In their best seller Freakonomics, Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner wrote, “Economics is, at root, the study of incentives: how people get what they want, or need...”

Incentivization takes any number of forms. Financial or remunerative incentives are something we’re all familiar with. For example, if I do a good job, I get paid. If I don’t do the work that needs to get done, I get canned. Small business owners put in long hours because there’s a reward at the end of that seemingly excessive amount of labor. Moral incentives might include the good feeling I get when I give to support a good cause. Many people invest time in helping others because it seems like the right thing to do, whether helping organize a food shelf or clean up after a tornado.

Coercive incentives are a third category. Government bodies sometimes have objectives which require businesses to make sacrifices. In addition to appeals to the moral rightness of a behavior, penalties and fines are tools that help enforce a desired behavior. Rescinding licenses can also be effective in changing behavior.  

The reality is, however, that people typically resent coerciveness. No one likes feeling pressured against their will. The threat of pain or removal of rights is a technique that has been proven time and a gain not to be the most effective tool.

The chief focus of this article will be on the incentives at play with regards to buying and selling synthetic motor oil.

Buyer Incentives
An incentive is any factor that enables or motivates a particular course of action, or counts as a reason for preferring one choice to the alternatives. Usually, though, there is no single hot button that applies across-the-board when it comes to reasons for buying, whether it be flowers, toys or the type of oil we choose. On deeper analysis one finds, however, that there perhaps four primary criteria on which people base their motor oil selection. 

Savings                
No question there’s a segment of the population for whom price is the primary criteria on any buying decision. Their incentive is a financial one, measuring everything by its impact on the bottom line. 

Bargain hunters love dollar stores, discounts and specials.  They are not as easy to sell more expensive services and synthetic motor oils to because of the higher initial cost.  The proper way to sell synthetics to such bottom line oriented people is to spell out the total life cycle cost of their decisions. It’s widely accepted that using extended life synthetic motor oils results in more efficient engine operation which can improve fuel economy and reduce costly repairs later in a vehicle’s life.

Protection
 A car is a fairly major investment for most people. As a consequence, their desire is to protect this investment.  Like the motorist for whom bargains are the bottom line, this motorist also has a financial motive. She wants to keep the vehicle for a long time so she doesn’t have to go through the hassle of finding a new one. Often, the car is an extension of one’s personality and this added identification is zestfully motivational. When financial and emotional incentives are strong, it is a good time to recommend a premium synthetic motor oil.

Convenience    
For most Americans freedom is an important value. It feels good to have a little more free time. The 3,000 mile oil change may be necessary for conventional oils that break down, but a premium synthetic that is capable of going longer distances has a strong appeal for many who feel their time has been increasingly crimped by a tsunami of other responsibilities. The convenience of premium extended life synthetic oils is one of the strongest incentives for carrying and promoting them.

Environment
Environmentally minded people are driven by moral incentives.  For some, being “green” is such a moral imperative that they have given up cars altogether, and many who own them feel guilty about it. Over the past ten years I’ve seen quite a few articles in print offering suggestions for greener motoring. Extended life synthetic oils help reduce the amount of waste oil to dispose of as well as packaging waste. Superior viscosity retention keeps vehicles at peak fuel efficiency throughout the entire oil change cycle. People who can’t afford electric cars and wish to reduce their carbon footprint are very good candidates for synthetics.
 
Seller Incentives
The truth is that you, the quick lube owner or manager, also need incentives to promote synthetic oils. As you read about buyer incentives, you might be thinking, “What’s in it for me?”

There are probably two appeals I would make. First, I would raise the question, “What’s best for the customer?” This should be one of the two primary drivers for all business people. I realize some people think that capitalism is only about greed and profits. It’s not. Business is about meeting the needs of consumers. Marketing involves identifying those needs and wants, and sales involves delivering on that.