-
5 Ways Buyer Personas Can Improve Your Sales & Marketing Efforts
As third-party data becomes less and less available, personas provide you with the best way to target and convert customers.
As a business owner or marketer, it’s essential to understand your target audience in order to effectively reach and engage with them. One of the best ways to do this is by creating buyer personas.
Before developing products, a brand or a digital marketing strategy, buyer personas should be created to ensure that your design, strategy and products will meet the needs of your target audience.
For existing brands, buyer personas should be incorporated and updated as part of your innovation and growth strategies especially as third-party data becomes less and less accessible.
What is a buyer persona?
A buyer persona is a detailed profile of your ideal customers that includes demographic information, but also their sources of inspiration, values, favourite brands, problems and other details about their lifestyle.
A buyer persona is a fictional character that you use as strategic inspiration. Yes, personas are your marketing muses!
Buyer personas help you tailor your marketing efforts, product development, and sales strategies to meet the needs and wants of your customers. This can lead to increased customer satisfaction and loyalty and improved ROI on marketing and sales efforts.
It’s helpful to have multiple buyer personas, for example, if the end-user of your product or service needs the approval of other decision-makers before purchase, each individual involved in that process is a separate persona.
Based on the hierarchy, there will be different criteria for evaluating your product, and you’ll need different strategies to address those needs.
You can use your customer data and marketing research to develop your personas.
Here are five ways buyer personas can increase your ROI:
#1 Customised and Personalised Marketing Campaigns
Buyer personas help you understand the specific needs and desires of your target audience without the “we’ll just blast out the same message to everyone” or “let’s try this and see if it works” approach to marketing which can waste time and money. By creating detailed profiles of your ideal customers, you can tailor your marketing efforts to better reach and engage with them based on their preferences.
For example, suppose you know that your target audience is primarily made up of busy working parents. In that case, you can create content and campaigns that speak directly to their pain points and offer solutions that fit into their busy lifestyles.
Never listen to a marketer who says “I know what to do” and applies a standard formula to your business—or worse an ad agency who charges you premium but does not know your customers.
Strategy should always be developed aftermarket and customer research has been conducted and you’ve developed your persons.
#2 Product & Service Innovation
Creating buyer personas also helps inform product development. By understanding the specific needs and wants of your target audience, you can create products and services that directly meet those needs. This can lead to increased customer satisfaction and loyalty, as well as improved sales and revenue.
Why? Because selling something that solves a problem or satisfies a need is a lot easier than selling a “just another one of…” The best brands solve problems because they understand their customers on a deeper level.
#3 Higher Conversion Rates
By empathising with your customers to understand the specific pain points and needs of your target audience, you can create sales pitches and strategies that speak directly to those needs. This can lead to increased conversions and revenue.
Remember, like I just said, the best products and services solve a problem. And communicating the solution is your best strategy.
#4 Increased ROI on Marketing and Sales Efforts
With a deep understanding of your target audience and creating tailored marketing and sales strategies, you can reach and engage with your ideal customers more effectively, leading to improved conversions and revenue.
That’s right, the better the understanding of your customer the better your marketing expense-to-sales ratio!
Note: Your job isn’t to tell people what they need, but rather to show them that your products and services offer an easy solution.
#5 Superior Customer Service
When your customers feel seen, heard, understood and delighted, they tell their friends and family. They sell your business for you!
Understanding your customers by developing buyer personas can also help you provide better customer service—the best way to retain your current customers. By understanding the specific needs and wants of your target audience, you can create tailored customer service experiences that meet those needs, leading to increased customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Despite our digital world, word-of-mouth still results in the highest rates of conversion.
In conclusion, creating buyer personas is an essential step for any business that wants to understand its target audience and create effective marketing, product development, and sales strategies.Plus, it saves you money and time.
By understanding the specific needs and wants of your ideal customers, you can reach and engage with them more effectively, leading to improved conversions and revenue.
I’m here to help! Get in touch today to discuss how to use your data to meet your sales & marketing goals!
-
2023’s Marketing Must-Haves
Don’t Get Left Behind!
One of the reasons I love marketing so much is that it’s one of the fastest-changing industries.
To work in marketing requires you to constantly uplevel your skills, knowledge, and strategy just to keep up with current trends—never mind what’s brewing for the future!
Rather than focus on the biggest trends of 2023, let’s focus on what will be the most important for you to adopt in your business right now, this year.
If you haven’t already implemented these aspects, get in touch and I’ll help you integrate these practices into your marketing strategy today.
Here are 2023’s most significant marketing trends. Make sure your business is keeping up!
#1 Personalisation
Personalized marketing—which involves tailoring marketing messages and tactics to individual customers—is crucial to not only acquisition but retention. This is expected to become even more important in the coming years as customers continue to be bombarded from all angles.
