The Science of Why summary

So, you’ve got great marketing, a fantastic business and an ingenious product idea. But your target market doesn’t seem to see it this way – because they just aren’t buying your product. What’s wrong?

If you’re at your wits end, there’s a tool that might help: the MindSight Matrix. This problem-solving technique maps out the various motivational forces that drive consumers.

There’s one main force that motivates action: a desire for change. Whether an elderly lady buying a new pair of slippers or a young professional joining a gym, all customers are looking for change, and the MindSight Matrix helps pinpoint exactly what kind of change is wanted.

There are three categories of desired change: expectations, experiences and outcomes. Expectations are what customers want to change in the future. To attract customers hoping to change their expectations, marketers should focus on giving them a vision of the future where the product has opened up new opportunities for them. Experiences are what customers want to change in the present moment. And, finally, outcomes reflect how satisfied customers are with their past choices.

There are also three categories of motivations: intrapsychic motivations, instrumental motivations and interpersonal motivations. To identify motivation, we have to specify where we want the change to take place.

Change can either be internal or outward-directed. If you want to change how you feel about or perceive yourself, then you’re longing for internal change. If you want to change your outward appearance or physical surroundings, or buy a new product, then you desire outward-directed change.

All internal change is driven by intrapsychic motivations. We’ll take a closer look at these in the next blink.

Outward-directed change can be driven by either instrumental motivations or interpersonal motivations.

Instrumental motivations are what inspire you to buy those Nike sneakers or that Chanel handbag, or to take that vacation to Fiji. Interpersonal motivations, on the other hand, are what move you to align yourself with a particular reference group – be it punks, clubbers, sports fans or activists.

This might seem complicated, but it will become clearer through specific examples in the next blinks. Just remember that there are three different types of change and three different types of motivation – with a total of nine different change-motivation combinations.