Do you know your consumers? I mean really know them?
Beyond the standard 411 demographic data (age, gender, education, income, etc), do you know their psychographic profile?
Do you know who they really are and what they want?
Most importantly, do you know what your consumers need? Too often companies focus on who their consumers are. Those demographic details are as deep as anyone looks. Rather than look at these superficial descriptors, dig deeper. Find out why your consumers choose you and why they choose your competition.
Once we know why your consumer does what they do, then we can change the conversation and develop a connection that will cause them to do what you want them to do.
Positive Word of Mouth is the Holy Grail of marketing.
Isn’t it the goal of every marketing program to get the consumers to talk about you. Your product should be so great that people can’t help but sing your praises. Provide a product and an experience that is so awesome that Susan feels better about herself when she can recommend you to Jane - knowing that Jane will be just as impressed as Susan was.
How do you get word of mouth marketing for your brand?
LISTEN - Let’s start with discovering what they are saying now. Are they talking about you? What are they saying? Is it accurate? Many organizations think that they are a well kept secret. If the world just knew they existed then people would be climbing over each other for the opportunity to buy. This consumer insight is the crucial foundation for all else.
ADVOCATES - Once you have started listening, you will find the people that truly love your product. They are your advocates, your loyal fans, the true supporters. What are they saying? What is it that is so appealing for them? What do they all have in common, other than you? This goes beyond just demographics - know their interests, hopes and dreams. Once you have identified any commonality then it will be easier to know how to motivate them to be even bigger evangelists.
MOTIVATE - How can you drive more talk about your brand? Maybe you need to change the conversation. This may come as a pretty big shock but offering a “Buy 15, Get 1 Free” promotion is most definitely not going to inspire the level of brand loyalty and product advocacy that you are looking for. How do you engage your advocates? Be interested in what they are interested in. Seek their opinion in how to make your product better. Everyone wants to be special - how can you get them invested in your success?
When your consumers are motivated and feel like they are a part of your brand, then they will truly be advocates on your behalf. That is when they will pay to wear your logo. That is when they take it personally if someone isn’t using your product. That is when true brand loyalty has developed.
But it all starts with you. What about your product or service is so great that it will inspire your buyers to become rabid fans? Once you have that, then the rest is just following the steps.
Each of the spots are embedded next to the poll and available for viewing in case you don’t remember them by their title. Although there are a few standouts Dove “Real Beauty” and Honda “Cog”, judging by this list, it would appear that there weren’t that many groundbreaking commercials during the past ten years.
What do you think? Please click here and let your voice be heard.
Years ago I read that a study about people affected by a great life change. There were two groups. One was composed of people that had suffered a great tragedy - severe illness, crippling injury or a family death. The other filled with people who had received a great financial windfall - won the lottery or inherited a fortune.
Their lives before and after the ‘great life change’ were examined.
I read the article a few years ago and I don’t remember all of the details, but the part that really stuck with me was the conclusion.
The people that were happy before the tragic life change became happy again.
Interestingly enough, the people that were unhappy before receiving a great financial windfall where unhappy again shortly after.
Stephen Covey calls it “taking your weather with you”.
I’m sure you have heard the saying that ‘20% of your consumers generate 80% of your profits’. I think it ranks up there with the old adage ‘half of my advertising is wasted, just wish I knew what half’ as a ‘truth’ in the advertising world.
Best Buy believes in focusing on the more profitable consumers and a few years ago reorganized their stores and their marketing when they unveiled their Customer-Centric model, increased profits and finally owned the #1 market share position over Circuit City.
What Best Buy learned, and evolved to take advantage of, is that brands can attract relational consumers instead of transactional consumers if they want to.
Why should you care about relational v transactional consumers? Well, as Seth Godin explains, some people are better than others. Some consumers are more profitable. Some consumers are better consumers.
What do you do about it? How do you attract more relational and more importantly discourage the transactional? Quite simply focus on it. Change the Conversation. Develop an emotional connection so that price is 2nd fiddle to value. Speak to the relational consumers - build the relationship with them one act at a time.
Most importantly stop appealing to the transactional consumers. Discount offers. Coupons. This is like catnip to the transactional consumers.
If you don’t want them - and trust me, you don’t - then don’t put that bait on your hook.
