So, let’s start with a quiz.
What is the most effective way to drive traffic to your website or mobile app?
A. Facebook Ads
B. Search engine marketing
C. Tweets
D. Instagram
The answer: none of the above. At least none of the above without one important first step. Let me explain.
Most of our clients approach us with an issue. We need a new website, we need to get more clients, we need to increase our social media presence. However, before we can help our clients achieve any of those goals, we need to understand their mission, their customer and what they stand for. Because customers aren’t buying because you have a new website (although that can help). They are buying because you connected with them emotionally. Advertising is no longer about describing product features. You have to give your customers a reason to care. You have to connect with them. And you need to use your marketing to tell a story about your brand that they will remember.
Let’s take an example. Subaru has mastered emotional marketing. They started with highlighting what their customers love about their cars. They are reliable, they last forever, they are safe. You can give one to your college age daughter and know that she won’t break down when she is driving by herself. These are all features of the car but more importantly those features are associated with keeping your loved ones safe and protected. That is emotional marketing. The car is no longer just a car but another way that you can take care of your family.
Then they introduced the tagline — Dog tested, Dog approved. Brilliant. Most of us love our pets as much as we love our human families (in some cases more). So, why wouldn’t you want your dogs to be safe as well? Let’s be honest, it’s almost impossible to resist a cute family of dogs driving a car. It touches your heart way more than explaining the product specs. In fact, you may even watch the entire commercial because it’s so darned cute. When was the last time you really wanted to look at a commercial?
In addition to featuring dogs in their advertising, they have taken it one important step further and put their money where their marketing is. They now support animal rescue efforts as one of their charitable endeavors. For example, during the annual Subaru Share the Love Event, one of the four national charities they donate to is the ASPCA. And because the pet product industry has no testing or performance standards, they sponsored several studies conducted by the Center for Pet Safety to ensure that pet travel seats, crates and carriers and harnesses are living up to their claims of being crash-tested or offering crash protection. Pet owners can visit the Center for Pet Safety website to find which certified product is right for their dog.
So, the point is that before you start trying to sell your customers, try connecting with them. Help them understand your values and what you stand for in an authentic way. Because before you can get someone to buy, you have to get them to care.
To read more about how their agency created this campaign, click here.
To read other blogs from Tangelo, click here.