We joke about it all the time: every great marketer is secretly a pop psychologist. Look at Don Draper. Sure, his campaigns were killer, but what made him so great was that he intuitively knew how to tap into people’s inner desires to sell them the product that would fill the gap in their lives.
Basically, the more you get inside consumers’ heads (but not, like, in a creepy way), the better able you are to meet them where they are. Here’s how to unlock your inner headshrinker to understand your customers’ impulses, desires, and needs.
I’m Frasier Crane, and I’m Listening
Marketers love to talk. But any psychologist will tell you that if you leave enough room for someone else to speak up, they will. Use analytics, reviews, customer service calls, and web traffic paths to listen to your customers and figure out what they’re saying (or not saying). The deeper you look, and the better you listen, the more you’ll find that consumers open up to you. If you can, combine third-party information with real interviews with potential or current customers, then build a customer persona to figure out who you’re selling to. Who are they? How and where do they live? What do they want and need? What’s their next move? How can you help – and how can you be in the right place at the right time?
Channel Your Eve Polastri: Know What Drives Them
Demographics and shopping habits offer great insight into the “what” of your ideal customer. But it’s when you figure out the why is when things really get interesting. In Killing Eve, criminologist Eve Polastri closes in on her targets by determining their motivations and drive. This understanding can help drive a marketing campaign from so-so to epic success. Does personal gain drive your customers? Appearances? Social awareness? Thrill-seeking? Belonging? Once you figure out the driving force behind your customers’ behavior, you can target them with a campaign they’ll love.
Be More Dr. Melfi: Become a Trusted Friend
If you want your customers to get on board with your product or service, you must show them you can be trusted. Gone are the days of super-aggressive ads that bombard consumers with messaging until they break down and buy. Today’s audience lives in spam filters, ad blockers, and instant “unsubscribe.” People don’t answer their phones or doors, and junk mail is returned to sender. If you want to get past those blockades, building trust is vital. Listen to your customers, provide valuable, relevant information, and use partnerships with trusted partners or influencers to foster relationships. This approach empowers customers to opt into what you’re selling – putting them in the driver’s seat of their purchases. And in a world where everything feels out of control, consumers love to take the lead.
All Psyched Up? Talk to StellaPop
If you’re feeling psyched about reaching your ideal customer with a marketing campaign that gets what they’re all about, talk to StellaPop. As marketing pros with a deep understanding of consumer psychology, we can help you understand your customers, define what drives them, build trust, and create a campaign that leverages psychology to get them to choose your brand over all the others. Now that’s some big-brain thinking.
