You’ve probably heard the expression, “People don’t want drills. They want holes.”

This is a reminder that benefits outweigh features. While this is good advice for creating more effective advertising and marketing messages, it’s not the whole story.

Top advertising and marketing pros have long known that people are less interested in having possessions than they are in having the benefits of possessions.

But the word “benefits” implies a utilitarian approach to buying things. It sounds as if people are always on the lookout for practical ways to solve problems.

Unfortunately, people just aren’t that rational. Apart from basic necessities, most purchases are discretionary. We buy things we want, but don’t necessarily need.

I’ve written about the motivations for buying, but an article at Psyblog got me thinking about this in a new and simpler way.

The article cites research that shows buying experiences make people happier than buying possessions. The author gives three reasons for this:

1. Experiences improve with time (possessions don’t).
When you buy a pair of shoes, all you have is a pair of shoes. But when you buy a Caribbean cruise, you have a memory that gets more pleasant every time you think or talk about it. The cruise is abstract and can take on symbolic meaning.

2. Experiences are resistant to unfavorable comparisons.
If you buy a big screen TV and later learn that your neighbor has an even bigger screen TV, you can easily become unhappy with your purchase. But it’s much more difficult to compare the joy you get from woodworking to your neighbor’s joy. Experiences are unique in a way that possessions are not.

3. Experiences have more social value.
Experiences tend to increase social relationships, which are related to happiness. They are also more acceptable topics of conversation. Others want to hear about your cruise, but aren’t as thrilled when you prattle on about everything you buy.

What this research suggests is that experience trumps things on the happiness scale. But I would modify this a bit and say that it’s not only activities, such as cruises or having dinner out, that makes people happy. It’s about experiences of all kinds.

In other words, I think that people are looking for an “experience” even when they’re buying “things.” Things may be more likely to disappoint, but it’s the experience we’re after when we buy a new pair of shoes or a novel.

The shoes aren’t just footwear, they’re a token that lets us become a new person and feel successful, sporty, or beautiful. The novel isn’t just a book, it’s an escape into a world of adventure, thrills, and drama.

Why are novels arranged by genre in book stores? Because we seek out particular experiences, rather than particular books.

The lesson here is that when you’re crafting an advertising or marketing message, you should understand the experience your customers seek and position your product or service to deliver that experience. Sell an experience, not a thing.

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1. How to sell products with direct mail inserts

This is a short excerpt from an upcoming white paper called “Getting Response in a Down Economy.” I’ll announce it in my newsletter first. Click here or use the yellow box at the top right of this blog to subscribe.

There’s no doubt about it. Business is tough out there. Every day brings more unsettling economic news.

But have things changed as much as some people claim? Has the recession completely changed buyer behavior?

In my opinion, no. Buyer behavior in this recession is very similar to buyer behavior at any other time, but with this important caveat: While people may be buying, they’re being far more cautious and making decisions far more slowly. So it’s harder to sell to them. Harder, not impossible.

Your customers are uncertain and afraid, but they are still essentially the same customers you’ve always had. All the same psychological principles apply, though some are now playing a more prominent roll.

By understanding this and allowing this knowledge to guide your selling strategy, you can give yourself a powerful advantage now and in the boom years to come.

Six things that are particularly important to remember now:

• People love to buy. They love to discover wonderful new products and experiences. In America, and increasingly around the world, people see commerce as a natural and appealing activity.

• People make buying decisions emotionally. They decide based on a feeling, need, or emotion. That’s why intangible benefits are generally the key to persuasion. For any given promotion, you should ask yourself, “What is the emotional hot button here?”

• People need to justify decisions logically. While people make emotional decisions, they justify those decisions with logic and facts. You should always give people the appropriate justification for making a purchase.

• People want to avoid risk. People pursue gain, but the urge to avoid loss is more powerful because it works on a more basic level. In direct marketing, people usually can’t see you or the thing you’re promoting before they part with their money. So there is always a level of distrust and suspicion you must overcome.

• People seek value. Value is not a fixed number. It is a subjective relationship between the thing you are selling and what people perceive its worth to be. The greater the value relative to the price, the more likely people will respond to your offer.

• People buy direct because of convenience and exclusivity. Don’t fool yourself. If your customers could easily find the things you offer at a nearby store, that’s probably where most would buy them because the perceived risk is lower.

These are not foreign concepts. They are always important. But now they are more important than when the market was flush with cash.

While a well-written headline and eye-catching photo can still make someone want what you’re offering, your customer’s fear and logic circuits are now operating on overdrive.

They need stronger justification and greater value than ever before. They also need more assurance that their financial risk is minimal or even that the purchase will save them money.

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I’ve been busy recently writing articles for everything other than this blog. So here’s a short reading list for a little direct marketing extra credit.

First, Melissa Data recently published The Ultimate Marketing Survival Guide for 2009. I wrote the lead article, “Direct mail remains the king of direct marketing.” Just in case you thought direct mail was dead or that tweeting is better than mailing, this article will disabuse you of that faulty assumption.

Next, there’s a fun little article over at Copyblogger titled The 3 Secret Persuasion Techniques Every Kid Knows. You parents will relate to this one. I don’t have children, but I know they’re often tuned into persuasion better than many adults.

Feeling a little burned out? Mary Jaksch asked me to submit some tips for Write to Done in a post titled 7 Easy Ways to Energize Your Creative Powers. If you’re a professional writer, you can’t just wait for the muse to drop by. You need a few techniques for flipping the switch on creativity when you need it.

Finally, there’s one of my regular columns for DM News, one of the most recent is Problem Solver: Is it smart for an online business to use direct mail? I discuss how you can’t let a particular medium dictate your marketing strategy and ways to use direct mail to build your online business.

This should keep you busy for a while.

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2. Copywriting blogs you should be reading today
3. Tweets and blogs and stuff

Capitalizing on current events has always been a good way to boost sales. Obama’s inauguration is the most recent example.

Everywhere you look there’s an Obama product. I’ve seen Obama coins selling on TV and Obama shirts on CafePress and other sites. I even saw a barber shop that changed its name to “Obama’s.” They claim the new name has dramatically boosted profits.

Advertising Age is reporting that Obama mania is “staggering.”

From the article:

Inaugural tchotchkes are a given, but the breadth and depth of Obama merchandise available is staggering. For infants, there are onesies. For the tech-savvy, there’s an iPhone case. Coming is a Barack Obama Chia Pet. And for those who want to size up the president-elect, there’s a life-size cutout.

But it doesn’t stop there. Retailers are also using the inauguration as an excuse to promote big-screen TVs, digital recorders and patriotic party favors. Amazon last week launched its first Inauguration Store, featuring “everything customers need to get ready to attend the event, host an inauguration party or watch from home.”

This shouldn’t come as any surprise. Americans are idol worshipers. They love to associate themselves with famous people. All it takes is for a rap star or sports icon to be seen with a particular pair of tennis shoes and sales will skyrocket.

If you’re jaded, you’ll see America as a nation of sheep. If you’re a marketer, you’ll see America as a nation of opportunity. Take your pick. Either way, there’s a marketing lesson here.

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