Personalisation can be achieved through the use of data and technology, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to understand what your customers want more of and how to ensure you are providing the solution.
#2 Artificial intelligence and machine learning
Harness the technological advancements and automate, automate, automate. These technologies are becoming increasingly prevalent in marketing, and are expected to play a bigger role in the future.
AI can be used to analyze customer data and help companies create more personalized marketing campaigns, while machine learning can be used to optimize and improve marketing tactics.
AI is a win-win for all departments as it can alleviate task-based work and create more space for innovation.
#3 Video content
Video content, including live video and video ads, has become increasingly popular in recent years and is expected to continue to grow in importance.
This is due in part to the popularity of social media platforms, but also to customers wanting content provided in a visual and audible format.
#4 Influencer marketing
Influencer marketing, which involves partnering with social media influencers to promote products or services, is expected to continue to be an important part of the marketing mix in the coming years.
Influencers create trust and there is no better way to tap into an existing, engaged audience than by partnering with influencers.
#5 Interactive content
Interactive content, such as quizzes, polls, and games, is an effective way to engage and connect with customers.
This type of content is expected to become more popular as companies look for new ways to stand out, further build relationships with their customers and find clever and engaging ways to gather useful data.
#6 Customer experience
Customer experience is the most important strategy you should adopt. Companies focused on positive experiences for their customers at every touchpoint, from their first interaction with a brand to post-purchase follow-up, will become the industry leaders.
People are time-poor and want simple, easy pleasurable experiences. Competition is fierce. unless their experience with your brand leaves them feeling better, they will move on and find another solution.
#7 Social responsibility
Consumers are increasingly interested in supporting brands that align with their values and are socially responsible.
As a result, companies are expected to focus more on corporate social responsibility and sustainability in their marketing efforts and actively demonstrate how they are caring for their customers, employees, and the planet.
#8 Omnichannel marketing
Omnichannel marketing, which involves reaching customers through a variety of channels, including email, social media, and in-person events, is expected to continue to grow in importance. This approach helps companies create a cohesive and consistent experience for their customers across all channels.
These are just a few of the most significant marketing must-haves for 2023.
It’s important to keep in mind that marketing is constantly evolving and for your business to stay up-to-date and adjust your marketing strategy accordingly.
I’m here to help! Get in touch today to discuss how to use your data to meet your marketing goals!
-
7 Ways Market Research Benefits Your Business
Market research is often overlooked, but it’s the only way to know for sure what is best for your business. Here are 7 ways market research benefits you:
1. Competitive Edge
Understanding your competitors is an important facet of market research. If what they’re doing is working, you want to know why. If it isn’t, you’ll want to avoid making those same mistakes. On top of that, you can find dissatisfied customers who have had a bad experience with a different business and then learn from that mistake without making it on your own.
It also gives you the information you need to highlight your differentiators—the special sauce that gives your business an edge. Ensuring that what makes your business unique is communicated will draw customers to you.
2. Test Your Product Prior to Launch
Before pouring your hard-earned savings into your idea, startup or new product/service, you’ll want to make sure that it’s going to succeed. Market research allows you to find out if there’s a need for your product or service, and to create buyer personas before launch. Aligning your new product or service with the correct audience is THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP when it comes to marketing and sales.
You’ll also be able to find opportunities for add-ons and upgrades. What feature is your product or service missing? Can you either bundle it into your standard price or offer it as an additional item? There’s even a chance you might be able to create a mutually beneficial partnership with another company if your goals are aligned.
3. Set Realistic Financial or Sales Goals
It’s easy to come up with goals like, “I want to double our sales from this year,” or “I want to expand to two more locations,” but do you know if they’re actually achievable? Researching what the market looks like gives you the best picture of what success will really look like.
Make sure your goals are specific enough that you can find data to support their plausibility and realistic enough that you can tackle them thoughtfully. After all, if you find out that your city is uninterested in your product, but the next town over is begging for it, you might take a different approach than you would have without conducting any market research.
4. Identify Problems
As you grow into a bigger, different company, you may find yourself dealing with new problems. Whether that’s managing a more extensive website or supplying customer service to more people, you need to anticipate that change.
With market research, you can anticipate challenges before they happen. If you learn of complaints or failures you can make an effort to correct those mistakes. The same is true of branding errors: a great product that doesn’t fit your brand may come across as dishonest or pandering. You’ll only know if you put in the work to uncover how your audience will feel.
5. Hone Your Message
A common mistake, especially among younger business owners, is trying to do too much, too quickly. All the ideas you want to implement may be fantastic, but make sure to research to see if they’re actually being sought.
