Primal Instincts

For a company to be successful, the concept or product needs to appeal to consumers on a minimum of three primal desires: pride, fear, time, love and money. Although it might seem like most decisions are driven by a single need, when more closely analyzed, you’ll find that there’s often more to the decision than meets the eye.

For example, fear is the primary desire that drives consumers to purchase home security. They’re afraid that someone will break into their home and endanger their family and belongings. But this fear intertwined with love — love of their family, their things and the desire to protect them. Money is also a factor, because break-ins can be damaging, and replacing stolen items is costly. Home insurance also appeals to the pride in being able to protect a home. Because this concept appeals to users on multiple primal desires, insurance is a very successful business. Your idea must appeal to at least three primal desires — if not more — to be successful and drive action.

Think about your concept or product — what is its core appeal to consumers? What fundamental desire does it strike in the heart of buyers, whether they realize it or not? Once you’ve assembled what you believe to be the most basic desire, think about how else your concept appeals to buyers. Fill in the pie chart below as you work through this. Did you fill in at least three sections?