Identify and Belonging

People want to belong to groups of people who already own a specific product. It’s an identity thing… how they want to see themselves. But it’s also wrapped up in social proof.

The herd mentality influences everything: what we do, what we buy, how we eat and vote…

People don’t buy a Mercedes because it has power steering.

Like marlborro smokers and a rugged western image

“77 percent of your neighbors use fans instead of AC to conserve energy” far outpulled financial and moral incentives. [specific, social proof, desire to belong, transformation ID]

What is the image they are trying to cultivate?

How do they want to see themselves?

Who do they think they’ll be if they own or use or smoke your product? Then… treat…

What group do they want to be identified with?

What identity are they aiming for?

Sugarman thinks this is the bottom line. And maybe it is. It’s the self-identity. How someone sees themselves. As the kind of person who…

When Volvo discovered its customer base had one of the highest educational levels of any car manufacturer, they publicized it.

What kinds of things do they want? What do they expect? What is their psychological profile? How do they see themselves?

Then…

Treat them as such.

The action is simple: Determine the group of people who already own your product and why/how they relate to it and craft your sales presentations accordingly.