Assignment 6
Confirming pages
Module 8 Reader Benefits 113
Why do reader benefits work? LO 8-1 ▶ Reader benefits improve the audience’s attitudes and actions.
Reader benefits improve both the attitudes and the behavior of the people you work with and write to. They make people view you more positively; they make it easier for you to accomplish your goals.
Expectancy theory says most people try to do their best only when they believe they can succeed and when they want the rewards that success brings. Reader benefits tell or remind readers that they can do the job and that success will be rewarded. 1 Thus, they help overcome two problems that reduce motivation: People may not think of all the pos- sible benefits, and they may not understand the relationships among efforts, performance, and rewards. 2
How do I identify reader benefits? LO 8-2 ▶ Brainstorm!
Sometimes reader benefits will be easy to think of and to explain. When they are harder to identify, brainstorm. You may want to brainstorm in two steps:
1. Think of the feelings, fears, and needs that may motivate your reader. Then identify features of your product or policy that meet those needs.
2. Identify the objective features of your product or policy. Then think how these features could benefit the audience.
Try to brainstorm at least three to five possible benefits for every informative mes- sage and five to seven benefits for every persuasive message. The more benefits you have, the easier it will be to choose good ones rather than settling for something that’s so-so.
1. Think of Feelings, Fears, and Needs that May Motivate Your Reader. Then Identify Features of Your Product or Policy that Meet Those Needs
One of the best-known analyses of needs is Abraham H. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. 3 Physical needs are the most basic, followed by needs for safety and secu- rity, for love and a sense of belonging, for esteem and recognition, and finally for self-actualization or self-fulfillment. All of us go back and forth between higher- and lower-level needs. Whenever lower-level needs make themselves felt, they take priority.
Maslow’s model is a good starting place to identify the feelings, fears, and needs that may motivate your audience. Figure 8.1 shows organizational motivators for each of the levels in Maslow’s hierarchy. Often, a product or idea can meet needs on several levels. Focus on the ones that audience analysis suggests are most relevant for your audience, but remember that even the best analysis may not reveal all of a reader’s needs. For example, a well-paid manager may be worried about security needs if her spouse has lost his job or if the couple is supporting kids in college or an elderly parent. Other motivation experts have found that motivators can vary with employees’ ages; for example, young salespeople are more likely to enjoy travel rewards, whereas older salespeople might prefer to remain close to home and family, enjoying cash or merchandise as rewards. 4
The intrinsic value of self-image may be more important to some people than the extrinsic value of price. A recent study published in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that even when consumers are offered something for nothing but have the option to pay, they pay. The study used several scenarios to test the theory and also discovered that if proceeds from sales are tied to charity, people will pay even more. According to lead researcher Avelet Gneezy, from the University of California at San Diego, “Generally this paper is about peoples’ aversion to feeling bad about themselves.”
Source: Sarah Nassauer, “A Psychological Twist in Getting Something for Nothing,” April 23, 2012, The Wall Street Journal, http://blogs.wsj.com/ health/2012/04/23/a-psychological- twist-in-getting-something-for- nothing/?KEYWORDS=business+ psychology
Site to See
Go to www.versis.co.uk/ docsmart.html In a list of bullet points, Versis spells out the business, operational, and financial benefits of its product, DocSmart.
Go to
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