Forget everything you *thought* you knew about marketingā¦
Forget about being āthe bestā, āthe cheapestā, āthe fastestā, or āthe most effectiveā…
Because 95% of purchasing decisions are driven by ONE THING.
Hint: It has nothing to do with your offerā¦
And when you learn this itās going to completely change the way you think about marketing.
Hey, Posse! Whatās up? Itās Alex.
Today I want to talk about a few massive shifts that Iām seeing in the marketing industryā¦
And when I say āshiftsā ā no, Iām talking about some hot new trend or tactic thatās guaranteed to make you millions of dollars overnight.
I get it ā people get excited about Trends.
And yes, paying attention to Trends helps you stay relevant and it IS important to keep a pulse on those thingsā¦
BUT, BUT, BUTā¦
You should never base your entire marketing strategy around some hot new trick you saw on TikTok.
WHY?
Because trends are alwaysssssss changing.
Remember Threads? LOL
It was all anyone was talking about for like, what, a week? Now daily user count is down 82%
Or what about the āA.I. takeoverā?
For a few months, EVERYONE was freaking out about how A.I. was going to replace our jobs and solve our problemsā¦
And now, itās like ā Oh yeah, A.I. can be useful and stuff. But it also kind of sucks and we DEFINITELY need humansā¦
So those are just a few examples of recent ātrendsā that have taken over the marketing zeitgeistā¦
And if all youāre doing is paying attention to the next hottest trend, tool, or tactic that comes onto the sceneā¦
ā¦you are missing the whole point of marketing.
Which is to focus FIRST on what your market needs and wantsā¦
And how your customersā behavior is shifting with the times.
Because the way people bought before is NOT the same way they buy now and if you ignore these marketing truthsā¦
And instead try to find all the fancy bells and whistles to get people to take out their credit cardā¦
Youāre in a race to the bottom.
So letās talk about the way buying behavior is shiftingā¦
But first ā if youāre finding this useful, and you want to see MORE blogs like this oneā¦ join my newsletter so you don’t miss out!
Nowā¦
Buyer behavior has SERIOUSLY changed. Letās talk about itā¦
Marketing Shift #1 ā Linear Marketing Is Dead
Yesā¦ I know, I knowā¦
This is going to make all my direct-response marketers cringe. But itās what the data is showing us.
Customers are no longer moving linearly through a perfectly curated funnel.
Instead, customers are interacting with brands across multiple channels ā seeking out what type of EXPERIENCE that brand has to offerā¦
THEN they are buying.Ā
So the old-school way of marketing was very much like
- Someone sees an ad
- Clicks on the ad
- And either buys now or never buys.
And while sure that MIGHT still happen every now and thenā¦
Itās definitely not very common anymore.
What the customer journey is looking like NOW is more likeā¦
- Someone sees an ad
- Clicks on the ad
- Scrolls around your website for a while
- Checks out your social media accounts
- Maybe they follow you or subscribe to your email list
- They check out your stuff for a while
- Get a vibe check
- THEN MAYBE they buy.
Whatās happening here is that buyers are being more selective with the brands they give their money to.
And I mean, it makes sense if you really think about it ā right?
Consumers have sooooo many options now.
There arenāt just 2 ocean-friendly laundry detergents on the shelf anymore ā there are like 50 of them.
Just think about how long it takes you to pick a Netflix movieā¦
People have more options and because of that, they take longer to weigh their options and get to know the brands BEFORE they make decisions.
And I am absolutely seeing this in my business.
In factā¦
The majority of my FIRST TIME BUYERS, buy from me after 30 days.
Iāve heard so many people saying, āOur marketing is no longer working but we havenāt changed anythingā…
But is it just not working? Or is taking longer to convert the same customer?
Itās no longer *just* about immediate conversionā¦
You want to focus on building brand awareness and creating an experience that pulls people inā¦
In fact, consumers are 155% more likely to search for your brand terms after see an ad.
And 70% more likely to buy from a re-targeting ad.
So marketing is no longer this perfect linear path.
Now weāre seeing buyers zig-zag up, down, side, side, back, forth, and all over the place before they buy.
So whatās a brand to do?
You focus on delivering a QUALITY EXPERIENCE at every single level and stage of your funnel.
Donāt give up on a new lead just because they didnāt convert in the first week.
Take your time with them. Nurture them, give them value, allow them into your world, and give them one hell of an experience.
According to a study by the Harris Group, more than 78% of millennials would choose to spend money on a desirable experience or event rather than buying something desirable.
So rather than looking at consumers as passive receivers of messagesā¦
We should be actively building a relationship with them instead.
Marketing Shift #2 ā Values Must Come FIRST
89% of customers are loyal to brands that share their values
People want to buy from brands that share the same values as them. Period.
You can longer get away with being the cheapest or the bestā¦
Because people are WILLING to pay more to support a brand that reinforces the stories they tell themselves and who they believe they are.
And thatās actually a GOOD THING for you.
Because you donāt want to be for everybody.
You want to attract the people who resonate with who you are and what you stand forā¦
WHY?
Because those people will stick around for the long haul.
Identifying your values and not being afraid to claim them ā loudly and proudlyā¦
Putting your actions where your words areā¦
THAT is how you call in your perfect customers & create community.
And thatās what they want.
They want to feel like they are a part of COMMUNITY.
Consumers are sick and tired of being treated like a transaction.
They want a connection.
The best marketing āstrategyā is simply you showing up as YOU, engaging with your customers, and offering them real value.
And isnāt that freaking amazing?!
Alright, now this next oneā¦
This is the BIG ONE.
Marketing Shift #3 ā Emotional Reasoning > Logical Reasoning
Humans buy emotionally and justify logically.
Which means that crafting a great offer is only HALF the battleā¦
95% of purchasing decisions are completely subconscious and driven by ā yep, you guessed it ā EMOTION.
This means you absolutely HAVE to understand your buyer and their core emotions.
It canāt just be about what the product does and why itās so greatā¦
You need to elicit an emotional response from them if you really want to capture their attention.
Ask yourself:
- How do you want your audience to FEEL when they buy from you?
- How do THEY THINK they want to feel?
- What is the underlying desire beneath that?
This article from Inc. said perfectlyā¦
āLuxury goods target our feelings of self-worth, acceptance, and status in the world. Communication devices excite us by offering a connection to friends, family, and a broader network of people. Athletic brands inspire by offering adventure and glory through the act of competition. And many other products, such as perfume, cologne and lingerie, target emotions related to love, relationships, and sexual desires.
As marketers, we should still focus on the features of the product. But we must also sell the lifestyle and the feeling. The key is to highlight the emotional response a consumer will achieve by using the product.
As the old saying goes – sell the sizzle, not the steak.ā
I used to work at a steakhouse and would hear this all the time. Lol.
YES.
So if youāre not already considering the Emotional Buyerās Journey in your marketing then you are leaving A LOT of money on the table.
And if you want to go even further down the marketing rabbit holeā¦
Make sure to read my next blog, where I share THE BEST marketing advice I ever receivedā¦
Until next time, Iām Alex. Ciao for now!
