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Can you think of a time where you were ever in a situation where you felt that a salesperson had sketchy intentions? Being a woman, I have dealt with this a few times when it comes to cars, for example. I also recently experienced this with a pushy realtor when I bought my first home three years ago. Perhaps they were trying to convince you to make a purchase you didn’t actually need. In the case with the realtor, I had a fairly low budget for my home, and he was trying to convince me to purchase a home that was falling apart because it fit into my budget Expecting these sales people to try and trick or manipulate us is called the schemer’s schema, and it’s an actual psychological term.

The schemer’s schema is our mental representation of people who try to take advantage of us, and how we expect them to act and behave, according to an article by Everyday Psych. If you are considering making a purchase and it seems that the salesperson is trying to butter you up and get on your good side, you may be skeptical. What do they actually want from you? Are they just complimenting you because they want to make a commission off of you? Our schemer’s schema expects salespeople to behave this way and really try to go the extra mile by flattering us in order to make a sale. Our schemer’s schema tells us to take the flattery with a grain of salt and try to determine what the catch is.

Marketing research shows that when consumers are content with a product or service, they will be more inclined to purchase the product or use the service. This means that if marketers could manipulate a consumer into thinking that they have had a good experience with a product or service, the consumer would be more likely to buy it. Believe it or not, this manipulative marketing tactic has been tested and tried. Everyday Psych also mentions a case study where researchers had participants look at two separate fake Orville Redenbacher’s popcorn ads. One advertisement was fairly standard while the other was visually engaging and asked participants to imagine that they were eating the popcorn, even though they never actually had. When the participants were brought back to the lab and asked if they had ever tried or bought this fake popcorn, 39% of the participants in the low imagery study reported that they had while 76% of participants in the high imagery study reported that they had!

This means that when the marketers got these participants to try and visualize their experience, they actually believed that they had tasted it, even though they never had. Crazy concept, isn’t it? Schemer’s schema is a good thing and it’s important for a consumer to always be aware and keep it active. Sometimes people or advertisements can make you feel wary as a consumer. However, being aware of why you are doing things and why you respond to things the way you do is important for remembering what was an actual experience and what was not. On the other hand, these are helpful psychological tactics for companies who want to try to influence consumers into making purchases and could probably be used more than it actually is.

As technology continues advancing and marketers continue to find new and creative digital ways of advertising, consumers have become proficient in ignoring more traditional advertisements such as television, newspapers, and magazines. The internet has also started to deal with clutter that never ceases to expand. As a result, marketers have had to develop alternative marketing methods in order to try and understand where a consumer’s path crosses with a brand’s presence. Let’s explore some of the most common alternative marketing methods.

Buzz Marketing

Best known as “word of mouth” marketing, this type of advertising places emphasis on getting people to talk about a product so that they can pass the information on to other consumers. Consumers either really enjoy a brand and talk to others about it, consumers can receive sponsorships and then tell others about the company, or company employees can pretend to be consumers of the brand and therefore tell others about it. What makes buzz marketing worthwhile is that consumers tend to believe testaments of those who have tried products rather than whole heartedly trusting an advertisement. People also like to give their opinions on things because they desire to be socially active. This means they will naturally want to give their opinion of a product they enjoyed, so word of mouth advertising is a very natural, effective, and free form of marketing.

Guerrilla Marketing

The purpose of guerrilla marketing is so that quick results can be gathered with limited resources, but instead depending on creativity, strong relationships, and trying new things. Guerrilla marketing should involve consumer interaction and strong bonds with customers through branding. Guerrilla marketing can bridge consumer interaction, impact spot markets and create buzz. It differs from traditional means of marketing because it only requires creativity and imagination. It is able to expand when current customers give referrals, which differs from traditional marketing. Because it is essentially a form of word of mouth marketing, it’s a worthwhile method.

Product Placement

When a product or brand is placed into a movie, TV show, or other media program in order to capture consumer attention, marketers are using product placement. Marketers find ways to imbed the brand into the story. For example, watching an actor pour coke out of a very obviously placed Coca-Cola bottle on the big screen. When marketers utilize product placement, their intention isn’t necessarily to get consumers to purchase a product, but instead to increase its awareness and liking. Brand placements are great methods for building brand awareness and are absolutely worthwhile methods. This form of marketing has been used for centuries and is not just a fad.

Lifestyle Marketing

This form of marketing associates itself with consumer hobbies. For example, mall signs and escalator advertisements which are virtually found anywhere including airports, malls, and stores. Some marketers are even placing ads on stair steps. While there are new trends when it comes to lifestyle advertising as far as creatively placing the ads, this alternative marketing method is worthwhile as it can target consumers anywhere.

