What’s the first thing that comes to mind when marketing your product or services?
- Is it the value it’s providing?
- The benefits it’s offering?
- Or the customers it’s serving?
Indeed, you need to consider all three when creating a business.
But when marketing, a laser-sharp focus on one is essential.
Guessing which should lead?
Let’s look at some real-life examples.🙂
Considering the Value it’s Providing
Case Study Ad: A PR Stunt for a Wedding
Mark and Audrey were a couple so in love. They decided to take to Facebook and YouTube to and garner public support for their proposed marriage, after their parents forbade them from marrying due to their age difference.
Although Mark was 23 and Audrey was 47, the couple insisted that their love was strong and would prevail. As you might have guessed, thousands of teary-eyed viewers rallied on social media outlets to show their support via likes, comments, and shares.
Due to the incredible support they were receiving, Mark and Audrey decided to live stream a video of their wedding day online. But when Mark rushed back to his hotel room to grab something important that he had forgotten, the sound of screeching wheels and a slamming noise in the background brought the wedding to a halt. Mark had been hit by a car and killed instantly.
“Unexpected things happen in life. Be insured to have your loved ones assured”
Read a message that floated across the screen. Mark wasn’t dead after all—in fact, he had never existed in the first place. All the emotionally invested fans of this couple were outraged. They had been tricked. The ad faced incredible backlash for this horrendous blunder.
Anyways, the company behind this genius idea smartly decided to stay anonymous lest they lose a lot of upset customers.
TAKEAWAY
The PR Stunt commercial portrayed an important message. We all need to get insured—no one knows when death will come knocking. There is genuine value in getting insured.
But was it able to attract customers? I don’t think so.
The Benefit it’s Offering
Case Study Ad: Hyundai ”Pipe Job”
The pipe job ad, aimed at the UK audience, depicts a man attempting to commit suicide by running his ix35 in a closed garage.
The vehicle’s upside (and obvious selling point) is that the man’s attempt fails because the new ix35 produces “100% water emissions” and is therefore harmless.
Indeed, auto sales in Europe have been on life support since 2009, but that’s still no excuse for Hyundai’s suicide-themed commercial for the ix35 compact SUV.
A public outcry — including heart-rending blog posts from individuals who lost a family member to suicide — forced Hyundai to pull the ad.
Hyundai apologized and sought to distance itself from the commercial by blaming Innocean Worldwide — although critics quickly pointed out that Hyundai’s parent company owns the agency.
TAKEAWAY
Focused on the extraordinary benefit the ix35 compact SUV offers, Hyundai created a captivating ad. They knew their audience and wanted to show the world how powerful their latest automobile was.
But what happened, why did it not gain the required traction? My guess; there is more to marketing than magnifying extraordinary benefits.
The Customers it’s Serving
Apple Inc Someday at Christmas
It’s Christmas, and Apple Inc has nothing to sell but the bliss that comes with the season.
The ‘Apple someday at Christmas commercial’ wasn’t focused on the benefit it’s providing {every laptop can help you create a virtual mix} it wasn’t stating a benefit {you wouldn’t know it’s an apple commercial if you don’t watch till the end}. Then why did Apple invest in such an ad?
To serve its customers.
What was it focused on? Displaying empathy.
Heart of the Matter
When consumers see your marketing ads, they rarely think, ‘Hey, this ad looks great and the product have got amazing benefits, it would better my life.’
Naturally, the first thing they think of when they see your marketing ad is ‘what’s he trying to sell? I’m not buying. Truth is, if you don’t provide an emotionally appealing reason to make people do business with you, they wouldn’t.
Apple would have gladly watched Christmas go by. Then bombard its customers with a new marketing campaign in January. But Nah, instead, they used the ‘Someday at Christmas’ commercial to showcase empathy, displaying a message that speaks to the soul. And that’s why they there, comfortably gracing the top-dog spot.
