Yes, I know you may disagree with me and that is okay. Maybe you are from the school of thought that says your potential customers care about your product, who is selling it and how much it is been sold. But here is the hard truth; potential customers only care about one thing—the problem they want your product to solve. And once a product, regardless of who is selling it or the price, is solving customers’ problem, they will build a brand persona around it and eventually turn it into a household name.

So what is the customers’ problem your product should be solving? It is an emotional problem. Your product should either appeal to the vanity or the pain of your customers.

A man who is buying a New Sea-Dweller Rolex or Rolls Royce Phantom isn’t just buying a car; he is buying what is called status symbol—ultimate luxury or prestige. He is solving his problem of vanity. That is a buying emotion, it is called vanity emotion. On the other side, a mom buying the Dodge Grand Caravan isn’t buying luxury or vanity; such is buying a car to meet her need—dropping and picking up the kids from school. That’s the pain emotion; an emotion that focuses on meeting needs.  

Another good example is this: A college student who goes to eat in a ritzy restaurant is responding to the vanity emotion. Another college student who takes McDonald’s burger and fries is solving a major emotional problem which is hunger. That is the pain emotion.  

Selling to customers’ vanity is simply appealing to their sophisticated lifestyle. The rich and the very rich—wealthy—belong to that class. If you need to sell to them, then appeal to their vanity emotion. The middle class and those are the bottom of the chain buy to meet their immediate and urgent need. If you need to sell to them, then sell to their pain emotion. So, when next you are selling your product, don’t forget the customers’ emotions—vanity or pain.