Worthwhile or just a fad?

 There are always businesses competing for consumer attention. As businesses emerge or expand, they all fight the same battle. As they each try their best to be noticed, these alternative marketing methods can really be useful because they give companies more of an edge over those that only engage in traditional marketing. All in all, alternative marketing methods are useful, and many seem to continue expanding rather than fading away as fads do.

It’s easy to get lost in all of the marketing jargon. What does B2B and B2C mean in the first place? Well, for one, B2B and B2C marketers try to garner the attention of two different audiences, in two different ways. If you’re an up and coming marketer, you may be wondering what’s more profitable—B2B marketing strategies or B2C? The short answer is that it depends on what you are selling and the value of what is being sold. However, before we can truly dive into this discussion, we must first understand the difference between the two.

Both of these markets are types of commercial transactions, but business to consumer (B2C) involves selling products to consumers while business to business (B2B) involves selling products or services directly to other businesses. B2B caters their marketing efforts to the needs, interests, and challenges of customers who are making purchases for the organization or business, not for themselves. One example if the company that I currently work for. The Gems Group is a floral marketing agency focused on B2B sales. B2C, on the other hand, is dedicated to the needs, interests, and challenges of people who are making purchases for themselves. These include businesses that sell directly to consumers. While both of these market types intersect at times, they also differ primarily in terms of their audiences and how they choose to communicate with these consumers. While B2C tends to focus more on finding fast solutions and good content, B2B marketing focuses on evolving relationships and ROI.

This brings us back to our first question. When it comes to B2B vs B2C, which business model is better and more profitable? Where can you make more money and quickly grow a business? While the answer to this question isn’t so cut and dry, the overall impression seems to be that B2B id more profitable than B2C. B2B markets are vertical markets and sales pitches use the same main campaign. B2B also means that you are purchasing or selling in bulk which gives you profit as per your price. As far as B2C, you can really only sell products at market price and sometimes customers will ask for discounts. B2B markets also tend to have recurring sales, meaning these businesses don’t have to run after the same customers each and every time. Typically, customers won’t switch to purchasing from another business because B2B products are usually integrated throughout the organization. B2B can be very profitable because businesses usually have a lot more money to spend than the typical consumer. Businesses have a greater budget and can afford to pay premium prices for products and services.

That’s not to say that there isn’t money to be made in the B2C sector as well. However, you may have to build a solid customer base first. In order to make decent money in the B2C sector, you need a lot of loyal customers willing to dish out the dough. There is usually more money to be made in B2B and luckily you won’t need as many customers to be profitable since B2B can charge higher prices.

A lot of factors play into whether it’s more profitable to choose B2B or B2C as a business model and while there are many recommendations out there for B2B and B2C marketing, the reality is that every company has its differences and the best way for a company to guarantee its success is by implementing new actions, testing them, and continuously measuring results in order to understand what actually functions for their business and what doesn’t.

Channel marketing essentially focuses on the distribution of products from the manufacturer to the consumer. Many manufacturers don’t sell directly to end users, meaning they have to use a marketing channel in order to allocate their products. One good thing about channel marketing is that it really helps businesses expand their revenue. The choice of which channel to use is an important decision for a business and affects all other areas of the marketing mix. It is very common for businesses to use various marketing channels with different strategies for each area they are serving. There are benefits of channel marketing including selling to other places than just a store, meaning more reach and more sales. However, there’s so much more to channel marketing.

Reach customers that don’t intend to purchase

 Let’s say a manager is looking online for ways to engage her employees. Perhaps this manager isn’t looking for a product to solve her issue, but rather for content in order to garner some ideas. If this manager stumbles on a reseller’s post mentioning employee engagement. Without this channel, a possible sale could have been lost.

Nitty gritty details on customers

A channel can really help in getting businesses more information about consumer experiences. For example, they may be closer to a customer and positioned at a point where customers can freely give their opinion on a product. An article on Martech Series gives an example of a laptop retailer and software. If you are a company that creates software, a laptop retailer might be a useful channel. People who buy laptops and receive your company’s software will likely give their opinions on what they like or don’t like about the software and if there are any competitor software they prefer to use. This is valuable information that consumers might not give the software company directly.