The features and benefits of your company should be clear and designed to directly solve your customers’ problems. Buzzwords, vague statements, and phrases that don’t really mean anything will make it more difficult for people to trust your brand. Be specific, be concise, and tell them that your company is the one they should choose. Your message needs to align with your buyer persona.
6. Identify your target audience and market size
Make sure your sample size is representative of the audience you are targeting. You need to test the demographic you will sell to. This means there should be enough respondents in the research sample that reflect, as accurately as possible, the larger target audience population.
And in order to create your ideal buyer personas, you’ll need to understand who your target audience is, what they need and how you solve their problems with your products and services. Understanding their pain points, challenges and problems and how your problems solve these is the best way to ensure you’ll have success.
7. Measure & report your results
If you want to scale your business and continue to innovate your products and services, then you’ll need consistent methods put in place to measure your success. Marketers refer to this as ROI and accountants refer to this as revenue—but the real questions are how do you measure your customer satisfaction rates (both quantitatively and qualitatively)? Are you meeting your customer’s needs, are you surpassing their expectations, and how can you provide better services to meet those needs or address additional challenges?
If you can find a way to measure those questions, you’ll have data that you can use to further innovate your business. You can also flip it around and innovate how your business operates to better serve your customers and save costs, but I find it helps to start with the customer.
The more information you can gather about your customers, the more you can innovate and scale your business. Apple didn’t stop with a computer. Telsa didn’t stop with a car. Your business needs to measure success to innovate, scale and build.
Find out how I can help you with market research here or book in for a free consultation below.
If you need help with your market research, book in for a free consultation HERE.
-
Creating a Culture That Drives Innovation
The secret to innovation? Your workplace culture!
Innovation equals survival. Those who are agile and adaptive survive. Those who see the threats before they arrive thrive.
It’s well documented that in this age of widespread disruption, companies must innovate continuously, creating new markets, experiences, products, services, content or processes. So how can leaders encourage innovation? It’s more than recruiting the brightest minds. While having the best talent is clearly an asset, people need the right culture to flourish.
A culture of equality—the same kind of workplace environment that helps everyone advance to higher positions—is a powerful multiplier of innovation and growth. This means that building a culture of equality is not just an ethical imperative, but a business priority. If organisations want to thrive, they have to “get to equal.”
The power of a workplace culture of equality to drive employees’ innovation mindset—their willingness and ability to innovate—is strong. It has more impact than age or gender and leads to an increase in innovation mindset in all industries and all countries. In fact, innovation mindset is six times higher in the most-equal cultures than in the least-equal ones.
Innovation also equals economic potential. Among the more than 18,000 employees in 27 countries surveyed, we found that people are more willing and able to innovate in faster-growing economies and in geographies with higher labour-productivity growth. And the stakes are enormous:
It’s calculated that global gross domestic product would increase by up to US$8 trillion by 2028 if innovation mindset in all countries were raised by 10 percent.
No matter who or where they are, if people feel a sense of belonging and are valued by their employers for their unique contributions, perspectives and circumstances, they are empowered to innovate more.
What does a culture of innovation feel like?
Bold Leadership = A diverse leadership team that sets, shares and measures equality targets openly.
Empowering Environment = One that trusts employees, respects individuals and offers freedom to be creative and to train and work flexibly.
Comprehensive Action = Policies and practices that are family-friendly, support all genders and are bias-free in attracting and retaining people.
What is an innovation mindset?
Innovation mindset is a new way to measure an individual’s ability and willingness to innovate. It is enabled by six key elements. The more strongly a person agrees that these elements apply, the higher their innovation mindset score.
As culture improves, innovation mindset improves. For every 10 percent improvement in culture factors, innovation mindset increases by 10.6 percent. The change is underpinned by all three pillars of our workplace culture-of-equality factors, but it’s the empowerment factors that have the strongest impact.
Innovation mindset is six times higher in the most-equal cultures than in the least-equal ones. The six elements of an innovation mindset are:
- Purpose
Alignment around and support for the purpose of the organisation. - Autonomy
Being shown a clear mandate for change—and being trusted to follow through. - Resources
Having the tools, time and incentives necessary to innovate. - Inspiration
Tapping into inspiration from beyond the organisation. - Collaboration
Working with other departments or in fluid, cross-function teams. - Experimentation
Experimenting with new ideas quickly without fear of failure.
Leadership Disconnect
Nearly everyone wants—and needs—to innovate. Ninety-five percent of business leaders see innovation as vital to competitiveness and business viability, and 91 percent of employees want to be innovative.
But while 76 percent of leaders say they regularly empower employees to be innovative, only 42 percent of employees agree.
Why such a disconnect? It seems that leaders mistakenly believe that some encourage innovation more than they actually do. For instance, they overestimate financial rewards (which are nevertheless still important) and underestimate purpose as a motivator to innovate.
