Why We Buy

by Roy H. Williams (Article edited from original)

Happiness rarely triggers commerce. Unhappiness often does.

Purchases are triggered by dissatisfaction with the way things are. We purchase when we have a need, a desire, an itch to scratch. We want to change our condition, our surroundings, our state of mind. We buy because we are dissatisfied. And this dissatisfaction is often created by the advertising that offers to remedy it.

Our favorite brands are usually an extension of our values, a physical expression of our beliefs. This is why millions of us pay slightly higher prices for Fair Trade coffee. It tastes exactly like the coffee sold by heartless corporations, but Fair Trade coffee makes us feel differently.

You buy what you buy because you want to scratch an itch. You are dissatisfied in some unspoken way. To increase your sales volume, you must identify the dissatisfaction that lurks in the heart of your customer. And then you must shine your flashlight of words into that darkness. How bright is your language-beacon?

Ps. Call us if you need help.