Gain trust to gain sales

This type of channel marketing can be advantageous for new products. For example, a new sunglasses brand will probably not be easily trusted by consumers because they have not yet tried the product. In order to begin exploring this, marketers must use sites and people that the target market trusts because they already have a good reputation. For example, by using an Amazon retailer, you can begin to gain consumer trust and gain sales as a result.

Save on advertising costs

Let’s face it. By having middlemen promoting your products and services, you save money on advertising. These channels will have people designing their own sales incentives and creating experiences to bring in customers.

Choosing the right channel

Choosing the right channels for your business does not necessarily mean that channel marketing ends there. Businesses must continue to put in the work of engaging those channels if they expect to have them generate leads. By coming up with strategies, you will increase your chances on a channel. On example of this can be to create closer relationships by helping the channel as well. For example, by engaging in some SEO or email marketing for your partner, you are not only helping their business, but yours as well. Determining the right mix should be the first step. There are many options to consider, but the most important thing is to keep it simple and be prescriptive. Channel partners offer huge opportunities for your company to grow.

It’s a popular belief that our behaviors are determined as a result of our attitudes. However, according to the theory of planned behavior, more goes into predicting behavior than solely understanding a person’s attitude. The theory is useful in predicting the way consumers will actually behave.

One of the most obvious reasons that people may try to influence the way we think is to try and change our attitudes. When we change our attitudes, we may also be likely to change how we behave. For example, think of a timeshare vendor. Have you ever sat in on a timeshare presentation? They often times try to change your attitudes about how you perceive timeshare rentals so that you will purchase it.

However, this isn’t a completely accurate representation of how to predict behaviors. Attitudes can predict behaviors that were not planned but they won’t always predict intentional behaviors. When attitudes and perceived norms are combined, we can get an actual prediction of our intentions. This is essentially what the theory of planned behavior represents. This theory is used to be able to predict planned or intentional behavior.

The theory of planned behavior suggests that when people can first think about how they will behave, the best way to determine how one will behave is by their intention. To understand what a consumer is going to do, marketers must first determine what it is they intend to do.

So why is the theory of planned behavior so important in marketing? Well, for one, the theory provides a model so that we can best understand how to change behaviors for our target audience, business partners, employees, and key stakeholders. It is also made up of three types of considerations:

1. Behavior beliefs about what may be the consequence of a behavior.
2. Normative beliefs about what to expect from others.
3. Control beliefs about what factors are present that can either facilitate or complicate the behavior’s performance.

The best way to apply the theory of planned behavior is to apply these three considerations to diverse behaviors in order to find influences that could increase a customer’s intention to do something or drive their behavior to do it. According to an article on Clerverism, “The theory is not without its limitations, and the main argument against it is how it puts no value or importance on emotion, which is seen by many as one of the key elements that determine or drive one’s behavior.” Still, it is truly a great way to predict how consumers will act when it comes to buying a product and studying human behavior, especially planned and reasoned decisions, will result in better theories down the road.

Why go crazy searching for information when the internet places it right at your fingertips? With a quick Google search, you can find any information you need in a matter of seconds. In fact, according to a Google report, there are about 63,000 searched made per second. This number is mind boggling. Each of these people are looking for something particular, and in some of these instances, your website can offer them the solution they search for.

According to an article by Search Engine Land, organic search accounts for 53% of traffic while paid searches account for 15%. Digital marketing guru Neil Patel found that 75% of people will never scroll past the first page on a Google Search. This means that ranking on the second, third, or fourth page just isn’t optional because you won’t bring in enough clicks and traffic to make SEO worth your money and effort.

Marketers must therefore take a good look at SEO strategy and make decisions as they go. Paid and organic ranking reports, keywords, search features, technological use, etc. are all part of the puzzle piece which marketers must plug in to make meaningful and data-driven decisions. In order to make an SEO strategy matter, there are various steps you should take.

 

UNDERSTANDING SEO IN 4 EASY STEPS

Step 1: Create a list of keywords. By typing a keyword into Google’s search field, you can easily find keywords to target customer searches. Search engine optimization revolves around keywords. It’s a good idea to get at least 10 keywords together and there are also keyword tools like SEMrush or Ubersuggest that work well for this purpose. It’s also important to remember that keywords drive searches, but only when they are in context. This is because Google’s algorithm is very hi-tech so everything must be ready to go before PCP’s and campaigns are thrown into the mix.

Step 2: Begin with your landing page. Google must first understand what your website offers by picking up any subjects, metadata or backlinks. It’s also important to take a look at your website and understand what the user experience is like. If it’s relatively easy to use, that’s a good sign.

