"What people really want" - A Social Psychology song for marketers
I recently wrote and recorded this song with my partner and some of his musical colleagues. It's a big hit at our musical gatherings. Below you will find the lyrics to the song (at some point I may post the recording itself).
In this article I break down this song - the lyrics - in terms of the social psychological theory that is covered in the song.
At the end of the article, I provide some guidance for marketers for how to align their product with the human beings they are selling them to.
"A Little More" - a song by Cindy Ward - Key of "D" - folk/country - up-tempo
(VERSE 1)
I know what people want
I know what people need
after all I’ve got a PhD
in Social Psychology
You might have a new product, new idea
or B2B
but when it comes to knowing people
they’re all the same to me
(VERSE 2)
People are so simple
easy as can be
pattern after pattern
automaticity
You might think they want your diamonds
but it’s really plain to see
all they want is a hand to hold
and Life Eternity
(CHORUS)
They want freedom
they want choices . . . .
loving galore
they want to be beautiful
open up that door
they want money in their bank account
and dust on the floor . . . . . . . . . . . .
People are so simple
all they want . . . . . . . . .
Is just a little more
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I wrote this song because I have been noticing that many companies and organizations feel like people are extremely complicated - and believe that people are all very different from each other - so many different wants and needs. It then follows that these organizations feel like marketing is such a complicated process of trying to get at just the right message, tone and feel.
The truth of the matter is that people are very simple. We all come from the same basic DNA - and brains have developed in such a way that we tend to get into patterns and routines (walking, eating, talking, going to the coffee shop, driving, all the way to seemingly complicated matters - like the patterns of how we perceive others through self-serving biased lenses). Even our political behaviour can be explained by habits and patterns.
Our brains cannot process every piece of information in our visual/auditory fields - so brains tend to develop short-cuts (called biases and heuristics) therefore, our brains get into routines for information processing and we tend to operate on automatic most of the time - research suggests about 80% of the time.
80% automaticity is such a big chunk of explained variance that I find it unbelievable that more organizations don't hire behavioural scientists to help the organization tap into what is habitual and natural about the human (brains) they are dealing with (but there is more . . . . human motivation is also a huge explanation of variance . . . . ).
Big data cannot explain "why" - i.e., Why people are doing what they are doing.
Once we can see the pattern of automaticity in humans, we can take a deeper dive into WHY people are doing what they are doing. In other words . . . their underlying motivation for doing things.
Big data cannot answer the very important "why question." For this, we need to look at people's generalized psychological motivation. What is motivating people to behave that way?
Again - people are simple and very much the same. The most comprehensive and simple theories that explain why people do what they do are theories that explain people's internal needs. Internal needs are the most powerful motivators - so this is where we have to start.
Two theories stand out as the most powerful predictors of human motivation:
1. Maslow's hierarchy of needs ( 1. not die, 2. feel safe, 3. love/belonging, 4. self-esteem, 5. self-actualization). [see Figure].
2. Terror management theory(TMT) - which explains the attachment to cultural norms and symbolic systems that people use to find "meaning" in life in order to protect themselves from their fear of dying.
Maslow explained in his classic 1943 paper that our desire to "not die" supersedes all other needs - i.e., when in a situation where death or injury seems prevalent, nobody cares if their jeans are making their ass look good.
I have been working for a couple of decades on a cross-over between Maslow's hierarchy of needs and Terror Management Theory.
If our physical needs aren't met, we will physically die - Whereas . . . if our symbolic needs aren't met (love, self-esteem, self-actualization), then we die a little in our belief of our cultural system (e.g., what we thought was true - our symbolic world starts to feel like it is not working in our favour).
Breaking down the song - and putting it together with these powerful psychological theories
Let's break the song down by verse and chorus.
Verse 1 is simply my tongue in cheek way of setting me up as an expert on the issue.
Verse 2 contains the bold statements - the crux of human desires (which I address toward the end of this article).
The chorus tells us the "why" behind the bold statements of Verse 2. So let's start with the chorus.
The chorus: Maslow's hierarchy
They want freedom, choices, loving galore, want to be beautiful, open up the door (self-actualization), they want money in their bank account (security), and dust on the floor (I added that because people hate being told that they are not clean enough; and the true state of reality is that most people have dust on the floor - it's a mis-informed social norm that everyone has perfect houses).
Title - and tag line at the end of the chorus: "People are so simple, all they want . . . . is just a little more."
This is based on our desire to move up the hierarchy. This is also based on a theory called Approach/Avoidance motivation which explains the manner in which we approach positive things and avoid negative things. When we look at how this fits onto Maslow's hierarchy, it looks like this: We tend to avoid dying and being harmed (the lowest two levels) and we tend to approach the top three levels: love, self-esteem and self-actualization.
But here's the crux: People are not content with what they have - - even when their needs are being met in general. People do want more.
However, people tend to want ONLY a wee bit more than what they have (which is an incremental approach - and generally a learned approach as we age).
When people want A LOT more than what they have - the leap is too big - this causes high stress and fear. Over time, people generally learn and are satisfied with "a little more" because it feels, at the very least, like they are on the move . . . . approaching their goal of "a lot more" (and the ultimate rise to self-actualization).
