How to reach and stay in the minds of our clients?
Most of the investments behind each marketing project share the same goal, which is none other than to have the ability to cross the threshold of public awareness to which our message is directed, that is, to capture the attention from our target audience.
As Jack Trout says in his book Differentiate or Die, “What makes a company strong is not the product or the service. It is the position it occupies in the mind ”, which is the place where the competitive battle between brands takes place.
But reality shows us that most of these marketing investments, in the form of messages, become invisible to most potential recipients. The cause is what we could call the “amnesia effect”, the oversaturation of advertising, that is, the abuse that has been made over the past decades of traditional advertising practices.
More brands + more channels + more messages = over communication = loss of advertising effectiveness.
Thus, we are exposed every day to more than 2,000 advertising impacts, a volume of imputes to which our mind is unable to pay attention. In all this increasing traffic of competing signals, only a few are able to reach their destination: to cross the threshold of the mind, to be paid attention by the conscience, the so-called "visibility".
There are many signals that compete with
each other, but only a few,
reach their goal.
Without a doubt, there are some ways to increase the chances that our marketing investments will be more profitable and reach the intended destination. Among these, traditional practices do not stand out for their goodness, whose effectiveness was produced in an environment with much less competition and with much less fragmented market access channels than current ones.
Thus, the recent Buyology book illustrates this loss of advertising effectiveness. “In 1965, the recall percentage of those spots by the typical consumer was 34%. In 1990 it had dropped to 8%. In 2007, an ACNielsen survey of 1,000 consumers revealed that the average person could barely name 2.21 ads of the ones they had ever seen. "
Visibility and permanence through 6 different paths
The following are some of the ways in which we can achieve a notable increase in the probability that our marketing efforts will achieve their objectives: visibility and permanence in the minds of our clients, the framework where decisions are made that can favor our brand.
In addition, nowadays it is not only about crossing the threshold to gain notoriety, the important thing, more and more, is to have the ability to stay, so that this continued presence over time favorably conditions future decisions in favor of our brand. In other words, it is not just about selling, today the important thing is to ensure that our brand continues to be the preferred one over time. The ability to occupy a privileged position in the minds of our clients permanently.
If we remember a brand,
the probability
that we end up buying it is much greater
Neuromarketing research has shown that if we remember a brand, it is much more likely that we will take it with us the next time we enter a store.
These are five routes, strategies in the world of marketing, that contribute to achieving these objectives. Each of them shares a common denominator: they are medium and long-term approaches. The order in which they are exposed is random.
1-Emotions, yes please
Emotions almost always have a passing preference. Thus, the limbic system, which governs our feelings, always prevails over the neocortex, where logic and reason reside. In other words, as marketing professionals, appealing to emotions is always a good way to positively influence our clients' decisions.
Without a doubt, emotions are one of the most powerful forces when it comes to determining what we buy. As Eduardo Punset says in his book Why we are the way we are, "feelings influence the functioning of our brain and are basic when making decisions."
2-Creativity, a little risk never hurts
Originality always adds up, especially in a world where imitation, low risk appetite and standardization have become the main standard of action in the business world.
In this sense, if we want to reduce the “amnesia effect” it is important to create campaigns that are stimulating, fresh, attractive and that go beyond the usual standards, that is, if you want to capture the attention of customers, don't be boring.
This is one of the reasons why all markets reward innovation, which today has positioned itself as the main engine of growth and progress in our society.
3- Personalization, because we all do not like to drink coffee in the same way
Recognizing each client as a person, with their particular individual thoughts, motivations and wishes, adapting our messages to their particular interests (1to1 marketing) is, without a doubt, one of the best ways to capture and maintain their interest and attention. In any case, much better than the traditional "coffee for all" formula.
As marketing professionals we have to be able to deepen the knowledge of each client, using it to send them much more relevant and attractive proposals, messages and offers. Thus, personalizing the experience is key to improving it and making it memorable.
4- Differentiation, the clearer and simpler, the better
In today's hyper-competitive world, where many brands compete for the same customers, the “more of the same” type strategy, that is, imitation, is a bad travel companion, although it is certainly the easiest path to take.
As marketing professionals we have to be able to differentiate our products or services in the minds of our clients. Only in this way, we will occupy a preferential position.
Some tips to achieve this are: develop a differentiating proposal that is valued by our clients, communicate it in the simplest and simplest way possible (minds coexist very badly with confusion and complexity) and, obviously, that it is not occupied by any brand from the competition.
5- Sense of belonging, the tribes are still important
For hundreds of thousands of years people have been connected to each other through a tribe. The sense of belonging has been one of the most powerful survival mechanisms, as stated in the book Tribes by Seth Godin.
Only two things are needed to build a tribe: a common interest and a way of communicating. As Seth Godin comments, “Most organizations spend their time targeting a massive market. Smart organizations bring together a tribe. ”
One of the challenges of marketing is to achieve a closer relationship with your customers. One of the routes to achieve this goal is the creation of communities around a brand. It is about designing an attractive value proposition that responds to this common interest, putting a brand on this community, designing a value-added service platform and from there maintaining a continuous dialogue with each of the members of this community. All this in a framework of constant improvement of the services and benefits provided through this community.
In this way, we will be able to strengthen the link between the client and our brand, a relationship based on trust, cooperation and the exchange of value. A direct route to the minds of our clients, without the need for intermediate steps, thanks to the fact that they voluntarily engage in this relationship with our brand.
6 -The five senses, because sight is only one of the senses
Our senses are vital to help us interpret the world around us and play a crucial role in our behavior. Everything we know about the world comes to us through them. Traditionally, the most common sense used by marketing has been that of sight, although neuroscience is showing that it is not the most indicated to arouse our interest and induce us to buy.
In this sense, there is a universe of possibilities to capture the attention of our clients and retain them through the rest of the senses (sensory marketing). Among them all, two stand out with special strength: smell and hearing. Thus, fragrances and melodies linked to a brand will acquire a greater role in the future.
A trip to the minds of our clients
In short, it is about traveling new paths in this exciting journey destined for the minds of our clients. A process in which we can also contribute to making their lives better, providing them with better and more memorable experiences. Transforming this approach at the base of the prosperity and growth of our organization.
