Saturday, September 20, 2008

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs & Copywriting

"It's the benefits, not the features, idiot!!" Benfits, Benefits, Benefits! - It's drilled into us, copywriters.

But does this really hold good in Third World economies like India? Even in case of B2C, eg., a car - people here get sold on features, not benefits. This is even more true for B2B products/services given the scarcity of resources in such economies.

Could the answer be in Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs? Third World economies typically are at the bottom of the hierarchy - Physiological - Food/Clothing/Shelter.

Western countries on the other hand, are already way up the hierarchy - Esteem and Self Actualization - where prospects would be in search of benefits to satisfy their 'wants.'

Prospects in Third World economies being at the bottom of the hierarchy, have 'needs' to be satisfied and therefore would search for 'features' in products/services.

Comments are invited on my mini hypothesis:)

Noel Gama