Think about the highly memorable (and rememberable) lyrics by The Rolling Stones: "You can't always get what you want . . . . but if you try sometimes, you find . . . you get what you need."
Where Terror Management Theory meets Maslow's hierarchy of needs in the song.
Verse 2 is the bold statement - "All they want is a hand to hold and life eternity."
First, I stay away from safety and security (the bottom two tiers in Maslow's hierarchy) in the song to keep things a bit more simple - - because these are the "fighting for survival" tiers whereas the question we are asking in this song is "what do people want?" - - - and I wanted to capture a sentiment about what people want above and beyond basic safety . . . .
People want to feel loved and valued in their present life . . . . . and symbolically, they want to do stuff and accomplish goals as they truck along in their present life - activities that will make them feel as if they will not die "a symbolic death" when they physically die.
In other words, people are extremely motivated to be remembered. To live on in some way - because our consciousness has allowed us to fully understand the ramifications of a real physical death - - being gone . . done . . . no life . . life is over and it scares the shit out of us (which is the premise behind the name Terror Management theory - because it is about managing this ultimate terror).
We manage terror by seeking to be remembered in some culturally relevant way. For some people, they seek remembrance from family and loved ones . . . For others, this may come in the form of seeking to be famous in one way or another. And for others, this may be creating a major work that will live on . . . . or making a difference in the lives of others . . . .
There are lots and lots of ways to achieve "remembrance" - to fulfill our desire to feel as if we will live on forever. AND, because we can't physically live forever, the only other way to achieve this goal is to either live on in the minds of others . . . or with works we've left behind.
Summary: What people want is . . . .
A hand to hold (the relationships tier - being remembered by close relationships)
Life eternity (all the other stuff we can be remembered by).
AND . . . . . just a little more . . . .
So . . . . . . in a nutshell . . . . . . That is what people want.
My letter to marketers
From a psychological perspective, your product needs to align with the human beings that you are selling to. Here is one interesting way of seeing the generality of how products meet people's needs (see right side of Figure).
It might not be easy to look past the glories of your product - everyone gets excited to show off what they are proud of in their product (the technical features, the cool things you can do with it, how the company has been around for 3 generations . . . etc. etc.) . . . . however, the human perspective insists that you stand in your customers' shoes for a while and see what they really need. For example, you might be pitching price and service to your customers, when what they are really looking for is a pat on the back and a boost to their self-esteem . . . "Chad, you need this car . . you're smart, and you've worked hard for it."
I state clearly in the song . . . . "you might think they want your diamonds." This is a double-entendre. Part of it is represents materialism . . in a tongue and cheek way. . . but it also represents ANY product that you want them to feel is valuable . . . any product.
The first step is getting them to say yes to the product.
This is where marketing and advertising come in - this is where all of the promises should meet your customers' needs.
So, what do you promise? What is your angle? Your value proposition?
First, there is the functionality of the product itself (not everyone needs a John Deer tractor). In other words, are you getting to the market of folks that want your stuff and can you promise a functional product?
Second, consider why it is that people are really wanting your product - put yourself in their shoes and brainstorm all of the ways in which your product might also meet some "base need" - i.e., does it make them feel better about them selves? does it promise better relationships? does it help them feel secure? Does it solve an anxiety for them?
Once you determine what need(s) your product satisfies . . . then you have to determine "how" that need is represented culturally. Determining "culture" can be tricky. To get your product into the hands of the broadest demographic, consider brainstorming on the highest shared cultural values that people might have. For example, connecting with loved ones is a strong shared value that splices across age, gender, ethnicity, income etc.
Other examples are things like feeling smart, feeling like you are a good person, being responsible, helping others.
Some products aren't for everyone. You might have a product with a narrower demographic - like some of the newer technologies geared to younger folks (I don't see many old folks wearing a Fitbit).
When your demographic is narrower, it is important to break down the "needs" and examine differences between groups. For example, what does self-esteem look like to older people versus younger people? What does security look like? What does self-actualization look like?
You can parse down further in the demographic - as far as you want to go. Let's look at a musical example: What does self-esteem, security and self-actualization look like to punk-rockers, versus country-music folks, versus hippies, versus goths, versus pop-music lovers.
This can go on forever . . . . . People who bowl on Tuesday nights, people who join choirs, people who want to look beautiful, people who appreciate art, people who are self-confessed craft beer lovers . . . . there are all kinds of ways to break down demographics (yet still group) into cultural similarities and examine their needs from this perspective.
There are emotional elements that I don't cover here that are also important, and may be the subject of a future article.
I have been working on this theory of crossing Maslow's hierarchy with Terror Management Theory (and applying it to marketing and branding) for several decades now. There is a lot of empirical evidence in the last 30-40 years to support this work. Myself, I have quite a few published articles in scholarly journals and lots of data relating to motivation, terror management theory, and decision-making.
I welcome any comments and would be happy to discuss this with interested folks.
Dr. Cindy Ward is a native of Kitchener, Ontario, Canada and has a PhD in social psychology from Wilfrid Laurier University. Cindy is a private consultant relating to "all things human" as it relates to solving business challenges. Please email her at drcindywardphd@gmail.com
