Bob Bly is one of America's top copywriters, earning three-quarters of a million dollars annually with his words. In a recent newsletter he cited a finding from the Early to Rise Internet Marketing Conference (2008) concerning what people will buy on the Internet (as researched by entrepreneurs Brock Felt and Buck Rizvi). They group Internet purchases (marketing-driven purchases) into four categories:
1. Products that alleviate the prospect's pain.
2. Products that solve a problem.
3. Products that give or enable pleasure.
4. Products that prevent a problem or condition.
#1 and #2 are the easiest to sell because people will spend money to alleviate pain or solve a problem.
#3 will sell, but pleasure is less demanding than pain/problems, so they rank third.
#4 is the most difficult product to sell because -- (here's the point of this post) -- as health marketers have long known, people will buy cure but not prevention.
The implications of that italicized finding are huge, not just for marketing, but for the state of how short-sighted we are in general. We would rather live the way we want, then spend money immediately to make the pain or problem our lifestyle created go away, than take the long view and spend money on prevention. That philosophy underlies the entire healthcare system in America (though prevention is gaining more credibility as America's corporate health continues to decline).
1. Products that alleviate the prospect's pain.
2. Products that solve a problem.
3. Products that give or enable pleasure.
4. Products that prevent a problem or condition.
#1 and #2 are the easiest to sell because people will spend money to alleviate pain or solve a problem.
#3 will sell, but pleasure is less demanding than pain/problems, so they rank third.
#4 is the most difficult product to sell because -- (here's the point of this post) -- as health marketers have long known, people will buy cure but not prevention.
The implications of that italicized finding are huge, not just for marketing, but for the state of how short-sighted we are in general. We would rather live the way we want, then spend money immediately to make the pain or problem our lifestyle created go away, than take the long view and spend money on prevention. That philosophy underlies the entire healthcare system in America (though prevention is gaining more credibility as America's corporate health continues to decline).
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment