Motivation

Projecting motivation on others is something that is exceedingly difficult on it's surface, but in the end it really is a simple matter of understanding the basics of human nature.

Looking at my most recent entry about the Flinstones Winston cigarette comercial brought about the thought that there is something inherently wrong with all anti-smoking campaigns to date. The basic message that these campaigns have brought to us is "smoking is bad for you". Sure there have been variations - "smoking can kill you", "not smoking is good for you", etc., but the basic message is the same. The problem is that the fact that something is either bad or good on it's surface has nearly no motivational power.

What does have power is something fun, something humorous, something that's cool. This is why ad campaigns brought about by thte cigarette industry have been so powerful. They are focused on their message, they have an understanding of their goals, they know how to motivate potential customers. Nobody stopped smoking when advertising regulations went into effect - once they have a customer, it's likely that they have that customer for life. Their products are addictive, so really the focus on advertising for them has to be motivating customers to make an initial purchase.

I could go on about cigarette advertising, and really it is worth a study because companies like Morris Phillips have produced more success more consistently over the years than just about anybody, but I'd rather focus on motivation.

The avenues that you pursue towards projecting motivation can change dramatically based on the desired results. It also can change dramatically based on the homogeneousity of the audience that you are attacking. (Yes, I just made that word up, but it sounds like it should be a word.) There is also a decided variance in what would be the most effective means based on how much time and energy you actually spend trying to motivate someone, and how much focused attention that person will provide to you.

When looking to motivate your customers, think of things like quality, price, and efficiency as excuses to buy rather than a reason to buy. Motivate them to want to buy because your product is cool. Make them want to take a closer look because it will be fun. Grab their attention with a little bit of humor. If these premises can work for industry giants, why wouldn't they work for a small business that has the time and energy to produce the same messages with more clarity and focus on the audience?