Creation

By now, you realize that online marketing requires more than getting listed in
search engines and waiting for the money to roll in. Once you have a description
of your target market, you can take advantage of Maslow’s Triangle to
understand their motivation for buying. Advertisers have long understood
the power of messages that address people’s emotional needs, taking advantage
of a theory developed by humanistic psychologist Abraham Maslow in
the late 1960s. You can do this, too!
According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, everyone has to satisfy certain needs before they can achieve their
maximum potential. In marketing terms, people buy certain products or seek
certain types of information to satisfy one or more of those needs. Of the five
levels in Maslow’s Triangle, the bottom two levels (Physiological and Safety)
are basic needs. The top three (Social, Esteem, and Self-actualization) are
growth needs. At this point, people can find Web sites to satisfy every need in
the triangle. Here’s a list of those categories along with a description of each:
-- Physiological Needs: This category covers air, food, water, sleep, sex,
health, and shelter. To satisfy these needs, people might research
homes online, look for apartments to rent on Craigslist.org, purchase
apparel from Patagonia.com, arrange a grocery delivery from Peapod.com, search for a dentist’s name, look for nutrition advice, or locate an
oxygen bar like the OxygenExperience.com.
-- Safety Needs: These types of needs include security items and information
for times of emergency, social disorganization, or personal trauma.
At this level, people might seek hotline numbers, fire or flood evacuation
information, earthquake kits from SurvivalKitsOnline.com, fire extinguishers
from SmokeSign.com, car alarms from SlickCar.com, or GPS
systems from MagellanGPS.com.
-- Social Needs: This category indicates our human cravings for caring and
belonging, including products and services that make us more attractive
to others. This need drives the appeal of popular social networking sites
as diverse as MySpace.com and PunkyMomsForum.com, as well as cosmetics
from ElizabethArden.com, spa memberships, self-help books from
Amazon.com, hobbies, clubs, civic activities, churches, and other groups.
-- Esteem Needs: This refers to an individual’s need for self-respect and
respect from others. This need motivates the purchase of items like jewelry
from Tiffany.com, fine wines from WineWeb.com, a monogrammed
leather wallet from FineLeatherGifts.com, or a search for a Hummer dealer
at Humvee.net, all of which carry a sense of status, prestige, and power
 --Self-Actualization: A sense of creative self-fulfillment may come from
artistic, musical, educational, spiritual, or religious pursuits. Individuals
with self-actualization needs might visit sites related to creative or spiritual
pursuits, such as Buddhanet.net, AcademyArt.edu, or ClevelandOrch.com, and they might buy books, music, classes, concert tickets, or art.
To increase your conversion rate (the percent of site visitors who buy), match
your message to the needs your products fulfill. If you identify the specific
benefits that people are looking for, you’re more likely to close the sale. For
instance, an esteem message would talk about the exclusivity of owning jewelry
from Tiffany’s, not about saving money.