How to Understand Your Prospect/Customer
Serving your customers means knowing their desires. Being informed about their wants. Their day-to-day needs. Their long-term goals. Their biggest fears. Minor challenges. Worldviews. And the effect times and seasons are having on their lives.
Simply put, to understand your customers, you must be willing to treat them the way you would like to be treated regardless of profit. Wondering how? Let’s hit the ground running with a few key points.
INTERNAL
- How is your product making your customer’s life better?
- What desires is it solving?
When thinking of your customers’ internal desires, you must bring the question home. Take it inwards. And put yourself in their shoes.
Let’s say you need a product, better still, ‘story blogs.’ Why would you need a story blog?
To get a better conversion rate, grow your business, increase profit, attract customers, simplify your message, etc.
The above-listed answers are right, but they are not desires, they are needs. Go deeper.
To ease the stress of creating content. Save time. Position my business as an expert. Understand my customers, etc.
Yeah, you are on track, but are those the primary source of worries that not having superior content on your website would create? Go again.
To be able to afford my every need. Gain more profit so I can foot my daughter’s bills. Put a smile on my wife’s face. Make my business thrive so I can foot the bills when I hang out with friends.
Now, you are in touch with everyday life. This is in line with consumers’ deepest desires.
There is no doubt that most of your customers need your product to position themselves as experts, but most of them are fed up with promises that their sense of being can’t comprehend.
Apple’s someday at Christmas commercial stole the show because it could communicate with its customers at an intimate level. A level where basic human desire comes before marketing needs. A level where your customer’s growth comes before profit. A level where you can put a smile on consumers’ faces not just as a business but also as a person.
EXTERNAL
- What benefit is your product offering to help customers thrive?
- What basic need is it solving?
When you know what your product offers on an intimate level, deciphering its benefits wouldn’t take much.
Return to the second level of thought before you understood your customer’s desires.
To ease the stress of creating content. Save time. Position my business as an expert. Understand my customers, etc.
Those are your customer’s external needs. And in most cases, the benefits of your product. Now, shape your message in a way that captures their attention on both levels {internally and externally}.
Apple was not talking about the virtual mix or audio player in the ‘someday at Christmas commercial’ but unknowingly to most of their customers, the commercials started with an intuitive benefit ‘everyone needs a Pc.’
Look for ways to communicate the joy and beauty your product brings on an internal and external level. You don’t need to force both ‘desires and needs’ into every ad {although that’s possible}, you can make different marketing ads for both.
Just don’t go to a customer telling him you can help save time, grow their business, or bring joy to their life with your product. Try to make it visible. Show don’t tell.
PHILOSOPHICAL
- What’s the worldview your product is portraying?
- Which individual is it serving?
Many marketers find it hard to believe that they can win a substantial portion of the market, but not all. Indeed, the moment you try to impress everyone with your marketing effort, you will lose your audience.
When I say worldview, I’m talking about your brand’s vision, mission, and every other statement that directs its everyday goals.
Many factors determine consumers buying decisions. Some consumers visit your site looking for the cheapest buy. Others frequent your store in search of quality. Some come knocking to understand the market better.
You can serve all three, but you can’t design your marketing message focused on all three. You can’t go by the motto ‘Quality the competition can’t beat’ while trying to sell at the cheapest rate.
Going back to our ‘Someday at Christmas commercial’, Apple Inc. is known for their slick quality and style. And their client base loves them for this. That’s why most folk wouldn’t mind breaking the bank to get a smartphone engraved with an Apple logo. They know Quality and cheap don’t go hand-in-hand.
If unlike Apple, you’re looking to serve the needs of individuals in search of the cheapest bargain, fine-tune your message to resonate with their worldview. Don’t forget: the quality of your client base is dependent on the type of customers you fine-tune your message and marketing campaigns to serve.
In Summary
Fine-tuning your marketing message requires proper study and comprehensive analysis of the market. However, if you can resonate with your customers’ desires on an internal, external, and philosophical level, you wouldn’t have a hard time creating marketing content that stamps your brand’s identity and attract new clients. Good Luck!
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