Ego Morphing: Full Proof Method for Instant Identification
Most people consider convincing a customer that a product or service they can’t live without is a tricky proposition. It is quite simple, in fact, if it is a product or service that they already use. The process of Ego Morphing and Vanity Appeal described by Pratkanis and Aronson (Age of Propaganda, 1991) explains it quite well when they said: “By purchasing the ‘right stuff,’ we [the consumer] enhance our egos and rationalize away our inadequacies.”
Your product acts in service through the process of helping the consumer identify their desired state of being. How does that work? By purchasing an item or service, consumers tend to imbue the characteristics of that product or service on themselves. Magic!
Persuasion is not too difficult from a marketers standpoint. Your goal is to cause the consumer to become so closely associated with the product’s image that it almost becomes a part of their own identity. In other words, according to Drew Eric Whitman (Cashvertising, 2009), you are “morphing” their ego to fit your product.
If your customer is already a genuine prospect that possesses the ideas and values associated with your product or service, leaping into positioning your product is a matter of imagery. Carefully choosing images and personalities that convince the buyer that purchasing will immediately associate them with these images and attitudes is the key.
So take a step back, does owning your product or service appeal to the vanity and ego of the consumer successfully? If not, consider the following areas to hone in on:
- Physical Attractiveness
- Intelligence
- Economic Success
- Sexual Prowess
According to Stec and Bernstein Balance Theory (1999), if consumers are presented with the “correct” images, people who possess these characteristics will buy them in order to publicize their ego. Those who don’t will purchase them in an attempt to appear as if they do.
As a result, we find ourselves in a position to manage and influence the purchasing process of the consumer far more than originally thought. Learn how the jewelry marketing industry is heavily influenced by ego morphing and instant identification.
