Marketing Profs

Here's why ‘WHY' is such a profit-making marketing trigger.

“Stop taking two and three plates of food,” my mother said to me angrily.

I was at a wedding and seven years old. Back then; at a lot of the weddings we used to go to, the food would be pre-served on a plate. I could never get enough of that calorie-ridden platter. Waylaying different waiters, (so I would not be recognised) I'd polish 3-4 plates without blinking an eye.

Mum wasn't impressed and told me to stop and desist.

“Why?” I'd ask her and her stock reply was always “It's bad manners to do that.” This Dustbin Hoffman act obviously got her goat, but it left me unfazed. It must have bugged her more than I expected though, because in a short while Dad was peering down my food-stuffed face.

My question remained unchanged. “WHY?”

“If you invite a hundred people to a wedding, how many would you cater for?” he asked. “A hundred,” I answered, proud of my analytical genius. “If you ate four,” he continued, “how many would remain?” “Ninety-six right?” he prompted quickly. I nodded vigorously. “That means some people don't eat. If you're so hungry, we can go out after the wedding and get something to eat, but don't deprive others.”

Dad Made Sense. Are You?

Dad understood psychology. He had to sell my brain an idea that my rumbling stomach didn't want to understand. And he did it by answering the question ‘WHY.' How many of us waste this powerful trigger in our marketing because it seems too obvious, almost too simple?

Why ‘why' Puts Elvis' Shaking and Moving to Shame