Category: Marketing

Whether you’re creating an advertisement, a direct mail piece, or website content, compelling marketing copy can capture attention, evoke emotion, and, ultimately, drive sales. To achieve this, marketers often tap into six primary motivators that resonate with consumers deeply and personally. Let’s take a look.

1. Physical Needs: At the most basic level, consumers are motivated by their physical needs for food, shelter, and clothing. Use clear, descriptive language that helps your customers visualize these needs being met. For example, a grocery store could list the fresh produce available that day. Or it could write copy that highlights the products’ freshness and nutritional value.
2. Security: Everyone wants to feel safe. Tap into this motivator by focusing on how the product supports protection, safety, and reliability. For instance, if you are a car manufacturer, instead of simply listing the benefits of an extended auto warranty, you might provoke thought by asking questions like, “Where will you be when something goes wrong?”
3. Love and Belonging: Humans are social creatures who crave connection and belonging. Marketing copy that speaks to the desire for love and acceptance resonates with consumers profoundly and personally. For example, don’t just list the amenities and activities in your elder care community. Include testimonials from residents touting the friendships and connections those activities have enabled.
4. Esteem: Tap into this motivator of self-esteem and sense of worth by using language that evokes approval, independence, and status. For instance, a luxury car brand might appeal to consumers’ desire for status and prestige by using trigger words such as “elite,” “prestigious,” and “exquisite.”
5. Self-Actualization: Who doesn’t want to reach their full potential? Use language that uplifts and helps customers visualize “the new you”!
6. Altruism: Many consumers are motivated by a desire to “do good” and positively impact the world. For this audience, focus on empathy, compassion, and social responsibility. For instance, a sustainable fashion brand might use copy emphasizing its commitment to ethical sourcing and environmental stewardship.

Writing marketing copy that sells requires a deep understanding of the primary motivators that drive consumer behavior. By finding the right motivators and using language that taps into those motivators, you can craft copy that resonates with consumers’ needs and desires, ultimately inspiring action and driving sales.

Direct mail is a highly effective marketing channel, but many marketing conversations must continue before they bear fruit. Your direct mail piece may prompt someone to visit your website, for example, but they often need another nudge. This is where retargeting comes in. Once a prospect visits your website, you can target them again (retarget them) on social media. This allows you to engage them further and complete the sale.

Retargeting is possible because once people visit your website, you can track their movements even after leaving it. Your target audience will be shown relevant digital ads on social media sites like Facebook based on the pages they visit.

Don’t Let Them Get Away!

Say you are a manufacturer of pool accessories. You have recently dropped your spring direct mail promotion and want to follow up with people who respond by visiting your website to look at fun add-ons like diving boards and slides. Buyers start flocking in, but most of them are only casual lookers. Some, however, are more interested. If they are curious enough to dive deeper into your product pages to look at the detailed specs, these are the buyers you want to capture.

For example, suppose buyers get to the details on your spiral slides but don’t make a purchase. In that case, you might retarget them with Facebook ads with real customer testimonials about how much their kids love the slide they are interested in. If they go further (say, they click through to the customer reviews) but still don’t make a purchase, you might target them with an urgent call to action that pops up in both their Facebook and Instagram feeds.

They grow up so fast! Use this 20% off coupon to turn your pool into a water wonderland they will NEVER FORGET!

Keep the Conversation Going

You make a significant investment in pulling people into the sales funnel, so keep the conversation going until they are ready to purchase. Retargeting makes the most of your investment in print marketing and can be a vital component of any lead-nurturing strategy.

Some packages are just fun to open. Regardless of the product inside, the experience of just opening the box is exciting and makes us feel special. We know brands that are masters at this. Apple. Ulta. Glossier. These companies have mastered the art of “the unboxing experience.”

“Unboxing” is how the buyer experiences taking the product out of the retail packaging. Unboxing can be mundane and functional or engage the senses and create an emotional connection between the consumer and the brand.

Whether you sell high-end electronics or specialty baked goods, you can create delightful, engaging unboxing experiences just like the big brands.

How do you create an engaging unboxing experience?

1. Make it beautiful: Which would you rather open at Christmas? A gift wrapped in a brown paper bag? Or one wrapped with beautiful paper, crisply folded, with perfectly tied ribbons? Unboxing is much the same. This is why Crumbl Cookie packs its cookies into its iconic pink box—one that is both highly recognizable and “Instagrammable.” Even purchasing a single cookie feels like a luxurious experience.
2. Make it unusual: Do something different to create surprise and delight. When shoppers open Ulta’s Hello Beautiful Deluxe Make-Up Pallet, the eyeshadow pans and brushes are artfully arranged, and the package is designed so that a flap printed with “Hello, Beautiful!” pops up. This makes the buyer feel special every time.
3. Create an interesting structure: The physical structure of the packaging can enhance the unboxing experience, too. Consider unique opening mechanisms, well-placed compartments, and thoughtful detailing. Even something as simple as a fabric bow can create a sense of luxury.
4. Tactile elements: Incorporating tactile elements, such as embossing, debossing, or textured finishes, adds a sensory dimension to the unboxing process. Apple is known for its luxurious soft-touch coating, making its boxes delightful to handle.
5. Reveal moments: Create moments of anticipation and reveal. This can be achieved through nested boxes, layered packaging, or unveiling hidden messages, enhancing the overall excitement.

In the competitive retail landscape, the unboxing experience has become a powerful tool for brands to differentiate and build a memorable connection with consumers. By paying attention to aesthetics, materials, structural design, and sensory elements, you can create packaging that leaves a lasting and positive impression and makes customers repeatedly want to buy from you.