Boost Your Emotional Marketing Potential

Why do people buy your product? If you stack up enough benefits to outweigh the costs of purchasing it, do you automatically close the deal? It doesn't always happen, does it? Consumers are not calculating machines. They are soft, warm, breathing humans with emotions that assign meaning and personal significance to your products.

How do potential customers evaluate your products (or services)? How do they trade off various factors before deciding? How are their emotions involved in the process? Consumers--whether they realize it or not--use up to six categories of emotional criteria when they decide to purchase your product.

Technical criteria

Technical criteria relate to what your product does. Every product performs a function. It may also perform additional functions or have features that make it easier to operate or use. If your type of product has been around for a while, everyone assumes it will perform its basic function. Marketing battles are fought on the ground of extra features and ease of use.

Does your product perform its core function better, faster, or more smoothly than your competitors' products? Have you enriched your product with additional features? Is your product easier to buy and simpler to operate?

Economic/sacrifice criteria

Economic/sacrifice criteria relate to price. Consumers live in an approach/avoidance world. Your product's benefits are in a tug of war with its price and the effort it takes to purchase it. For most consumers, the psychological cost of paying for your product reduces their enjoyment of it. Several emotionally significant factors influence the maximum price you can charge for your product.

How closely does your product relate to the buyer's needs? How unique is your product? Do you charge a "fair" price? Is paying the asking price socially acceptable for your customers?

Legalistic criteria

Consumers are also guided by what others demand or want. Some potential buyers must obey legal requirements and this loss of control may be frustrating. Consumers also feel obliged to consider the needs and desires of others, like their spouse or children.

Does your product help your customer comply with any legal requirements? Can your product be made more appealing to your customer's children or spouse?

Integrative criteria

How does your product or service fit with your potential customer's social group or personal identity? Consumers belong to social groups. They face potential embarrassment if they don't conform. So they constantly try to strike a balance between group membership versus visibility and self-esteem. Any product or service that increases their self-esteem is emotionally satisfying.

Does your product help your customer express their identity? Can your product be described as "upscale" or "exclusive"?

Adaptive criteria

Consumers want to minimize any risk that they will regret their purchase later. The easiest solution is to avoid responsibility completely and trust the advice of others, preferably an expert. Consumers also lower their risk of future regret by imitating the buying habits of others that they assume are "in the know," by looking for guarantees, or by basing their decision on your reputation.

Are you able to offer endorsements from recognized experts? Do you have testimonials from satisfied customers? Do you offer a strong guarantee? Is it possible to offer a free trial or sample?

Intrinsic criteria

Intrinsic criteria relate to your product's basic nature--how much the consumer "likes" your product. Appeal to your customer's senses. How does your product look, feel, taste, smell or sound?

Curiosity is another intrinsic criterion. Consumers are always looking for something new and different. Familiar products are reassuring, but they are also boring. The trick is to not go too far. Every consumer has an optimal level of novelty and complexity that maximizes their curiosity and their desire to satisfy it. If you push beyond the optimal point, they will return to the familiar.

Is your product "refreshing" or "alluring"? How about "enchanting" or "elegant"?

If you focus only on rational behavior, then you choose to ignore enormously powerful emotional forces that ultimately make your customer's final decision. The rational argument should already be won by your product's high quality design. Creative innovation, savvy pricing, and persuasive presentation will win your customer's emotions.

*The six categories of emotional criteria were developed by John O'Shaughnessy, and Nicholas Jackson O'Shaughnessy, The Marketing Power of Emotion (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003).

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Cat Lover's Gift Basket
Speaking as a quintessential cat lover, receiving a "Cat Lover's Gift Basket" is second only to receiving an actual cat!

Next time you're shopping for someone who is as wild about cats as you and I are, consider the following suggestions. You'll all be happy, including the feline of the group.

First of all, decide upon your "Basket". It can either be a medium-sized wicker basket (cats love to nestle inside of them) or it could be a fairly deep cat bed. Inside, on the bottom, lay out sheets of colorful tissue paper, or even a pretty baby blanket.

Following are some ideas for treats to fill the basket or bed. Customize the list appropiately for the lucky person who is receiving the present.

-A CD of light jazz that he/she and their feline friend will enjoy listening to together. Cats love jazz. They have such exquisite taste.

-A great looking set of water and food dishes.

-A coffee mug with a cat on it.

-A Garfield book of comic strips and/or a Garfield calendar.

-Cat Nip-filled toys or balls.

-A ball of yarn. Stereotypical, sure....but oh so much fun!

-The Video Version of the musical "Cats".

The possibilities are as endless as your imagination and your desire to bring a smile to this person's face.

Visit: Cat Pause.com

About the Author

Cat Pause.com is a perfect site for cat lovers! It features tons of articles, product reviews, information, tips, and lots more. E-mail the author at joi@cat-pause.com

The best of the best I have ever watched
Watching DVDs is one of my most favorite past times. It relieves my stress, brings me to a lighter mood and can even ease the problems I have. Three of the best stories from the past that really catch my attention and even touch my heart are The Six Million Dollar Man, Married with Children and Voltron the Defender of the Universe. These three have different themes, each of this DVDs have its own original stories that could give impact to your lives and make you learn things, no matter how simple or complex it may seem. The Six Million Dollar Man DVD focuses on the story of Colonel Steve Austin. As he was testing an aircraft, he crashes and got badly injured. He is an astronaut and test pilot. OSI, a covert government agency is willing to help him and pay for all the expenses for his prosthetics. He lost his legs, eye and arm. The new prosthetics which is made of Bionics will make him faster, better and stronger. But in return OSI want him to become their cover agent. Married with Children focuses on the life of Al Bundy who is a former High school player, who is now a salesman. Peggy his wife always terrified and nag him. They have two children namely Kelly who is gorgeous and attractive and Bud their son who is not so popular but indeed very smart. Voltron the Defender of the Universe focuses on the legend of Voltron. He was a mighty robot, who is loved by good and feared by evil. Peace invaded the galaxy and as well as the planet earth. An alliance was formed at Earth, The Galaxy Alliance. You can get original copies of these DVDs and other stories from the past at TvDvdPlanet. In addition, you can expect high quality products from them with a 100% guarantee. Affordable prices of these DVDs await you.

Donna Dyan Dayrit is a member of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Specialists for TvDvdPlanet www.tvdvdplanet.com

Online degrees - specially suited to adults looking to improve their employment prospects
No longer is a university degree only available by physically attending university lectures, seminars and tutorials. Now you can work for your degree 100% online, never setting foot into the hallowed halls of learning unless you choose to.

There are universities that offer Bachelors and Masters degrees online. You can even get a Doctorate 100% online. You have a very wide choice of subject, as wide as if you physically attended the institution.

The online degree has the advantage that you can work at it in between your parenting or other commitments. You can keep up the day job, while studying for your degree in the evenings or at weekends. This option is a really attractive one for adults looking to increase their long-term employment options.

You can get an Online degree from many traditional universities, including Harvard and Yale. There are other universities and colleges that only have online courses. Some of these universities are accredited universities, others are not.

If you apply to a non-accredited institution future employers are unlikely to look favorably on your qualification. This is because some of these non-accredited "universities" are nothing more than printing shops, churning out degrees as the cheques roll in. Everyone has seen the ads for these so-called degrees - "The Get your doctorate next week" type ads.

There have been cases of prominent scientists losing their posts because their degree was exposed to come from one of these non-accredited institutions that produce totally worthless degrees and doctorates.

There are "Life-Experience" degrees where you gain credit for what you have learned in your job over the years, including for experience gained by staying at home and looking after the kids. Treat these especially with extreme caution and don't shell out your money too easily. If it's that easy to get a degree then it really is not worth the paper it is printed on.

The author is an ex-teacher who now makes a living helping people to decide about their broad educational objectives. He has a website that has more details of some of the available options.

Making Money Online with Affiliate Programs
You've probably heard of affiliate programs. Companies use affiliate pograms to sell their products. The most common way for making money online with affiliate programs is through posting a link on your website. When a customer clicks on that link and buys the product, you earn a commission.

There are many advantages to making money online with affiliate programs. Startup costs are minimal. The only money you spend is to promote the product, whether through a website or other means. You don't actually sell the product, so you don't spend time shipping the products or money to buy them at wholesale prices, hoping to sell them later. Another advantage is that you don't have to worry about unsatisfied customers returning the product to you.

A good way to start making money online with affiliate programs is to find a subject you are interested in and start a website. After the website is up, find companies that sell this product and register to be an affiliate. They will give you some code to paste in your website. You can use text codes or pictures, but text code seems to be the most effective for converting to sales.

Look at websites in your area of interest. For example, if you are interested in music, look at sites devoted to your favorite musicians. Study them to see how they place ads. Notice your responses to those ads. Some are annoying, but others will make you want to click through. Learn from this and place ads similar to those that interested you.

Starting a website devoted to something you love is rewarding. If you need some extra money, making money online with affiliate programs can be a useful addition to something you already enjoy.

About the author: ------------------------------------------------------- To find the best home based business ideas and opportunities so you can work at home visit: www.Online-Profit-4-You.com