No matter the quality or price of a product, companies understand their products will not survive in a competitive market if they do not consciously make strategic moves to gain the attention of potential buyers. Companies that understand their target audience and adopt the right marketing strategy approach will win in today’s world.
Consumers usually buy from the brands they are comfortable with, and this could be because they can identify with the brand’s story or just because the brand is appealing to them.
Depending on the brand and the audience they want to gain, marketers need to identify and design techniques that will resonate with their audience. Some methods used to influence consumer decisions are as follows.
Attention Retention
Nowadays, we know that many things fight for our attention, and what resonates best with our feelings gets our attention. Companies have come to study and understand this; hence, most companies connect with our emotions to get our attention.
People do not remember what you tell them or do to them, but they will never forget how you make them feel. Companies, therefore, use advertisements to connect with people’s emotions to make them feel a particular way. That would often persuade them to choose their products instead of other alternatives.
Direct Response Marketing
Another marketing strategy companies use is direct response marketing. This marketing strategy creates a sense of urgency, making it possible to influence potential customers to take immediate action to achieve a specific desired result. Try and remember if you ever came across some ads where they ask you to “buy now” or “subscribe”? These are examples of calls to action used to persuade consumers to take immediate steps.
Examples of direct response marketing are E-mail marketing, webinars, podcasts, digital marketing e.t.c.This method is effective in persuading consumers, and it is also measurable.
Promote Exclusivity
You wonder how some valuable brands can keep their audiences for an extended period, and these audiences appear to be loyal. People naturally love to feel unique, and they identify with brands that make them feel that way.
The Apple brand, for example, makes its users feel unique and better than users of other brands. This is due to how Apple as a brand has made people feel like they belong to a specific class.
This method also decreases the price sensitivity of consumers to price. When people feel like a product can make them stand out, they will be willing to pay any cost to differentiate themselves from others.
Perpetual Advertisement
Have you ever been to a store before to get groceries, and you bought a product you haven’t reached for before? This is because you have seen that product repeatedly.
Marketers create ads in different forms to register their brands in your subconscious, motivating you to purchase their product even without needing it.
Some campaigns you see today appear informative or beneficial to you because they were consciously made to catch and keep attention. They use different content on different channels. Many of us have been influenced by this technique unconsciously.
Aesthetics
Aesthetics contribute to the success of companies. Moreover, aesthetics is a critical element because consumers value the experience they get from the product they purchase, not just the product itself.
The design of a website could determine if someone would stay longer or would leave immediately. The color, design, and images used should be appealing enough to influence the user. After all, people believe that what is beautiful is good. We are all attracted to beautiful things, which significantly impact our decision-making when presented with options. Marketers recognize this, and they use this approach as an advantage.
Imagery and Content Association
According to electronic word of mouth (eWOM) research, images can influence trust and purchase influence. Humans are naturally attracted to visuals; we are prone to be more attracted to content paired with images when searching online.
The reason is that images are memorable. Hence, they can evoke emotions. Also, choosing the right pictures for brands generates a positive result when telling the brand’s story.
The magic of images also lies in the fact that content creatively combined with visuals increases engagement. When people come across quality images, they do not just see them, but they also share them. Furthermore, people love to keep seeing valuable images. We often make decisions based on what we see.
Brands use different marketing tools to influence consumer decisions. Whatever technique they choose to implement, the goal of every company is to sell their products. The strategy they used to influence potential buyers should be consistent with the brand’s value as well as the company’s budget.