What are a target group’s wants and goals?

Wants and goals describe which outcomes a target group finds attractive and intends to pursue within a specific choice context. A want expresses a preference for an outcome; a goal involves an intention to attain an outcome. Whether action follows requires separate evidence.

Record what should change in practical terms and what that change means to the person. State the context, priority and evidence basis. An expressed want does not establish purchase intention, willingness to pay or your offering's ability to deliver the outcome.

This is the practical classification used in the profile. The same word can have several meanings. ‘Control’ might mean being able to check information or feeling less dependent on others. Ask what the outcome means before assigning a psychological interpretation.

Locke and Latham discuss goals as outcomes towards which action is directed. Their research overview also addresses conditions including commitment, feedback and task complexity. Locke & Latham, 2002

Gollwitzer distinguishes intending to achieve a goal from an implementation plan linking a situation to an action. Gollwitzer, 1999

Ryan and Deci describe autonomy, competence and relatedness as basic psychological needs within self-determination theory. Ryan & Deci, 2000

These publications provide theoretical background. Combining a functional goal with a desired psychological outcome is Neurofactor's practical writing convention here, not a separately validated scale. Do not automatically classify a statement as a basic need or derive an individual score from it.

A functional goal identifies what should happen: support a choice with evidence, complete a schedule or solve a problem. The desired psychological outcome describes what the person wants to experience, such as clarity or confidence. Both can matter, but neither establishes the other.

First ask about the result, then its meaning: ‘What would change for you if this worked?’ Let respondents say whether they mean peace of mind, recognition, room to act or something else. Record ‘not investigated’ when this layer is missing.

The profile describes the target group's goal. ‘More enquiries for our business’ is a supplier goal. ‘Find a suitable supplier without repeating three selection processes’ could be a customer goal. Keep the perspectives separate.

Use Wants and goals as the reference for the intended result. Develop each other field from its own perspective. Confidence can then appear as a desired outcome and as an emotional benefit without repeating the same sentence throughout. This is an editorial convention, not a claim that one psychological process always takes precedence.

Do not only ask ‘Would you like more certainty?’ People can agree without making the same choice. Ask what certainty means in this situation and what they would trade for it. The answer remains a statement; where possible, examine how it relates to actual decisions.

Fictional illustration; not a customer quotation or research finding. A marketing lead needs to choose between two propositions before a budget meeting.

The initial statement is: ‘I want more certainty.’ Further questions clarify the functional goal: ‘I want to compare the two options using the same criteria.’ The desired psychological outcome is: ‘I want to explain the trade-offs with confidence.’

A compact profile sentence becomes: ‘Wants to compare two propositions against agreed criteria before the budget meeting, to explain the choice with confidence.’

This does not mean research can guarantee certainty. Nor does it establish a preference for EEG, a questionnaire or any other method. The outcome comes first; the appropriate approach and supporting evidence require separate investigation.

If only the broad aspiration was actually expressed, do not present the developed sentence as an established insight. Keep it as a hypothesis for a later conversation. The deadline belongs to this fictional situation, not to every marketing lead.

A target group may value speed and thoroughness. Describe the trade-off within the actual situation rather than listing everything as equally important. For example: ‘Wants to decide quickly, provided the main uncertainties remain visible.’ Such a sentence also needs evidence.

Separate organisational and personal goals. A leadership team may seek cost control while a user wants less manual work. Both concern the same purchase, but should not necessarily be attributed to the same person or target group.

Include a deadline or numerical criterion when the data justify it. Do not artificially quantify an exploratory aspiration after the fact. When circumstances change, record when the goal was established and whether it is still relevant.

Under Neurofactor's working definition, similar associations guide decisions within a specific choice context. A shared goal can help explain that context, but is insufficient by itself to establish one associative target group.

Two people might both want an informed choice. One might associate an external expert with trust, while the other associates trust with information they can check personally. This is a fictional contrast to clarify the research question. Investigate whether such patterns actually occur and how they relate to choices.

Do not derive BIS/BAS scores or other neuropsychological values directly from words such as ambition, certainty or peace of mind. A goal description and a psychological measurement are different data.

Start with: ‘Wants to achieve [functional outcome] in [choice context], so that [researched personal meaning or psychological outcome].’

Add a deadline, condition or trade-off when it is essential and supported. Omit the second half if the personal meaning has not been investigated. Source, date, target group boundaries and evidence status need not all fit into one sentence, but must remain linked to it.

In the underlying documentation, distinguish literal respondent answers, summaries across answers, measured behaviour and researcher interpretations. Polished wording does not turn an interpretation into an observation.

A useful entry describes what the target group seeks, in which context and why it matters to them. Make functional outcome, psychological meaning and priority visible where researched. Keep the description separate from purchase intention and product promises. The same goal statement can then inform the rest of the profile consistently.

Would you like to understand the outcomes your target group seeks and the associations guiding its choices? Discuss with Neurofactor how to investigate them.