Become a Master of Motivation with Learning Code #12
Learn to Motivate Consumers Inside & Out
Balancing intrinsic and extrinsic motivators is essential for effective information adoption, no matter the type of Meaningful Marketing™ campaign.
The most effective learning systems balance intrinsic and extrinsic motivators to create a conducive environment for cognitive and emotional growth. Learning Code 12 focuses on moderating the right balance of these two motivators to assure optimal outcomes insofar as getting people excited about adopting your brand into their life.
The Science Behind Motivation
Most traditional marketing campaign systems rely heavily on extrinsic motivators, such as rewards like discounts and promotions. While these can sometimes drive short-term behavior changes, they often lead to what is known as a “Neurological Downshift” in the consumer’s brain. This downshift occurs when blood flow, containing vital glucose and oxygen, moves away from the upper and frontal neocortex (responsible for higher-order thinking) to the lower, more rigid limbic and reptilian brain areas (responsible for basic survival functions).
This shift compromises working memory and negatively impacts capacities for empathy, compassion, big-picture thinking, and planning. In contrast, intrinsic motivators, which are driven by personal meaning and internal satisfaction, have been shown to enhance cognitive functions and emotional well-being.
Key Characteristics of Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivators:
- Extrinsic Motivators: Rewards (e.g. prizes) and punishments (e.g. penalties) used to drive behavior.
- Intrinsic Motivators: Internal drives based on personal satisfaction, interest, and positive experiences.
The Impact of Neurological Downshift
When marketing campaigns over-rely on extrinsic motivators, the following negative outcomes can occur:
- Compromised Working Memory: The shift in blood flow away from the neocortex limits the brain's ability to process and retain new information.
- Reduced Cognitive Capacities: Empathy, compassion, and big-picture thinking are impaired, making it harder for consumers to connect with and understand your brand.
- Increased Stress and Anxiety: The limbic and reptilian brain areas are more associated with stress responses, leading to heightened anxiety levels in consumers learning about your brand. This is the source of our fight or flight response mechanisms, and a neurological downshift will cause a consumer to fly every time. Exactly opposite of what we want in response to a call to action.
Strategies to Balance Motivators
To establish a balanced environment to curate a campaign that harnesses the benefits of both intrinsic and extrinsic motivators, consider the following strategies:
- Foster Intrinsic Motivation First: Design campaigns that are personally meaningful and engaging for your target customers. Giving your consumers autonomy in this regard is key. Create campaigns that work across a variety of mediums, allowing consumers to choose where and how they explore topics they’re most passionate about. Setting up a preference center can further improve on this strategy as well as provide you with insight on what types of consumers are in your audience. If you see a lot of preference directed at video, then you know you’ve got a lot of audio-visual learners on your hands and can serve up content that satisfies that learning preference and, therefore, motivates them intrinsically.
- Minimize Overuse of Extrinsic Rewards: Use extrinsic motivators sparingly and in conjunction with intrinsic motivators. This approach helps maintain the consumer’s internal drive while providing necessary external incentives. For example, instead of giving out promotional discounts like there’s no tomorrow, offer milestone rewards, like holiday-only promotions, or perhaps a discount if they buy a certain number of your brand’s products or service sessions, encouraging them to value their own progress in their adoption of your brand’s offerings, and feel more invested.
- Create a Supportive Learning Environment: Ensure that the learning environment supports autonomy, competence, and relatedness, which are key components of intrinsic motivation. As an example, an online coaching program - let’s say life-balance coaching - could include collaborative group sessions through video meetings, where your clients can meet other like-minded clients establishing a sense of community and belonging, all while providing them with a controlled environment where they can share knowledge and support each other.
Practical Applications in Marketing
- Engage with Authenticity: Create marketing campaigns that resonate on a personal level with your audience, tapping into their intrinsic motivations and values.
- Balanced Incentives: While offering promotions and discounts (extrinsic motivators) can attract customers, ensure that your brand message and value proposition connect with them on a deeper level. Not to mention, over-reliance on extrinsic motivators can ironically cause a brand to appear as if they don’t believe in their value and are willing to undervalue themselves for the sake of even a single sale. Like the saying, one can only love another if they have learned to love themselves, consumers also will only value a brand if the brand clearly values itself.
- Customer-Centric Approach: Focus on building long-term relationships with customers by understanding their needs and providing meaningful experiences that go beyond mere transactions.
Learning Code #12: Key Takeaways
Balancing intrinsic and extrinsic motivators is essential for effective information adoption, no matter the type of Meaningful Marketing™ campaign. Create a campaign environment that supports this balance by prioritizing human values, personal meaning, and internal satisfaction. And, in doing so, you enhance cognitive function, reduce stress, and promote long-term engagement and success for your brand.
At CoreCentrica, we’re committed to leveraging the latest neuroscience to master Meaningful Marketing strategies that resonate deeply with your audiences inside and out. Become a master of motivation and stay informed about our many learning-based marketing insights by subscribing to our Newsletter.
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