How to Uncover Consumer Emotional Needs

Having looked back over nearly two decades of automotive advertising from newspapers to niche auto and RV magazines, I find it interesting that nothing has changed. The methodology and strategy has had no improvements which begs to ask: are the results getting any better or are they continuing to diminish?

One of the reasons I believe the strategy used for traditional advertising isn't performing as well as it used to is because, for the most part, ads haven't changed or evolved to meet modern consumer demands and expectations. Consumer expectations are continually evolving and it's vital for any dealership to take some time to figure out with laser accuracy what group of people each ad is meant to target and work to unveil their emotional needs.

An example would be to say that week one's ad will focus on attracting single mothers with small children or young families. In this instance, plastering a hundred different vehicles on a page doesn't really speak to these groups of people. Running an ad, however, that focuses on a common vehicle that these consumers would purchase (a mini-van or compact SUV), as well as the safety features of that vehicle pulls on the heart strings of the consumer and attracts them into coming up with reasons to purchase.

Picture, price, picture, price, picture, price just doesn't work any more - and let's face it, when it did; those ads were only targeting a measly 2 - 5% of in-market consumers.

By focusing on consumer expectations, determining what target market you will try and reach with each ad, and determining the best way to uncover the consumers emotional needs, you'll pump some life back into your traditional marketing efforts and start tracking a positive return on your advertising investment.

What say you?

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Comment by Michael Cirillo on August 10, 2012 at 3:55pm: Thanks David. Great insight!

Comment by David Simpson on August 10, 2012 at 3:53pm: Great article.

I tell my sales people, service advisers and F&I managers all the time, "As a rule, people don't care about other people; they care about the way other people make them feel."

When a customer feels like doing business with us is a good decision, they will rationalize the logic.

Once a customer has done all the research from all the sources and technology at their disposal, and they have come to the point of decision to make a purchase using all that education, if their due diligence has led them to our showroom or service drive, it is still our customer to lose. It is up to us to touch them on an emotional level and make them care whether they do business with us or not.

Initially customers have to feel good about the person they are dealing with, that leads to the way they feel about the product or service that we offer and that they are considering, and that culminates in the way they feel about the price of that product or service.

Our customers are going to use the tools available to them to make an educated decision on how to spend their money, but all things being equal, all of that information that our customers are accessing to make an educated and knowledgable decision will never trump the importance of the way that a customer FEELS about that decision.

Our front-line people are the x-factor in that equation, and they are going to feel about and treat our customers the way that they perceive we feel about and treat them.

I am so tired of hearing that all our customers care about is the price of the car, the value of their trade and their APR. No matter how technology progresses, people are still people and if the logic doesn't queer the deal it's the emotional prompts and connection that will be the deciding factor in whether a customer chooses to do business with us or not.

Once again, great article!

Comment by Michael Cirillo on August 10, 2012 at 10:40am: Thanks for your input Sally!

Comment by Sally Whitesell on August 10, 2012 at 9:58am: This is true in Fixed Ops too. All I teach is emotional selling. The old facts and figures method is no longer effective. Great blog!

Comment by Michael Cirillo on August 6, 2012 at 4:55pm: Right on the money Sarah. I appreciate your comments!

Comment by Sarah Rosin on August 6, 2012 at 3:52pm: This is very true. Automotive marketing, especially at the local level, needs to realize that the individual has equated buying a vehicle with an emotional experience. If buying a car was as utilitarian as the ads appear sometimes, we would all be driving the same car. However, consumers want a choice of automobile that validates their idea of their own identity. Within the automotive sphere, we can capitalize on this "new consumer" and work towards providing marketing and options that appeal to the individual.