The goal of any brand’s marketing should be creating emotions that make it either aspirational or habitual. Focusing only on selling a product is insanely a short-term goal.
Legendary brands prepare their marketing campaign that hits people psychologically. They might have struggled hard to do so, but in the end, people are more likely to engage with them because they stimulate the feeling of achievement. Brands that are always trying to earn money by making one more sale to one more customer find it hard to sail their ship for long.
Brands that add values
I am not talking about trying to sell your product in ways that feel false or manufactured. But if you can’t bring real emotions to your brand, you are less likely to win your customer’s confidence. Emotions are backed by stories that make people think. Give it a thought, a brand/product you always aspire for, probably have never asked you directly to buy their products. They have researched their customer’s problems well, which is a problem that perhaps their customers aren’t even aware of. The story weaved around it makes you think about it.
Marketing Around Products
Businesses initially can start by using your products/ services as vehicles for showing their values.
For example, an electronic brand launched its “Disruptor Pack” pack that had an air purifier, in addition to other items such as an electric tea kettle, pet leash and natural cleaning products etc. This pack gave a better value proposition of high quality products to people who did not want to spend a lot on the products individually.
These days almost every brand have started creating values beyond their products or services. They do this by enhancing customer’s experience. A customized note with every delivery, personalized discounts as gratitude of loyalty, grievance handling and many other ways can leave long lasting impact on customer’s memory. Brands that care about their customer’s concern are more likely to retain them for long.
A brand should either be in their customer’s habits or aspirations
Although both habit and aspiration are hard to quantify simply, but they can fuel up a business’ sales figures for a way longer duration than a sale-driven marketing campaign can.
It takes patience and perseverance to succeed on this path, but you can eventually win loyalty, trust, and engagements with customers. If your customers use your products frequently, your marketing should make your brand their habit. If customers use your product only once in a while (or probably once in a lifetime), your marketing should revolve around making them aspire to your products more.
In order to develop a vision that position your brand as a habit or aspiration, here are 5 question that can give food for your thoughts:
- What exactly is your customer’s problem
- Are they aware about this problem or a realization is needed
- How frequently your customers deal with you
- How long your customer takes to decide
- What are their major influential factors
Size of business doesn’t matter
No matter what size a business is, the only thing that qualifies them is their long-term vision and capability to scale. A single social media post also defines how you position your brand. Your logo, tag line, color schemes, website copy, everything defines your aura.
With a company that has a purpose, you are actively creating a habit that your customers will follow and get engaged. This will make a difference between the happy to deal with customers and those that just want to take the money.
Aim for longer relationship
Authenticity is the key to generating a real relationship with your potential customers. No one wants to be sold to, and most people are wary of feeling as if they have been marketed to. This is why we see a dramatic increase in subscription-based business. People love subscribing to content rather than being bombarded with offers. Trust is the hallmark of a great brand, and when your customers feel connected to your brand, it is the result of authenticity and reflection of what your marketing has conveyed to them.