4 Ways Marketers Can Help Customers Become Socially Conscious
Create positive outcomes and lasting relationships with consumers
Marketing psychology attempts to understand the way consumers think, feel, reason, and make decisions so that we, as marketers, can influence those decisions. Making a calculated emotional appeal can be just what you need to land a lasting customer.
Sure, our goal as marketers is to influence consumer behavior to ultimately sell products.
But if the goal of marketing is to influence human behavior toward a positive outcome for yourself or a brand you represent, why not steer that outcome toward a more positive one for consumers as a whole? If we can use powerful emotional appeals to convince consumers to purchase one product over another, perhaps we can also convince them to support important global initiatives like sustainability, ethical ingredient sourcing, or supporting minority-owned companies through our messaging and strategy.
“This sounds like a noble cause, but how do I do it?”
I’m so glad you asked. Here’s a handful of tried-and-true methods to convert your customers into socially conscious consumers.
Make the Decision Easy
Decision-making is a super emotional process, often involving our own preconceptions and subconscious associations of a brand or product. In short, there’s a lot going on when we’re faced with purchase decisions, so it’s important marketers make the decision as simple as possible.
Address the elephant in the room by clearly summarizing the problem your product solves and how. While it’s important to educate consumers about the initiatives a brand is tackling, we can’t expect consumers to seek this information out on their own.
And while the problem your product addresses may be fairly complicated to unpack, simplify as much as possible, especially at the point of sale. It’s important a clear problem and solution is apparent so consumers can make split-second decisions at the moment of purchase.
Rely on auxiliary communication platforms like social media to share more in-depth information about the issue at hand and how your brand addresses it.
Take Advantage of Pack Mentality
Building strong social bonds is important to all of us, and as consumers, we often purchase products based on recommendations or perceptions of our peers. With this in mind, it bears knowing that if we want to change the behavior of an individual, we must first convince them their friends and family’s behaviors have already changed.
You know when you’re scrolling through Facebook, and you see your cousin’s ex-boyfriend’s sister likes Steve’s Sno Cones? That’s an example of a brand taking advantage of pack mentality.
Educate Yourself on the Industry
Education plays a huge role in the effectiveness of transparency in marketing.
As a marketer, especially one that may not be in-house for a given brand, it’s important to educate yourself on the full picture of the industry and the issue at hand.
Consider the background of the industry the brand falls within. Who’s involved, and what’s at stake? What’s been the overarching sentiment presented through marketing messaging historically? Is one community or group of people profiting at the expense of another? How does policy affect consumer sentiment and purchase behavior?
These are all vital questions to dig into before turning your messaging outward.
Don’t Try to Be Everything for Everyone
The best marketing campaigns are those that tackle difficult subject matter without trying to people-please.
Take a stand with your messaging, even if it ticks some people off. Those people aren’t your customers.
The people who connect with your message will be inspired to rally behind your cause, and the lifetime value of brand loyalty is exponential compared to the sales you may lose from those fair-weather customers.
