For effective marketing, there needs to be effective modes of communication. And marketers should be able to place themselves in the minds of consumers. If you are a marketer and you can walk into the mind of your consumer, you would know they are looking for something they could actually relate with to enrich the experience of their everyday life.
As human beings, we are always looking to validate our mind subconsciously: our thoughts and ideas about life throughout our experiences and social encounters are always in search to relate, build new linkages and bonds to experience a related connection. It’s basic human psychology to resist when there is something we mentally cannot fit in, or relate with. However, one can adapt to new perception only when the newer ideas dominate and command the previous one, making one feel the new ideas have more value to offer than the already existing ones.
It works the same way in the field of marketing because what you are selling is more of an idea than a product before it’s sold and adds value to a consumer’s life. This basic understanding of human behavior is the key to most of the successful marketing strategies we see in the global market. Why are they successful? Because they communicate well! What sells effectively is entirely based on how the idea is conveyed to the consumers on reliable grounds because consumers are always looking for reliability and value: products and services that can bring about a change in their lives effectively.
Validation of one’s mind, as mentioned above, is the primary move in establishing a rapport for effective communication or marketing. If we speak of general things which the listener can validate and classify as truth– because he sees them as true – he will be more drawn towards the conversation and learn more about it. This is the point where he will be attentively engaged in the conversation.
Now, as we imagine and feel the experience of everything we picture in our minds, between these moments when the listener is engaged, he imagines whatever idea is that we present to him. Let’s say the listener is told about a certain product that can uplift his lifestyle or accelerate his productivity, he feels that experience in his imagination – and that feel of experience is what eventually keeps growing and multiplying; it further expands and gives birth to more ideas that originate from the primary idea presented.
We see that in everyday ads: perfect lifestyles, joyous feel of adventure, living to the fullest and on the edge – we experience and hold onto that feel while the products are sold to our subconscious mind; they stay there and eventually we are able to locate them in the stores or markets among many others as we already classify those brands and names as ‘familiar’.
We all have different modes of communication and different concepts of marketing; and we execute them differently in accordance with the perception or influence we have of marketing itself. Consumers too vary depending upon mindsets, economic classes, age and profession. It’s the execution of the idea that has to be brilliant.
In general routine, if you enter a room fully packed with people, you will first notice everything from people to things and you will hear everything from noise to conversations, but you will pay attention to spot where you feel related and engaged. Subconsciously, your brain is just processing this data and going through the filtration process, secretly telling you the compatibility of what you are hearing and seeing – it warns you of risk and also assures you of what you possibly like. And when you hear about someone talking about your interests, you become engaged instantly. But what happens if once you are engaged? It’s a delicate process and it gives result with loyal attention. Otherwise, it fails to proceed.
For example, if I stumble upon a discussion where I hear people reading about new media strategies or some exotic location, I would like to know more about it; and so I will pay attention when I am engaged. But then if I find out that they are just talking about it after reading in a newspaper and it has nothing much for me to learn about my desired experience, I’ll walk away and look for something else. On the other hand, if someone is talking about my interest with full grip on it, my very first thought would be: I want to learn more about it.
What happens when you enter a room and find a related conversation? You engage – and that’s what every brand wants to do to you: to engage you in the conversation.
But do you just enter a room and jump into a conversation? Of course not! You feel awkward and discomforted if you find yourself in the irrelevant conversation where you feel you have nothing to learn from it or add to it simply because you cannot relate to it. This is what bad quality wrapped in good ads makes consumers feel. They would just ban you in mind after one bad experience and it takes to re-establish the bond.
Understanding a consumer mind, companies should focus more on quality than quantity and engaging communication than expensive ads. Moreover, they should also locate their potential clients themselves. If you are a brand, you should know precisely how a budding consumer is going to find your engaging ad or discussion if he is not familiar with you already. Both consumers and sellers need to know exactly of what they are looking for and where exactly they should go for the search. But it’s not always the case.
After striking and engaging campaign, the interest must be kept alive to precede and learn more about the requirement of consumers. Once found, given you have extra ordinary skills for marketing, the next step is endorsing your influence. Are your targeted consumers really influenced by your products? If it’s not entirely positive, the process of making a product and taking it to the market is pointless because at the end of the day it’s just not selling.
How are you going to find what influences your targeted audience? What communicative channels have you provided for your targeted audience to trust you, give you feedback and know precisely what is in demand and what is it that you should make? These are the questions marketers need to ask themselves because the world has changed entirely and traditional marketing is simply dead. People are smarter now and the survival of market is relying greatly on what masses want to enrich their lives.
Success also comes with innovation. Only if you understand your consumers and have well-established bonds, you can launch new ideas and give new dimensions to what people may want in their lives. At the end of the day, you are selling benefits to your consumers that should be very well conveyed.
