The Rules About Human Motivation

Why do people do the things they do?  A motive is the reason for a person's behavior.  The behavior is the person's attempt to gain or maintain the satisfaction of a need or needs.  Motivation is the process of satisfying needs as a person moves toward his primary goal of feeling a sense of well being.

A satisfied need is not a motivator.  If you are comfortable, you don't move.  But when you are uncomfortable, or if there is a threat to your losing your comfort, you are motivated.  The reason we move or act is to gain or maintain the satisfaction of basic needs.

If a need is not satisfied, or if a satisfied need is threatened, a problem exists - a problem that seeks a solution, in the form of products, services, ideas, features or relationships.

What do people want?  Wants are man's conscious expression of his striving to meet needs, whereas those needs may or may not be conscious until they turn into specific problems.  In order to better identify why you want something, dig deeper to try to identify what need you want to satisfy.  "Needs" are deep-seated urges that are basic to all human beings.  Usually these needs operate at a level just below our consciousness.  That is why they are tough to spot.  Wants are closer to the conscious level and come through a bit stronger and clearer. 

The business of selling is essentially helping people satisfy unconscious need and conscious wants through our product or service.  The difference between what I have and what I want is a problem, a difference that is there because of some obstacle or cause that stands in their way.  Salesmen advocate solutions (in forms of products, services, ideas, features, or relationships) that treat the causes, overcome the obstacles, solve the problems and satisfy needs.  

Similarly, our jobs as online marketers is to help our web site visitors discover, intensify, and clarify their problems, and then help them discover, intensify and clarify the options or solutions.  Hopefully, a sufficient number of them will find our products or services to be the solution of choice, so that in the process, both their needs and our needs are met.