In fact, the impact of improving culture on innovation mindset is 42 times greater than the impact of increasing salary.
When it comes to driving innovation, increasing pay is considerably less effective than bolstering a more-equal culture. Percent increase in innovation mindset of a 10% increase in pay vs. a 10% increase in workplace culture factors.
Having employees with an advanced degree or who have studied a STEM subject at college has a less-powerful impact on workers’ willingness and ability to innovate than culture factors do.
What is it about a culture of equality that matters most to innovation?
Again, a culture of equality is anchored by three pillars: An Empowering Environment (one that trusts employees, respects individuals and offers freedom to be creative and to train and work flexibly), Bold Leadership (a diverse leadership team that sets, shares and measures equality targets openly), and Comprehensive Action (policies and practices that are family-friendly, support all genders and are biasfree in attracting and retaining people).
It turns out that of those three, an Empowering Environment is by far the most important when it comes to enabling innovation. In fact, eight of the 10 strongest factors underpinning innovation are about empowerment.
Ready to build a culture of equality where people can thrive and create? Companies should have an inclusion and diversity (I&D) strategy in place, one that is aligned with the overall business plan. An I&D strategy will form a critical foundation on which leaders can take action and drive progress.
Here we’ve identified complementary drivers of a culture of equality and of an innovation mindset to help you focus your efforts. The three broad recommendations reinforce each other in a virtuous circle, meaning that their impact as a whole is greater than the sum of their parts. Leaders should keep in mind that some actions have a particularly strong effect on an innovation mindset.
Training, greater flexibility and commitment to work-life balance are the most powerful drivers of an innovation mindset. This area is where there is the greatest opportunity for impact, as it accounts for 70 percent of innovation mindset gains. Employees are empowered by a shared sense of purpose, paired with autonomy, which helps them reach their individual potential.
- Get clear on purpose:
Ensure that employees know the purpose of their organisation and how their work aligns with it. - Fiercely promote flexible working:
Have the leadership team set a positive example around work-life balance. Use technology to enable people to have more say over where, when and how they work. - Train effectively:
Offer employees engaging and flexible training programs so they can acquire skills for the future. - Let people be themselves:
Don’t ask them to conform when it comes to appearance; encourage inclusion in every way.
Bold Leadership + Experimentation + Resources
Culture starts at the top. Setting and publishing diversity targets, holding the leadership team accountable and measuring progress are critical steps. Leaders must give employees the resources they need to innovate and the freedom to fail.
- Prioritise diversity and equality:
Establish diversity, equal pay and advancement goals. - Encourage risk-taking:
Ensure that employees know they have the freedom to experiment and help them learn from their failures. - Set up to innovate:
Design in the necessary time, space, resource and technologies needed to innovate and continually encourage and reward innovation. - Make leaders accountable:
Track progress, make leaders accountable.
The 40 factors that create a culture of equality:
- Gender diversity is a priority for management
- A diversity target or goal is shared outside the organisation
- The organisation clearly states gender pay gap goals and ambitions
- Progress on gender diversity is measured and shared with employees
- Leaders are held accountable for improving gender diversity
- A diversity target or goal is shared inside the organisation
- The leadership team is diverse
- Progress has been made in attracting, retaining and progressing women
- The company has a women’s network open only to women
- The company has a women’s network that is open to both women and men
- Men are encouraged to take parental leave
- Employees trust that the organisation pays women and men equally for the same work
- The proportion of women in senior leadership has increased over the last five years
- The organisation is fully committed to hiring, progressing and retaining women
- Progress has been made in improving gender equality in senior leadership
- There is a clear maternity policy in place
- Women are encouraged to take maternity leave
- There is a clear parental policy in place
- The organisation hires people from a variety of backgrounds
- Leaders take action to get more women into senior roles
- Employees have never been asked to change their appearance to conform to company culture
- Employees have the freedom to be creative and innovative
- Virtual/remote working is widely available and is common practice
- The organisation provides training to keep its employees’ skills relevant
- Employees can avoid overseas or long-distance travel via virtual meetings
- Employees can work from home on a day when they have a personal commitment
- Employees are comfortable reporting sexual discrimination/harassment incident(s) to the company
- Employees feel trusted and are given responsibility
- Employees have the freedom to be themselves at work
- Leadership has a positive attitude toward failure
- Leaders set a positive example around work-life balance
- Networking events with company leaders take place during office hours
- Employees can decline a request to work late without negative consequences
- Employees can decline a request to attend early morning/late-evening meetings without negative consequences
- Sexual discrimination/harassment is not tolerated
- The company has made progress in reducing tolerance of sex discrimination or gender-biased language
- Company training times and formats are flexible
- Supervisors respond favourably to flexible working requests
- The organisation respects employees’ needs to balance work with other commitments
- The organisation has made progress on building a workplace where no one feels excluded
- Purpose
-
Welcome to the Future: Nordstrom Co-Creates Activewear with their Customers
Before I left the US for Australia in 2007, Nordstrom was one of my favourite brands and one of the companies I purchased from on a regular basis (the other being Zappos). I loved online shopping and Nordstrom made it easy and fun – easy to buy, easy to receive, fun collections to browse and easy to return. And they didn’t hesitate to throw in free gifts and show me how grateful they were for my loyalty. I felt heard, seen, appreciated and respected so I shopped with them.
