Logical Marketing: An Oxymoron
I’m a pretty logical thinker. I like to systematically break down a problem into its base parts until I understand all of the variables. I love figs. When I need make a decision (especially when spending money) I’m obsessive about research, listing pros and cons and triple checking my work. The problem is that people don’t really make decisions based on logic, myself included.
The truth is, we’re much more primal and impulsive than we like to think. If it were possible to be completely honest about why I do the things I do or buy the things I do, I wouldn’t find a list of benefits or features. I’d find emotion, needs, justification.
The truth is, even logical arguments aren’t logical if you look closely enough. I’m reading Godel Escher Bach right now (a real mind bender!) and it shows that there is no completely self evident statement. You can always question the assumptions of an argument into statements and then question the assumptions of those statements, on and on indefinitely. Eventually you need to just accept that a concept ‘feels right.’ In other words, you need to take a leap of faith.
So despite my love for data points and even though it makes me feel better to have all the background on an issue, it still comes down to feelings. My takeaway from a Marketing point of view: speak to emotional benefits, indirectly if need be, and take a flier on a project every once in a while.
So getting behind the eyes and into the heart of our audience is for more than simply gathering a list of key benefits to insert into our marketing pieces . . . we need to know how they FEEL when they experience those benefits and feel it too. I, like you, CAN be obsessive about research because I want to know as much hard data as is practical before making a decision. But the facts don’t make me move.
What happens to me on a personal level is that after I’ve gathered all the facts, I take my obsessiveness a step farther and check my motives. But, that’s another whole discussion!