The Real ‘F’ Word: Appealing to people’s feelings to get investment
By Andy Snuggs, Managing Partner of Future Kings Ventures
You’ve got a breakfast-buying app, or a new electric toothpick, or the next big pensions company. It’s brilliant, functional, problem-solving….but do we care?
The truth is, probably not as much as you think. Creating a smart product or business is not enough.
Humans aren’t always rational thinkers — they’re emotional, and their purchasing patterns reflect that.
Douglas Van Praet, the author of Unconscious Branding: How Neuroscience Can Empower (and Inspire) Marketing, explains this brilliantly:
“The most startling truth is we don’t even think our way to logical solutions. We feel our way to reason. Emotions are the substrate, the base layer of neural circuitry underpinning even rational deliberation. Emotions don’t hinder decisions. They constitute the foundation on which they’re made!”
As consumers, we make far more decisions subconsciously than we realise.
Think of the iPhone. It’s not the best phone on the market. It’s not got the best camera, it’s not got the best battery and it costs more than most of its competitors. So, why do people buy them, again and again?
Well, it’s partly because they’re locked in — everything in their house is Apple and they want everything to sync up, but there’s something bigger happening beneath all that: feelings.
The iPhone makes people feel differently about themselves — it’s a status symbol, it’s innovative and it’s always evolving. Apple have successfully created emotional connections using design and branding, which has made people loyal to the company and investors want to invest.
Think of it this way, when you go to see a play, do you remember every line, plot twist, and musical number, or do you remember the feeling it gave you? It’s the same for investors and customers.
It’s the feeling they remember.
Feeling is not a dirty word. It doesn’t have to be weepy. We’re talking about emotive branding, not emotional branding. It’s about making meaningful connections with investors and customers.
To achieve this, you need to capture people’s imagination through brand. Tell a story. Make sure who you are and why you exist a fundamental part of your communications. Create a feeling around your brand at every touchpoint, from product to marketing, from online user experience to face-to-face interaction.
If you’re brand is fun, make it really fun. Build it into everything your business does. Remember, investors see hundreds of business propositions so yours has to stand out.
Just make sure it’s meaningful, consistent and authentic.
With investors and customers choosing heart over head, you’ve got to make it real.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Discover how Future Kings Ventures is helping bring ambitious startups to life through brand.
References:
Douglas Van Praet, 2013. The Myth of Marketing: How Research Reaches For The Heart But Only Connects With The Head. Available at: https://www.fastcompany.com/1682625/the-myth-of-marketing-how-research-reaches-for-the-heart-but-only-connects-with-the-head [Accessed 21 August 2018]
This story is published in The Startup, Medium’s largest entrepreneurship publication followed by + 375,367 people.
Subscribe to receive our top stories here.
