message?

Humans are complex beings, but the latest in neuroscience research is uncovering some of the most fascinating mysteries of our minds, giving us an amazing insight into why people do what they do.

Neuroscience has discovered that humans make decisions from the emotional part of their brain, their limbic system. The emotional part of the brain is responsible for motivation, while the “thinking” part of our brain, the pre-frontal cortex, slows everything down to analyse, process and consider.

We need both emotion and logic in our marketing message so customers can make a truly informed choice, however, we need to get the order right. In your marketing message:

  1. Lead with emotion
  2. Back up with logic

In my consulting business, I see far too many businesses leading purely with logic in their marketing and missing out on sales as a result. They lead with what they do and not on the effect of what they do.

For example, if you were an accountant working with small businesses, you could say in your marketing message that you help businesses get their tax done.

Or…

You could speak to the emotion behind finance and tax for a small business owner. You could say you help small businesses save time and money so they can grow their business by taking the stress out of knowing their numbers, helping them pay less tax, increase cash flow and free up valuable time so they can get back to doing what they do best in their business.

In this example the logical and rational approach creates a marketing message focused on tax. The emotional approach creates a marketing message focused on saving time, money, minimising stress, increasing productivity, growth and success. Emotive marketing speaks to the reality of your clients and is far more likely to result in interest, action and conversion.

When you speak to the emotion behind what you do, you activate the emotional part of the brain and inspire people to take action. When you promote a logical marketing message, you miss the opportunity to connect and excite the very people who need what you do.

Do you know what emotions and desires are driving your customers to want to do business with you, to want to find a solution to their problem?

Away From and Towards Motivation

Fear to safety. Discomfort to comfort. Pain to pleasure.

Humans are constantly motivated to move away from what they don’t want and towards what they do. Our buying behaviours reflect this innate pattern and so should your marketing message.

If you can get to the heart of what your ideal customer is seeking to move away from and towards, you have discovered the key to creating a compelling marketing message.

Thinking about your current marketing message:

  1. Are you appealing to your clients emotional brain or their logical brain?
  2. Are you leading with the amazing effects of your solution or are you jumping right in and speaking about rational “features and benefits”?

When you sit down to develop your marketing message, start with emotion. By speaking to the key emotions that drive your customers’ behaviour, you can create a marketing message that truly resonates, intrigues, connects and converts.