How can you create messaging that appeals to both rational and emotional customer decision making?

The starting point is to understand your offering and the customers' needs. List down the product/feature from your offering along with the problem it's solving for the customer. Lastly, list the gain that a customer can derive by utilizing the product/feature. Next, on the customer side list the functional jobs to be done(JTBD) by your customer along with the pains/problems that they're facing in the solution/workflow that they're using currently. Lastly, list the outcomes and benefits a customer would ideally want to achieve. This process enables you to map the product/feature value with the customer's needs ultimately guiding you to build messaging that resonates with the customer.

We, as a customer love to hear what we want to and what we can relate to! A message that is created keeping the customer's needs in mind rather than one that tries to create a need, appeals to the rationale and emotional customer decision-making. Communicating realistic (for that individual) and relatable benefits and gratification quotient holds the key. Another is the simplicity of the call to action for the user which allows the effectiveness of the messaging to achieve its objective.

The key is to dig deeper into who makes up the "customer" – the different people involved in the buying process, such as influencers, decision-makers, and skeptics. You also need to figure out when in the buying process you should have the right information to persuade them.

Evaluating consumer needs is a fundamental stage in developing the product vision. However, when identifying these needs, it's vital to comprehend the various consumer segments within your audience and the distinct requirements associated with each group. Understanding the composition of consumer needs allows us to gauge the uniformity of demand in the market. Coupled with an assessment of competition based on functionality, we can devise the most efficient product market entry strategy and, consequently, shape the product vision. Our Segmentable system utilizes neural networks to rapidly collect audience needs, achieving this 30 times faster than manual methods.

If you want to also appeal to the emotional side, when you think about what needs they are trying to satisfy go beyond the task or job to be done. Your target customer is not just a persona, they are people. What's the fear or ambition that's at play when they are deciding to buy your product?

Another angle to consider is the increasing digital distractions we face daily. Problem: Constant notifications pull our focus. Agitate: This scatterbrain approach means lower work quality and personal dissatisfaction. Solve: A productivity app not only organizes tasks but also minimizes distractions, letting you reclaim your focus and excel in your endeavors. Challenges like adapting to remote work setups make such tools indispensable. Their ability to integrate with other apps further simplifies workflows, enhancing overall efficiency.

Leverage the proven PAS formula in messaging - Problem, Agitate, Solve. ?? First state the customer's problem or struggle. ?? Then highlight the negative consequences of inaction to create urgency. ?? Finally, present your product as the solution to the problem that delivers positive outcomes. ?? PAS speaks to both minds and hearts, sparking action. ?

If you want to appeals to both rational and emotional customer decision making, you need to do two things: RESEARCH & TEST. ???? Connect with some of your users regularly and learn how they describe your product/service. Use their language and tone to match their expectations. ???? Analyze which types of messages have been most effective for your brand/acquisition campaigns in the past and also keep an eye on your competitors’ brand voice. ?? Listen to Customer Support calls and pay attention to how your customers communicate and what words they understand easily. ? Finally, apply your insights and measure the impact of your messages. Keep experimenting and improving!

This model works when you are solving a problem. If you are selling something aspirational or luxury, turn the “agitate” into “motivate” and appeal to how your product will help them live a better life.

Emotions drive most decisions. Rationality only steps in to support those emotions. When we need to explain or justify a choice, that's when the rational side comes in (mostly at the end of the sales cycle in a btob world).

If you’ve been in sales or marketing for any length of time, you know this to be true. People make decisions emotionally and justify with data. You have to get really good at uncovering customer problems and storytelling to get someone to the point where they could actually look at your ROI calculator. This means marketing the problem first, then the solution .

Storytelling is an important component to any type of messaging. There are too many clickbait headlines like "Double your revenue in 90 days". To stand out, use storytelling to emotionally engage your customer. Try to map the buyer's challenge with a story (succinctly!). If you truly understand your customer, this should be easy!

In 1997 Steve Jobs launched the Think Different campaign. That campaign ran through 2002, and in my mind, set Apple on a path of growth that is truly remarkable. That campaign has been my inspiration throughout my career. Very simply, Think Different abandoned "speeds and feeds" and other technical jargon, and instead turned the emphasis of their advertising from the products to instead focus on people. This is important. Apple knew that focusing on tech specs was a race to the bottom. They created brand and product differentiation by pulling attention away from data points and instead focusing on the emotional connection between technology and human experience.

Using emotional triggers in your messaging is a smart move. Words, stories, and urgency create curiosity, and trust, influencing customer decisions. Questions like “Double your revenue in 90 days?” pique interest. Stories, like “10x ROI with our product,” build trust. Urgency words like “Limited time offer” make people act. Benefit words like “Save” bring joy and drive action. It’s all about connecting with your audience on a deeper level…

One way to do it is to take into consideration these elements while crafting your Messaging: - Customer Mindset: What the Customer is thinking about - Customer Actions: what actions should the customer take to move down the funnel - Customer Goals: What are the goals (motivations) of the customer? - Customer Thoughts: How do buyers describe their goals or challenges? - Customer Concerns: Don’t Know They Have The Problem? - Customer Feelings: What are the customer's feelings - what motivates them emotionally - is it fear, indecisiveness...etc By carefully considering these elements, you can create messaging that resonates with your target audience, speaks to their needs, and motivates them to take the desired actions.

Finding that sweet spot between rational and emotional appeal can be quite the balancing act, can't it? Start by understanding the core rational benefits of your product or service. What problems does it solve? What value does it add? Once you have those facts nailed down, it's time to sprinkle in some emotional appeal. Consider storytelling. Share customer success stories or scenarios where your product or service played the hero. Use relatable narratives that evoke emotion. Maybe highlight the journey of someone who went from struggling to thriving with your offering. Visuals matter too. A picture is worth a thousand words, right? Use imagery that not only showcases the features but also conveys the emotions tied to using your product.

Another crucial point to consider is the evolving nature of consumer behavior. With rapid digital transformations, it's essential to stay agile, regularly updating our messaging strategies based on emerging trends. Also, while A/B testing and analytics offer quantitative data, hosting focus groups can provide qualitative insights, bridging the gap between numbers and emotions. It's a challenge to maintain consistency across multiple channels, but tools integrating content and analytics can simplify this, ensuring our messaging remains coherent and impactful.

Continuously test messaging with users to optimize results. ?? Run A/B testing with different ad variations. ??? Analyze metrics like click-through, conversion, retention. ?? Survey audiences for direct qualitative feedback. ??? Refine based on insights into what resonates best. ?? The most effective messaging balances art and science. ??

Think about "first principles" in the buying decision. As marketers it is easy to stay surface level when we are conducting customer research. We ask about JTBD and KPIs. But people's purchase decisions are usually based on either fear, ambition or status. Your messaging should make it incredibly easy for the buyer to make the connection to the main emotional driver.

In addition to conducting pain point, positioning and value proposition testing, I would recommend conducting market research to understand choice drivers and ranking these. Combined with positioning, choice drivers help all teams focus on what matters and what features are added to the roadmap so that everyone who builds and brings a product to market is aligned.

In summary, blend reason and emotion through audience empathy, frameworks, triggers and testing. ?? This combination provides complete alignment with customer decision making, driving action. ??