by A 2007 study published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior, found over 237 reasons why people want to have sex. The researchers, David Buss and Cindy Meston, asked close to 2,000 people why they engaged in sex and discovered that there was more to it than love, pleasure, and procreation. As you might guess, there was quite a range of answers, from “I was bored” to “I wanted to feel closer to God” to “I wanted to get a promotion” and even as far as “I wanted to break up a rival’s relationship.”
The top three reasons:
- I was attracted to the person
- I wanted to experience physical pleasure
- It feels good
Ultimately, the study found that the answers clustered around four basic groupings:
- Physical reasons. e.g. “It seemed like good exercise,” “I wanted to experience the physical pleasure.”
- Goal-based reasons. e.g. “I wanted to have a baby,” “I wanted to be popular” or “To get a promotion.”
- Emotional reasons such as “I wanted to feel connected,” “I realized I was in love,” “I wanted to get closer to God,” and expressive reasons such as “I wanted to say ‘thank you” and “I felt sorry for the person.”
- Insecurity-based reasons like “I wanted the attention,” “My partner kept insisting” and to retain affection “I wanted to keep my partner from straying.”
In another review, published in Sexuality & Culture, sex researcher Richard Carroll cites the following top 20 reasons people engage in sex:
- Boosting mood and relieving depression
- Duty
- Enhancement of power
- Enhancement of self-concept
- Experiencing the power of one’s partner
- Feeling loved by your partner
- Fostering jealousy
- Improving reputation or social status
- Making money
- Making babies
- Need for affection
- Nurturance
- Partner novelty
- Peer pressure or pressure from partner
- Pleasure
- Reducing sex drive
- Revenge
- Sexual curiosity
- Showing love to your partner
- Spiritual transcendence
So what’s a marketing blog doing citing sex research studies?
… its all about motive.
The marketing lesson in this post is that it’s all about motive. I find that most clients have a very easy time telling me what they are selling, but have much more difficulty identifying WHY their customers are buying. As with the list above, people have a variety of reasons as to WHY they purchase from you, and it’s not always the most obvious reason. Identify the WHYs, craft your product to appeal to these motives, and watch your sales rocket.
