The psychology of marketing is both an art and a science. Marketing involves psychology, art, and science (technology and statistics). Of these, psychology is the most important. People buy because they know, like and trust. The “know” is achieved through technology and psychology, the “like and trust” through psychology.
The Psychology of Marketing Changes with Each Generation
Advertising executives use demographics and target market interests when it comes to the psychology of marketing. They look at ages and specific challenges and desired goals to be achieved about those ages. The demographic age segment list upon which they typically focus includes:
12 – 17
18 – 24
25 – 34
35 – 44
45 – 54
55 – 64
65+
Each age group grew up being socially conditioned differently. Thus, marketing approaches must be adapted to work within the culture of each individual age segment.
For example, you market to pre-teens and teens very differently than you do seniors. Marketing to women can be different than marketing to men. The entire reason to market and advertise is to effectively serve your market. By providing specific products and service, your company can improve life quality for your customers.
The Psychology of Marketing and Its Artistry
Each age group requires a segment-specific marketing approach. The things that concern each individualized age segment must be your focus. Talking about the history of your company does not usually solve problems nor answer questions concerning what’s troubling your prospects’ minds. Providing research, statistics, education and comparisons of competitor’s brands CAN answer those questions.
Marketing and advertising have to be all about what really matters to your target audience. To serve a market requires understanding the psychology AND the art of marketing.
Some Other Market Segments
In marketing, we generally focus on making content evergreen. But sometimes evergreen can’t do the same job of enlightening a market as does timely information. Look at the following list of market segments. Can you imagine the results of marketing to the Greatest Generation as if these folks were Millenials? It would be like trying to stick an ink pen in a pencil sharpener and sharpen the pen. That approach won’t work!
Greatest Generation: pre-1928.
Traditionalists/ Silent Generation: 1928 – 1946.
Baby Boomers: 1946 – 1964.
Gen X: 1965 – 1976.
Gen Y / Millennials: 1977 – 1995.
Gen Z / iGen / Centennials 1995 – 2010.
Are You An End User or Experiencer of Your Products?
In Ryan Levesque’s books Ask and Choose, he explains that those of us in business are here to serve a market. If your focus is on making money first, you are not concentrating on serving your market first. When you focus on serving your market first, you genuinely care. This is done easily if you are an experiencer and believer of your own products and services.
Showing genuine caring is just one part of the entire psychology of marketing process. The more you believe in what you are doing, the easier it is for you to serve others.
Ryan reveals what he calls five “must haves” to find a lucrative market to serve. Incorporating these 5 points is part art and also part science.
The Five Elements of a Lucrative Market According to Ryan
I’m sharing here Ryan’s five “Must Haves” to determine which market is profitable to serve. The psychology of marketing comes in nicely here to help you see which market to serve using Ryan’s research:
- The market must be evergreen.
- The market must already boast enthusiastic supporters of it.
- Your market audience MUST have a desperately urgent problem they deem needing an immediate solution.
- The targeted market must have future problems that need to be solved.
- The people who buy products in this market must naturally spend a disproportionate amount of their income in that area of their life.
Marketing is a must to be a business success. Use your psychological, artistic and scientific expertise when it comes to marketing activities.