Step 3: In case you’ve never noticed, when you search for something on Google, there are other buttons under the search leading you to articles, images, shopping, or video. You need to make sure that when hashing out a strategy, all forms of media such as blog posts, videos, and photos are brushed upon. By delivering information exactly the way it is search for, you are well on your way to successfully using SEO.

Step 4: Become dominant in your particular industry. This will eventually drive more direct searches to your site and have audiences specifically conducting SEO searches for your business.

SEO can be a complex process. Luckily, there are many helpful videos out there for marketing gurus, such as this 8-Step SEO Strategy for Higher Rankings in 2020. By truly understanding how it works, you can be an SEO guru too.

Is it possible for people to fall head over heels for a brand? Although having a variety of options when it comes to products makes it very difficult for consumers to build meaningful and emotional connections with brands, when they do it can be a match made in heaven.

Brands that can learn how to tap into a buyer’s emotions are often able to create a strong bond and trusting relationships with them. As a result, a culture of loyalty forms. According to an article about brand love on Visual Capitalist, “intimate brands that have a strong emotional bond with their consumers tend to outperform top companies listed on the S&P 500 and Fortune 500 in both revenue and profit.” One such brand that has managed to form this kind of relationship across various generations is Amazon. Amazon has transcended age and appears in top lists for Millennials, Gen X and Baby Boomers. Visual Capitalist stated that “Every generation named “enhancement” as Amazon’s defining trait, meaning their lives have improved as a result of the relationship. The “ritual” trait also scores high, with users claiming the brand has become ingrained into their daily behavior.”

But let’s take a step back. What causes us to fall in love with a brand? An article by Ranking the Brands mentions that the connections we make with brands can be as deep and emotional as the relationships we have with other people. Because 75% of buying experiences are based on emotion, brand love can become an exceptionally powerful experience, meaning it is very important for brands to build strategies and campaigns around the idea of “love.”

Many people have learned to define themselves by brands. Most consumers want interactions with brands that are meaningful and act in human and personal ways. They want an emotional engagement with brands, and a relationship made up of loyalty, honesty, reliability, longevity, and commitment. It’s important to note that brand awareness on its own it not what drives sales, but instead brand love is what drives desire, loyalty, and advocacy for a brand. Of course, with love comes loyalty and recommendation. When people feel understood by a brand and that it is meeting their needs, they tend to stay true to the brand and recommend it to others. This is a traditional form of marketing and even boosts the effect of paid media.

The best position a brand can be in is one where they are loved. It is important for marketers to strive to create meaningful relationships with consumers that are based on trust, loyalty, honesty, and commitment. This is the best way to turn customers into fans, and fans into true lovers of the brand.

 

 

 

 

People tend to buy products and brands because of the way it allows them to say something positive about themselves, since they are consumers of that particular brand. One of the factors that affects consumer behavior is buyer self-concept. In other words, depending on the self that we have in mind, our purchases are affected.

A buyer’s self-concept is determined by how the buyers feels as a person and how the buyers want others to see them. Self-concept is a self-image or identity made up of a subjective collection of thoughts, perceptions, and feelings. It includes personality, abilities, occupation, and the personal or professional roles the consumer takes on. Because many users use material objects to shape who they are, products are said to help support a consumer’s self-concept. Consumers tend to feel motivate to act in agreement with their self-concepts and purchase certain products as a way to show their self-concepts to other people.

Self-Concepts

Self-concepts also tend to split into four different parts. The actual self represents how the consumer really is. Marketing a product to the actual self means showing your consumer that you understand the point of life (or purchasing journey) they are at. The other category is the ideal self, which describes the consumer’s perception of what they would ideally want to be like. The space left between the actual and ideal self can really push consumers to buy products in order to try and tie the ideal self with the actual self. The social self-concept is how people actually perceive you, or the version of you most people know, while the ideal social self-concept is how you feel others perceive you.

Self-Congruity

Self-congruity is how a person’s self matches with a brand image. For example, if the self doesn’t match with a brand, it’s considered self-congruity. There are four types of self-congruity. The first is actual-self congruity, which matches with self-concept. Ideal self-congruity pairs with the ideal self-concept when it is threatened. Social self-congruity pairs with social self-concept when things are going downhill, and the ideal social self-concept pairs with the ideal social self.

Motive

Then there are of course motives. When each self-concept is match with self-congruity, a motive is formed. The self-consistency motive connects to the actual self. This means the brand must find a way to tap into a consumer’s values and frustrations in order to try to get them to act. The self-esteem motive increases motivation when brands tap into the person’s self-esteem. The social-consistency motive connects to the social self-concept because it convinces consumers to take action. The social approval motive causes people to desire products in order to fill their void for social approval.

