𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗕𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗮 𝗗𝗿𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗗𝗶𝗱𝗻’𝘁 𝗪𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗮 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝗲

You’ve probably heard the old marketing lesson: People don’t want a quarter-inch drill. They want a quarter-inch hole.

Fair enough. But what makes you think they want the hole?

Suppose a homeowner buys a drill to hang family photographs. The hole is simply a necessary step toward making his new house feel like home.

Another homeowner buys the same drill because he’s tired of paying someone else for minor repairs. He wants independence.

A third wants to build a workshop. He’s pursuing a hobby he’s dreamed about for years.

Same drill. Three different motivations.

Now imagine writing three advertisements.

𝗔𝗱 #𝟭: “Finally, Get Those Family Photos Out of Their Boxes and Onto Your Walls.”

𝗔𝗱 #𝟮: “Stop Paying a Handyman for Jobs You Could Finish Yourself.”

𝗔𝗱 #𝟯: “Build the Workshop You’ve Always Wanted.”

Each advertisement sells the same tool, but appeals to a different desire.

Which one would work best?

Here’s where professional judgment matters.

You can’t discover what customers want by dreaming up increasingly profound explanations for their behavior. All three motivations sound plausible. That doesn’t establish which one actually drives purchases.

Read customer reviews. Interview buyers. Examine the situations that triggered their purchases. Listen for what they were trying to accomplish and why it mattered.

Then look for patterns.

Sometimes the strongest appeal is emotional. Sometimes customers simply need a drill that won’t burn out halfway through a job.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝘁.

RW

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