And in keeping with their commitment to providing a superior customer experience, they have listened and learned from their customers to form Project 18, an invite-only group of 800+ of their most engaged customers in Los Angeles co-creating new offerings. This group helped build one of the newest lines for one of their Nordstrom Made brands that recently launched, the Zella Community Collection.
Customer-centric, location inspired – Nordstrom started the creative process by inviting around 100 of the Project 18 community members to build the collection. It was a diverse group who all shared a passion for fashion and an active lifestyle. The design team met with them to gather feedback on each piece to make sure what they created was reflective of what they were looking for in an activewear collection.
Nordstrom provided the initial product ideas and then worked in close collaboration with the members on features such as pockets, length, zipper placement, colours, fabrication and more. Member feedback also validated their hypotheses that selection, convenience and service on their terms was important.
The collaboration was far more than just a focus group – there were numerous iterations with the members to ensure everyone remained aligned. Members also had the chance to test the products during workouts and provided additional feedback to ensure everything looked, felt and performed well.
This partnership with customers culminated in a collection featuring nine styles across activewear apparel and accessories available in multiple colours, which are inspired by the landscape of Los Angeles with pale pinks, greys and blues as the anchoring colour themes of the assortment. An added bonus for the eco-conscious: all of the pieces are made from recycled polyester.
By partnering with customers to create an assortment that is reflective of what they’re looking for in an activewear brand Nordstrom redefined what it means to be customer-centric.
-
2019 Customer Experience (CX) Trends
Customers still want the same things: simplicity, convenience, and personalisation—but the way in which these expectations are being met grows increasingly sophisticated. These were the top CX trends for 2019.
1. Omnichannel the Customer’s Way
A few years ago, tying together various channels to create one unified customer experience was considered disruptive. Today, it’s a differentiator. Offering omnichannel services that are tailored to customers’ specific needs and preferences give a brand a competitive advantage.
Leading brands are:
– Enabling real-time data synchronisation across channels.
– A banking customer, for example, could begin filling out an application online and complete it at a bank branch, over the phone, or another channel without starting from the beginning.
– Facilitating various methods of fulfilment, such as buy-online-pickup-in-store (BOPIS), buy-online-return-in-store (BORIS) and buy-online-ship-to-store (BOSS).
– Investing in the infrastructure and logistics to allow buyers and consumers to track shipments at any point in the supply chain, anytime, anywhere.
9% of customers who use four or more channels spend 9% more than single-channel shoppers.
2. Prioritising Data Privacy
As more people welcome voice assistants into their home and office, brands need to think about how they’ll connect with consumers in a way that’s authentic but not intrusive.
Giving users the option of personalising voice assistants —enabling the assistant to recommend in-network doctors or nearby clinics, for example—will transition assistants from being just a device to an integral tool in people’s lives.
At the same time, the security of emerging voice assistants and active listening technologies are under increasing scrutiny and may face restrictions that could impede further development.
Despite the growth of the connected market, reports show that 41 percent of Australians are more concerned about cybersecurity than last year and 61 percent are concerned about their private information being exposed online, up five percent from the previous year.
At the end of June 2018, it is estimated that 1.5 million Australian households owned a smart speaker. It was less than 10,000 in 2016. That figure should hit 3 million by 2022.
3. Supporting an IoT world
In an increasingly IoT world, artificially intelligent devices are beginning to act on behalf of human customers. What happens when the customer is a machine?
From cars and refrigerators to smart speakers, more and more devices are acting on behalf of humans.
Google is allowing certain Pixel phones to make Duplex AI voice calls, such as to book a table at a restaurant.
HP’s “Instant Ink” service automatically orders ink when it senses a shortage, and LG has created appliances that can communicate with each other.
In fact, 85% of consumers say they already use at least one of six devices or services (e.g. navigation apps, music streaming, virtual assistant) that feature artificial intelligence, according to a Gallup poll.
By 2020, 5% of all digital commerce transactions will come from a smart machine.