The first and best answer to the question, “How do you get them to buy more of your stuff?” is to have better stuff. Seriously.
If you are selling the same product or service as everyone else then why wouldn’t the consumer buy from someone else?
Invest more money in research and development. Find a way to do it better. Then you won’t have to work so hard to sell it. If you build something that people want (or at least think they can’t live without), then they will be waiting in line to buy it (see iphone for further proof of this concept).
Once you have developed something that actually improves your consumer’s life, or at least they think it does, then you should turn to marketing.
You will will sell more when you start with consumer insight - indentify the pain you can cure and then develop the product. You will be more successful when you begin with the end in mind and look to the consumers first.
If you start by developing a product and then look to see who can buy it, you will spend that much more money and time than if you just started by making something people want to buy.
If you truly want to develop an emotional connection with your consumers and then change the conversation, you need to engage in a conversation with them and ask what they need. This way, you can grow your brand with less missteps.
I am sure you are no longer shocked or surprised when a publication announces that it is closing. The shutting down of daily newspapers has become a monthly occurence.
But I don’t think anyone was expecting to see Conde Nast close Gourmet magazine, as well as three other titles (Elegant Bride, Modern Bride, Cookie). After an almost 70 year run as the pre-eminent foodie and good living publication, Gourmet was thought to be a niche pub with a loyal following that could withstand the storm.
So, if daily newspapers continue to fold and niche publications are being discontinued, is it time to believe the predictions of last year that print is dead?
Why haven’t any of the publishers been able to leverage an online model that provides the kind of revenue stream that can turn them into viable businesses again?
We’ve all heard the statistic that the average person is inundated with 3000 - 5000 advertising messages per day.
And now with all of the new channels that social media has introduced that number will only get higher.
Luckily, there is incredible research being done and the findings might be able to help marketers cut through that clutter.
Researchers at Louisiana Tech are utilizing the neuron cap (pictured above) to test the brain’s response to stimuli. Specifically how the brain responds to the same images that are often repeated and then the brain’s response when a different image is introduced.
I was able to take a tour of their lab last week and the results so far are pretty impressive. Their work is an effort geared towards epilepsy and the control of seizures.
But I think that the application for advertising is significant. As I watched the test subject’s brain waves became very passive as the same images were shown over and over again (just like yours with the same advertising messages over and over) but when a different image was introduced, the brain waves became active and the subject was engaged.
The response wasn’t just about being different. The “different” images that were introduced would keep the attention for varying lengths, based on the relevancy of the image/message.
When an emotional connection can be formed, the mind is engaged and that will drive action. This level of consumer insight can be phenomenal. The possibilities are staggering - different messages based on psychographic and demographic profiles with true responses, not just what someone thinks they like or don’t like.
Interesting, isn’t it. To be able to utilize studies like this to research campaigns and determine if the message will resonate - seems a lot stronger than what we can learn from just a focus group.
Razor Branding Blog specifically focuses on insight and guidance for CEOs and CMOs with regards to branding strategies for their companies.
Although the following video is more geared for the media industry, I thought it was applicable and more importantly pretty funny. I hope you enjoy it.
Habit 6 Synergize is all about working in teams and utilizing collaborative decision making skills. When the team is synergizing, then effective problem solving will include valuing each other’s differences. With synergy, the team can build upon divergent strengths while leveraging creative collaboration which will result in innovation. Basically, the result of the teamwork will exceed the sum of what each of the team members could have achieved on their own. ”The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
From a branding perspective, Habit 6 Synergy is really about finding new solutions to old problems. If there is one industry that needs some new solutions, it is most definitely branding. Synergy is the process that companies must use to make that happen.
When everyone from the team brings their personal experience and expertise to the table while taking into consideration the consumer insights, that is when the right solution will evolve. The core of branding is discovery. Discovering who the target consumer is and what will create the emotional connection that will drive them to act.
By working together and appreciating the differences of the team, the differences of the consumer will also be recognized. No longer is it about just a broad demographic category that lumps disparate people into a bucket with a label. Instead the psychographic profile can be examined and the differences and be appreciated.
Differences are strengths, not weaknesses - and synergy recognizes that.
Razor Branding Blog