In our digital era, social media is one of the best and proven ways to build a community. This doesn’t just apply to people, but to businesses as well. Rather than using social media platforms to self-promote products or services, there are steps that brand can take in order to make the most of what social media has to offer. By providing the right guidance, tools, and strategies to their customers, brands can not only offer assistance to those in need which in turn allows for a loyal and growing community, but they cast a positive light on themselves as well. Here I have put together a short list on how businesses can use social media to effectively build brand communities to be proud of.

Engagement

Community is about engagement. The first thing brands should be doing is engaging with their customers. Communities should be able to openly and freely communicate and respectfully engage in whatever the purpose is. It’s important for members to dive into the community, whether that be by commenting, asking questions, or simply posting something silly. Other forms of engagement are helping users by answering their questions and offering opinions or valuable solutions. A business or brand may find it useful to take the time to get to know the people they are targeting by sharing information and insights about themselves first.

Touching Base

Reach out to customers! After engaging with them online, select a few to personally message. There are some brands that do this. The new popular hair color brand Overtone, for example, selects a few of the best comments on each post to personally respond to. Whether customers have questions about particular products or the effect the product will have on their hair, Overtone is there to help. It’s important for brands to clarify questions that customers may have or direct them to someone that can. Brands can even ask for customer input. This is a valuable way of bringing customers into the brand community and build lasting relationships with them. After some time, the brand will have built a strong community, which is what will truly drive the brand.

Posting Quality Content

There is sometimes a large difference between the content that customers want to view and the content that brands actually post. Businesses must be in tune with their customers. According to an article by Business 2 Community, “Consumers and brands believe that social is the primary hub for customer service and employee advocacy, yet few are doing this well.” Brands should specifically reach out to customers and honor what they consider valuable to make sure that appropriate content is being posted. Finally, brands can use content in order to embrace authenticity and be the best they can be.

Did you know that we can form a first impression in under a second? It may sound a little “out there” but actual research by Princeton psychologists assures us that this is true. Our reptilian brain takes over and we often make these decisions with a little help from our subconscious. When marketers partake in emotional branding, they market their products in such a way that they cause us to create emotional connections to certain brands or companies that allow us to separate it from the others. Over time, we begin to create brand loyalty.

An article on Instapage about emotional marketing uses the Apple brand as an example, stating that “Apple may be the perfect example of a company that utilizes emotions to create a connection with consumers and brand loyalty over time. Apple’s branding strategy uses simplicity, a clean design and most importantly, a desire to become part of a lifestyle movement. This well-crafted desire appeals to our most basic emotional need: to be part of something bigger than ourselves.” In other words, Apple understands how to tug on consumers’ heartstrings in order to tap into their emotions and help them realize why they need the product. By recognizing that we are social animals and want to be a part of something, Apple has crafted marketing strategies like “product unveiling events to help consumers feel a part of something large and important. When consumers feel emotionally tied to an ad, they have more of an intention to buy the product or service being advertised.

Think of the Superbowl ads. One that comes to mind is the Budweiser Superbowl ad of 2015 featuring the Clydesdale horses who become best friends with a Golden Retriever pup. The advertisement was memorable, heartwarming, and emotional. In fact, the advertisement was so successful that Budweiser decided to bring the Clydesdale horses back for their 2020 advertisement. Forming close bonds and understanding the love that an animal can bring are pretty universal themes, so the ad really tugged on some heart strings. Storytelling is also another emotional form of advertising, which plays on dopamine. Therefore, many brands find success in using storytelling in order to make emotional and psychological impacts so that consumers will remember stories and the brand as a result. This is a strong example of emotional branding.

We know that consumers judge brands depending on their emotions and how they feel about particular experiences, rather than on the information provided about a product. This means that marketers must understand exactly how to emotionally connect to consumers and use emotional intelligence to hook customers. By using a mix of technology, colors, and other factors that are known to stir up emotions, brands can come up with the advertisement of a lifetime. On the website Marketoonist, author Tom Fishburne mentions that “The best marketing doesn’t feel like marketing.” This statement couldn’t be any truer. A finely tuned advertisement should connect with an audience emotionally and in such a way that they don’t feel that something is being sold to them. Emotions will always be a vital part of being human so when marketers choose to appeal to people in a way that they are honestly appealing to people’s emotions, they begin to create a name for themselves—a practice that defines emotional marketing.