Most buying decisions can be broken down into two kinds: rational and emotional. While we use a combination of both emotion and rationality when making purchases, most people tend to lean one way or the other. This article from Tokinomo explores what these two terms mean and how to market to both kinds of buyers.
Buyers who tend toward the rational, the article states, look for products that are durable, sustainable, or affordable. To encourage rational purchases, marketing should emphasize useful features, provide customer reviews and comparisons to other similar products, make pricing obvious and transparent, and demonstrate how the product fulfills a need.
Emotional buyers, on the other hand, are more moved by, obviously, their emotions. They want products that provide a sense of pride, comfort, affection for family. They are driven by fashion, vanity, and praise. Customer reviews are also important for these buyers, as they rely on social proof and testimonials to make a decision. Marketing should also invoke FOMO (fear of missing out) through limited quantities and limited-time deals. Personalization, storytelling, and an appeal to self-expression are all ways to trigger emotional purchases.
Most consumers use some blend of emotion and rationality when deciding what to buy. Check out the article for more advice on appealing to these two sides of the consumer’s decision-making process.