4. Balancing humanity and automation
Sensors, cameras, and algorithms are altering customer interactions with human staff. More companies are using digital technology to automate tasks previously handled by humans and speed up transactions.
Amazon has opened a handful of cashier-less stores and is considering opening as many as 3,000 such stores by 2021.
Insurance companies are deploying drones for damage inspections and fraud monitoring.
As traditional roles get automated, consider whether customers would value speaking with associates in other roles, such as nutrition experts or insurance specialists for nuanced situation.
Drones could replace $127 billion worth of human labour and services across several industries over the next few years.
Tips for companies who want to create customer-centric cultures:
– Quick CX wins don’t work long0term. To stay ahead of the competition, truly customer-centric organisations must commit to a long-term transformation. Customer experience is not a department – it has to be a way of thinking. Leaders can promote this notion with accountability systems that tie rewards and compensation to the customer experience.
– CEOS must take responsibility to CX. 42% of CEOs whose companies have a digital initiative underway indicated culture to focus on CX changes are necessary versus 37% of CEOs without a digital initiative, reported Gartner. CEOs need to make the culture of their companies more proactive, collaborative, innovative, empowered, and customer-centric.
– Ensure employees have the necessary talent, knowledge, and mindset to drive transformation and in light of the skills gap in technology, invest in re-skilling and retraining programs. A lack of available or appropriately-skilled personnel are one of the largest obstacles to digital transformation, according to industry reports.
– AI integration becomes the norm as customers expect support services to be available anytime, anywhere, and from multiple channels. To keep up with demand, companies are doubling down on automation, AI, and knowledge tools to help associates increase efficiencies, reduce costs, and improve the customer experience.
This information was gathered from CX Trends, 2019 Edition by ttec.
-
The Power of Stories
Stories are powerful. They allow us to experience and feel, to empathise and engage with the subject. Emotions create connections. A story gives your brand context, differentiation, value and meaning.
Context paints a picture. It provides facts, conveys feeling, provides interpretations and understanding. This establishes how people perceive your brand.
Differentiation is the defining factor. How is your brand different from other brands? Difference gives people a reason to choose your brand.
Value is priceless – but we’re not talking about money, we’re talking about feelings. If your brand is perceived as having more value than other brands, then the battle is already won.
Without meaning we have nothing. If your brand tells a story (not it costs less or offers more), people will emotionally engage with your brand. No decision is logical, emotions rule.
According to an article in Psychology Today about a storytelling experiment, when someone tells a story, the experience is transferred directly to the listener’s brain.
The listeners feel what you feel. They empathise. What’s more, when communicating most effectively, you can get a group of people’s brains to synchronise their activity. As you relate someone’s desires through a story, they become the desires of the audience. When trouble develops, they gasp in unison, and when desires are fulfilled they smile together.
For as long as you’ve got your audience’s attention, they are in your mind. When you hear a good story, you develop empathy with the teller because you experience the events for yourself. This makes sense. Stories should be powerful.
With a good story behind your brand, you capture the audience’s attention and hold it in your hand. Read about the power of stories in a great article from Aeon Magazine.
“Across time and culture, stories have been agents of personal transformation—in part because they change our brains.”
Proving the Power of Stories
Stories are hundreds of thousands of years old. This Aboriginal rock art from Emily Gap outside Alice Springs in the Northern Territory, tells the story of the caterpillar and how it formed the East MacDonnell Ranges. In a sense, the Aboriginal people “branded” the rocks with their stories just like we brand our websites today.
The Australian Aboriginal people painted symbols from stories on cave walls as a means of helping the storyteller remember the story. The story was then told using a combination of oral narrative, music, rock art and dance, which bring understanding and meaning of human existence through remembrance and enactment of stories. – Wikipedia
-
How Experiential Marketing Gets Customers Excited About Your Business
Today’s customers don’t just want to buy products; they’re looking for memories.
A study from Harris Group found that 72% of millennials prefer to spend money on experiences rather than material things. For those retailers that sell products, you may find this news unsettling. But product-focused retailers just need to shift your thinking and your delivery to give customers those memories they desire.
Retailers that want to take advantage of changing preferences can use experiential marketing to engage consumers, make connections, and boost sales. And while you may be new to experiential marketing, here, we’ll walk you through the ins and outs of this tactic, explain the benefits, and go through you retailers can implement it for their own business.
What is Experiential Marketing?
As the name suggests, experiential marketing is a campaign that directly engages customers, inviting them to experience your brand live and in person. Instead of traditional marketing, which puts the consumer in the role of spectator, experiential marketing uses hands-on activities to create personal interactions. It includes everything from free classes to food and beverage tastings, pop-up shops and parties.
