Positive psychology keeps cropping up on my radar, whether it be through works like Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience or the “Stiglitz Report”. In a nutshell, if traditional psychology deals with pathologies of the human psyche like mental illnesses, positive psychology focuses on human strengths and virtues, studying ways to enrich individuals’ lives. What would the application of positive psychology look like in marketing?
No problem? No problem!
Traditionally, marketing has focused on solving problems: your customer has a certain need, expressed in terms of a gap, lack or absence, and so you offer her the solution in the form of your product or service. Traditional marketing aims to balance the customer’s negative with your positive.
A positive psychology approach to marketing would do away with solving problems, and concentrate on bolstering your customer’s strengths. Positive-psychology marketing aims to enhance the customer’s positive with your positive. It would seem positive psychology has a prime place in sustainable marketing.
Positive psychology and you
Positive psychology finds its principal application in branding’s creation of meaning. It’s no longer enough for your product and your brand to solve problems best, to be the most reliable or convenient, or the lowest priced. Your brand must mean something to your customers.
More specifically, the Character Strengths and Virtues catalog lists the traits positive psychology aims to study (quoting Wikipedia):
- Wisdom and knowledge: creativity, curiosity, open-mindedness, love of learning, perspective, wisdom, innovation
- Courage: bravery, persistence, integrity, vitality
- Humanity: love, kindness, social intelligence
- Justice: citizenship, responsibility, teamwork, loyalty, fairness, leadership
- Temperance: forgiveness, mercy, humility, modesty, prudence, self control, self regulation
- Transcendence: appreciation of beauty and excellence, gratitude, hope, humor, playfulness, spirituality
To apply positive psychology in your business, gear your marketing and communication toward addressing these traits. Ask questions like:
- How does our product spur our customers’ creativity?
- How does our product assist our customers’ in performing brave acts?
- How does our product enable our customers to do good in their community?
- How does our product empower our customers to be responsible citizens?
- How does our product help our customers exercise self control?
- How does our product allow our customers to play?
What do you think? What examples of applied positive psychology have you seen or experienced? Please share in Comments.
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Image credit: Wavy1
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