This article is written by Brian Malika, a Contributor Author at Startup Istanbul.
Most of the time, a product or service can be of high quality and affordable pricing in themarket but still not
appeal to buyers that much when compared to a competing product that is of lower quality or
maybe bit expensive.
What is on the consumer’s mind?
The easiest way to master the consumer’s mind is to understand that all human beings like
to be attractive to others in a way of this other.
This longing to feel attracted to people that are viewed as dear does affect the
customer decisions to buy a good or service, and sometimes quality or pricing is never an
issue.
Well, you might agree and say that the fashion of the day does influence customers’ decision to
buy, but again, think of it this way; there is no way the target customer for your business is
going to spend a dime on a new trending product or service if their loved ones think such a
product is not fancy.
Customers buy things so that they can please or emulate the people they value or love.
So, the clue to understanding the mind of a target customer is to find out who are their loved
ones or the people they value. And according to research, 80 percent of all phones calls
usually revolve just around 5 people.
The above findings imply that these 5 people around your target customer are the people
you should be influencing to speak positively about your product so as to attract the attention
and interest of your target customers.
The way to understand and influence the mind of your target customer is to get
closer to the dear people around them. Whom I would refer to as the influentials. And who
are they? Well, they are different and vary, based on the environment.
Again, these influential people vary based on the environment and also the type of product
or service being promoted. All in all, we have the following main types of influential people
that determine why target customers settle for brands. And they include :
• Close Family members
• Experts on the type of product or service being promoted
• Public figures like celebrities
• Non-experts
Close Family Members
There is no doubt that family members come first in almost all cases. And your target
customer is willing to do anything to see their loved ones smile. This just implies one thing,
and that is if you can be able to design marketing campaigns that speak to the close family
members for your target customer, then be pretty convinced that you are in business.
For instance, if you sell car tires, do research to know how many of your target customers
have families.
Then analyze, what type of families your target customer has; like are there more children
or single parents and such.
Then design marketing campaigns that appeal to the close family members of your target
customers.
You can come up with video games that use the tire brands that you are
promoting and this will lead to children telling their parents about your tire brands they see in
their video games, with time, the parents will notice your tire brand through their children and
this will affect their decisions when buying tires in future to favor your business. Be creative
towards that angle.
Experts
You need to take hold of the experts and intellectuals in the field who relate to your
product. Like if you are promoting your toothpaste in a new market and it happens that a
Harvard Chemistry engineer recommend or talks positively about your toothpaste then you
should be smiling. This is because consumers want to be safe and as such the voices of
experts always make sense and influence buying habits.
Maybe you should consider investing in experts by sponsoring them to talk about your
product in public places. It works.
Public figures
Well, everyone wants to be associated with the rich and famous. If a celebrity today clads in
a suit that is made by your company then be sure to hit media headlines where everyone will
be talking about how this media person dressed in such an outfit from a particular cloth
company.
And even though it is proven that public figures don’t guarantee an increase in sales, they,
however, spark public discussion about your product or service and this is good for building
your brand.
So, consider working with public figures to build your brand and be visible to your target
customers.
Non-experts
Everyone has the ability to bring change, no matter who they are. Therefore, make sure that
your product or service that your promoting does appeal to the general public. Just come up
with quality brands, and as a result, customers will like your product or service and even tell
others without your knowledge as an investor.
Some customers will go to the point of giving you good reviews online. Don’t underestimate
even the power of one customer who has a complaint.
Just as you have seen, the buying of goods and services is all about the target customer
wanting to please or emulate the dear people in their lives or circles. This is what determines
why customers buy a certain product or service.
Hence, desist from marketing your products or services to just anybody on the street and
concentrate on people or circles that have the power to influence your target customer.