More and more brands are incorporating offline events into their marketing strategy, inviting consumers to come and try them out. Three out of four brand marketers rated experiential marketing “very or somewhat” important, according to a study from Crossmark. And a study from Freeman Research predicts that one-third of chief marketing officers will dedicate 21-50% of their budgets on experiential marketing over the next three to five years.
The Benefits of Experiential Marketing for Retailers
There’s a reason why companies are putting money into this form of marketing. When done right, experiential marketing can be powerful. Seventy-two percent of consumers say they positively view brands that provide quality event opportunities and experiences, according to the Event Marketing Institute’s EventTrack 2016 study. And 74% say engaging with branded event marketing experiences makes them more likely to buy the products being promoted.
Experiential marketing also drives word-of-mouth marketing. Consumers often talk about the experience with friends. More importantly, they post on social media. Seventy-three percent of consumers post pictures, and 49% share videos of the events, according to a study by Event Marketing Institute. The chatter helps create a buzz around your brand and the products you’re promoting at your event.
Also, offline events give companies a chance to get immediate customer data and feedback. Not only will you be able to observe how consumers interact with your products and services, but you can ask a live person questions to get insight on existing and future offerings. Events also give you a chance to collect customer information for traditional campaigns held after later, such as direct mail or email.
This engagement loop helps build a customer community as well. Offline events help retailers plug into the community where they do business and bring together customer who have similar interests.
Great Examples of Experiential Marketing
Target
Fortunately, you don’t have to look far to find some great examples of experiential marketing. One of those is Target’s “Back to College” event, held in an effort to boost brand loyalty among young millennials. The company bussed 95,000 college freshmen from 70 schools to its stores for an after-hours shopping spree during “Welcome Week,” when students are getting settled.
Focusing on experience over product, the stores had DJs, the school mascot, games, text-to-win contests, freebies, and incentives delivered via smartphone.
“Heading off to college is a pretty pivotal life moment,” Target spokesperson Joshua Thomas told the (Minnesota) Star Tribune. “We see it as an opportunity to establish ourselves in new ways or deepen our affinity with them.”
Casper
Another great example of experiential marketing is from Casper. The mattress company teamed up with Standard Hotels’ “One Night” app to allow attendees of the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival to reserve a “refresh room” for 45 minutes at the nearby Austin Motel. SXSW attendees could take a nap, charge their phone, or simply get away from the hectic festival schedule. Casper made it even more memorable by taking it a step further — they provided milk and cookies, as well as a “mom,” who would read you bedtime stories.
How To Cash In With Experiential Marketing
If you haven’t done so already, it’s time to consider jumping on the experiential marketing bandwagon. No matter what type of business you own, you can likely create a campaign to connect and engage with consumers. The key is to create an activity that evokes a positive experience — one that customers will remember so it ultimately drives their business to you later. Here are six of the most common experiential marketing campaigns retailers undertake.
Classes
You can start small by hosting in-person events at your brick-and-mortar location. Perhaps teach customers how to use your products or a lifestyle-focused workshop on a skill relevant to your niche. One great example is athleisure brand lululemon, which hosts free yoga and fitness classes in many of its stores.
Pop-Up Shops
If you sell primarily online, consider hosting a pop-up shop or partner with a complementary business to hold an event at their store. For example, the subscription box retailer Birchbox creates pop-up stores to allow customers to try their products.
Community Events
Tie your product into an event, like Casper did with SXSW. Become a sponsor, host a booth or offer samples of your products or services. You can also host your own event, like lululemon’s SeaWheeze Half Marathon.
Event Series
Host an event series or start a monthly club. Literati Bookstore, for example, has a Poetry Book Club, Eco Book Club and Comic Book Club that meet monthly. You could also invite a guest speaker to your location each month to educate your customers on a topic that relates to your business.
Guerrilla Marketing Campaigns
Display your product in an over-the-top way to gain attention and boost brand awareness by using guerrilla marketing tactics. GoldToe outfitted the iconic Wall Street bull with a large pair of briefs, which attracted lots of attention. The sillier or more outrageous the idea, the better.
Tours
Take your business on the road by organizing a tour that stops in a variety of locations. Or be a destination of a tour. Backpacker magazine holds its Get Out More tour, stopping at 45 outdoor equipment retailers and offering talks about experiences and gear.
More Tips to Run Your Own Experiential Marketing Campaign
Whatever experiential marketing campaign you choose, know that it’s not enough to just entertain consumers — showcase your products in a way that will motivate them to make a purchase. As we mentioned, classes are popular methods of experiential marketing, allowing customers to use your products while they learn a new skill. You can also offer a discount on select products after the class.
Be creative; it’s key when it comes to experiential marketing. Your event needs to be fun, unique, and even unusual. Originality or extreme value will prompt attendees to get excited, talk about it with their friends, and record the event with pictures and video that they post on social media.
