Appreciating Non-Rational Customers

I recently spoke to a group of architects and engineers.  They were talking about the need to expand the installation of solar water heating and photovoltaic panels in Hawaii. 

The conversation reminded me of some research we did at Ogilvy & Mater related to a solar installation marketing program we were managing for Hawaiian Electric.  The client had all kinds of data about how much money the customer would save by installing solar.  Those rational claims got translated into rational advertising focused on money.  They didn't work very well. And the client was perplexed.  Why weren't these systems selling better?  What rational human being would NOT install solar when it paid for itself and, in fact, would save them tons of money over time? 

The answer, of course, is that humans are not rational, at least they're not rational all of the time.  They're not necessarily crazy, just non-rational.

To delve into the problem we conducted some qualitative research.  What we found was that customers understood the money saving story.  They got the joke, so to speak.  They just didn't want the hassle of doing the installation.  With that bit of understanding, we focused on a target that didn't have that objection.  We did a direct marketing campaign aimed at people who already had a building permit.  If the objection is that I don't want the noise, dust and hassle of a solar installation, let's talk to people who have already decided to put up with that.  The result was a higher incidence of purchase as customers simply added solar to the remodeling project they were already doing. 

Dr, Steuart Henderson Britt

One of the great teachers in my life was Dr. Steuart Henderson Britt.  He was a psychologist by training, but he trained us to think like social scientists to delve into the real motivations for consumer behavior.  Think like an anthropologist to understand cultural motivations.  Think like a sociologist to understand societal norms and mores that drive behavior.  Think like a psychologist to recognize the inner workings of the mind and how they affect purchases. 

Dr, Britt was a wonderful teacher.  One of the things I remember most was that he put a jar on the desk in front of the class ... and we had to contribute a quarter every time we said "I think ...."  It's not what I think as a rational marketer that's important.  It's how the customer behaves.  And that behavior is often driven by non-rational motives.