Emotions and Marketing.
Customers think with both their rational and emotional brains. Study after study says that when we buy, it’s for emotional reasons. Logic comes into play when we try to justify the money we (or are about to) spend — especially when we’re giving into our wants. This is why it’s important to understand the psychology of messaging.
Here is what one Psychology Today article says about our shopping habits.
- fMRI neuro-imagery shows that when evaluating brands, consumers primarily use emotions (personal feelings and experiences) rather than information (brand attributes, features, objective facts).
- Advertising research reveals that emotional responses to an ad has greater influence on a consumer’s intent to buy an ad (more so than the ad’s content).
- According to the Advertising Research Foundation, ‘likeability’ is the measure that best predicts whether an advertisement will increase a brand’s sales.
- Positive emotions toward a brand have far greater influence on consumer loyalty than trust and other judgments.
- Emotions are one reason why we gravitate toward brand name products over generics — big brands pump a steady stream of advertising dollars into branding initiatives.
“Using emotion in marketing takes your business to the next level. It creates a connection with your audience that content itself cannot achieve.” Mary Cushen
Harnessing the Power of Emotions.
If we can harness the power of emotions, you can connect with customers on a whole new level. Therefore, their trust in you grows stronger and you will have less challenges from people on the value of your brand.
Positive Emotions = Long-Term ROI
Emotions are the key drivers behind our everyday decisions. They’re what keep us motivated to get up and go to work at 6 AM. Similarly, emotions are what convince us to do business with the brands that stand out to us. However, the problem is that most marketers are on a completely different wavelength.
Research your ideal client, find out what makes them happy and link in to the emotion. Create a message that initiates happiness.
You need to prioritise long-term relationships above sales.
Visual communication is the heart of online marketing. One way to harness the senses is to appeal to your audience’s imagination. Help them imagine an experience with your company’s products or services.
For instance, sound. Talk to your customers by producing a branded explainer video or by hosting a webinar. You don’t need to create something expensive or overly complicated, either. You just need to create that connection and build the emotion.
Brand Personality
A personality is something that we usually give our friends, family members, co-workers and acquaintances. These are qualities that form a person’s distinctive character. Personalities are in the eye of the beholder. We love people because of their personalities. However, we hate people because of their personalities. We find some personalities wonderful; and others, we find horribly obnoxious.
It’s weird to think that brands can have a personality. Yet, we talk about ‘brand personalities’ all the time. The personality of a entrepreneurs or small business comes from the people that run it. The main reason why YOU need to be seen.
Avoiding Cheesiness
Emotions can easily transition from effective to downright cheesy. It’s a fine line. One moment, your brand is doing a great job building a rapport. The next moment, audiences are making fun of your company’s over-the-top marketing message.
How can you avoid this?
- Embrace honesty within your organisation. In other words, make it easy for your team to deliver blunt and honest perspectives.
- Collect feedback from a variety of audiences. Focus on your ideal client but remember, your message will be seen by others so assess how it makes them feel.
- Cheesiness is in the eye of the beholder. The best way to connect with your audience is to put your marketing head in their shoes.
The Unspoken Power of Delight.
Delight is a force that is infinitely more powerful than any marketing message. The experience of watching a toddler use a smartphone for the first time. What happens when you walk into your favourite coffee shop (after a tough day) and they present you with your normal coffee. It’s when your favourite store surprises you with overnight shipping.
Some leaders stereotype delight as something fluffy. The thing is, it’s not. It ties directly into your company’s bottom line. We know that delight influences sales. It’s a waste of time to chase numbers and micromanage the details. Focus on growing your business by creating delightful brand experiences.
By definition, delight is a nebulous concept. This may pose a problem. The finance logic in you might guess your pitches around the topic. The sales and marketing in you might be on board. When creating your strategy, you need to distil your goals into a set of tangible steps.
To achieve delight, you need to look at your end-to-end processes. How do you deal with your prospects, your clients or past clients? Do you keep it personal? Are you making sure they are feeling valued throughout the process? Delight is achieved by treating every one as an individual. Taking time to get to know their needs and wishes. Asking for feedback to enhance the experience.
“A business that never changes will never achieve delight.” Mary Cushen.
Overwhelmed by psychology? Not sure how to add emotion in to your message without sounding cheesy?
As with everything, it requires skill and patience to craft the perfect message. In other words, it may take many revisions to get it just right. As odd as it sounds, that is a good thing. It means you are dedicated to find the right message, not just any message. Understanding the basics of psychology will help you create a message that not only inspires your audience, but connects with them on an emotional level too.
I’m a business consulting, focusing on processes, people and systems. I love guiding and training people to success. Showing them the art of doing something extraordinary. Letting them see their full potential.
If you would like a complimentary 30-minute chat to discuss how I could help you move forward, feel free to get in touch with any questions you may have.
Photo by Austin Chan on Unsplash
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