Create a hashtag and invite attendees to talk about their experience online. While it will likely happen organically, provide a subtle reminder that social posts are welcome and encouraged by sharing your hashtag on all promotional materials as well as banners and slides visible at the event.
You can also incentivize sharing by asking attendees to use your hashtag in posts as part of a contest. Hashtags organize conversations, and they can help you track social posts about your event. If you have enough staff, dedicate a member of your team to leveraging social mentions, retweeting or sharing them on your own pages.
If the thought of running your business and launching an experiential marketing campaign sounds like too much for you, hire a marketing firm that can create and promote it for you. Event Marketer magazine offers its 2017 list of the top event agencies, or you can browse through Shopify’s database of marketing experts.
Moving Forward With Experiential Marketing for Retail
The time and effort you put into your experience will be worth it. In addition to being a growing and welcome marketing method, experiential campaigns are a lot of fun. They help you interact with existing and prospective customers and get you out from behind a screen. Think of them as the way to create lasting relationships well beyond the experience.
Article by Stephanie Vozza for Shopify.
-
Three Reasons Why You Should Embrace Experiential Marketing
Consumers have made it clear magazine ads, TV commercials and billboards alone just don’t work. It turns out the best way to reach consumers in an emotional and engaging way is to create experiences that they actually want to be a part of.
Better Experiences for Consumers and Brands
The goal of experiential marketing is to create lasting impressions on consumers that they want to share with others and that, ultimately, lead to brand loyalty. You’re not advertising a product — you’re letting consumers see and feel what their lives would be like with it. You’re creating an association between your brand and those positive vibes.
Here are three reasons why experiential works:
-
Lasting Connections With Consumers
Many of the largest brands have already begun building lasting connections with their consumers through experiential marketing, and the best strategies are those that extend beyond shopping. For example, American Express’s AI tennis game at the 2017 U.S. Open let eventgoers enhance their experience while associating American Express with something besides tickets and souvenir purchases.
Guests attend The American Express Fan Experience at the 2017 US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 26, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Brad Barket/Getty Images for American Express)
Similarly, the NFL uses experiential marketing to make sure ticketholders get their money’s worth in and out of the stadium, especially for big-money events like the Super Bowl. For example, the 2017 Super Bowl in Houston became a city-wide experience, from touchpoints at the stadium to projection shows and Super Bowl-themed decorations at Houston’s Discovery Green Park.
As part of the marketing team responsible for the endeavor, bluemedia helped buildings throughout the city display similar Super Bowl themes. R.J. Orr, executive vice president, notes that “Each asset was designed to keep fans, players, guests of the NFL, and even Houston’s own residents excited about the game ahead.” For consumers, it was an experience that began before the event and lasted long afterward.
-
More Data in the Moment
When it comes to any form of marketing, knowledge really is power, which is why collecting and analyzing consumer data has become a top priority for most businesses. Marketers need data about consumers to know where and how to reach them most effectively. Product developers need data to know which products appeal most to consumers. Business leaders need data to steer the direction of their companies.
It’s all about the experience when it comes to marketing. Or at least it should be.
Big data is also an integral part of experiential marketing. Experiential marketing gives consumers the chance to learn about products and brands while also enjoying the experience. And those consumers are willing to exchange personal info as the admission price to an event or experience they want to attend.
For Sue Duris, director of marketing and customer experience at M4 Communications, that data is essential to experiential marketing’s ROI. She believes “Big data is providing the tools to deliver real-time data and actionable insights, which enable brands to be more agile to make changes to messaging, create more value, and increase consumer engagement on the spot.”
-
An Active Understanding of Your Product
One of marketing’s main goals is to educate consumers about a product, and that only works if the consumer is engaged. Most people go out of their way to avoid commercials, yet most will also go out of their way for a new experience. That’s why experiential marketing works so well. Tie your brand or product to a fun experience, like a live event, and consumers are more likely to get the message.
In fact, about 65% of consumers say that live events and product demonstrations helped them fully understand a product better than any commercial or other method could. MasterCard and Swarovski have capitalized on that fact with a virtual shopping experience that gives customers the chance to see what Swarovski’s luxury décor items would look like in a home setting — and to purchase them while within the virtual environment.
Brett Hyman, NVE Experience Agency president, says luxury brands and other sectors are using experiential marketing to transform the customer experience: “Well-executed experiential activations turn consumers from passive viewers to active participants.”
Experiential marketing has the ability to transform and elevate the connections that brands build with their consumers, and that’s becoming increasingly important as consumers demand more personalization. With the benefits mentioned above and the many more that experiential marketing offers, it won’t be long before every industry catches up.
Article from Forbes by @steveolenski
-
