Human to Human Marketing Techniques
The premise of human-to-human marketing is one human buying from another. It taps into the human psyche and helps you form a broader and more complete form of marketing that can exceed almost any other form. Good storytelling is a strong method because it puts a more human face on how you manage advertising. A story helps clients understand how something fits into their individual experdigitiences and gives them context to make decisions. Stories add color, personality and relevance about what you are trying to sell.
During the Industrial Era big businesses cast a shadow on their audience with power and authority and they demanded respect. The Human Era encourages businesses to be a peer instead of a superior. Only by individualizing an audience and building authentic connections will your business thrive in the Human Era. Just because consumers are extremely connected to their devices doesn’t mean they have stopped desiring human experiences and interactions. Details about how to humanize your brand are below.
- Integrate super personalized marketing into your strategy as a way of saying “I am listening. I know what you want, I know what you need”
- Engage with your audience on social media. When you interact with them at eye-level, they can see you as just another person
- Be empathetic toward your customers’ lives and personal struggles. There is no better feeling than seeing a commercial or post that makes you say, “They really get me”
- Be inspirational because humans want to feel inspired to be themselves, to make their lives better, to strive for success
- Incorporate humor into advertising. It can help you win over your audience because it elicits joy and happiness and your audience will come back for more
There was a time when marketing was segmented into two categories; business-to-business (B2B) or business-to-consumer (B2C). This was most likely done to separate specialties, audiences and segments in an effort to focus more closely on targeting the groups of people who ultimately would be able to relate to a brand. What it ended up doing, however, was create an unnatural language for marketers to tell their product’s stories to their buyers and partners. It has become similar to a massive game of telephone, and by the time a message gets to the person actually buying the product, the aspects that make it special have been eaten up by marketing vernacular.
Many consumers are confused and want to know why marketers cannot make it simple for them to understand what they are selling. Consumers notice that marketing campaigns quite often do not align to real people’s experiences. In fact, the lines are so blurred now between the two marketing segments that it is difficult to differentiate between the two anymore. Everyone needs to think like the consumers they are by putting themselves in the mindset of the buyer instead of trying to speak an intensely sophisticated language full of acronyms and intellectual words, in order to sound smarter.
Marketing increasingly strives to become one-to-one, with solutions to collect and analyze big data to serve up more personalized offers and experiences. On the other hand, social media has become an increasingly more public medium, where the things shared skyrocket quickly to a one-to-many experience. The dichotomy between marketing and social has flipped and now it is out of balance. Social and marketing need to collaborate to personalize individual conversations, as well as deliver shared worldwide experiences that crowds of common values can benefit from. This is what our social and digital mediums give to people and encourage human interaction and a drive to take action.
Many marketers consider the stages of youth development when advertising their products. Advertisers are eager to tap into the buying power of this demographic. Most tweens are at a stage where they can classify and prioritize. They know why a product or service is better or has more value, but they cannot make large abstract leaps. Teenagers, on the other hand, usually become egocentric and typically enter bonding relationships. Sharing experiences with peers is very important. While marketing to young children involves offering a wow factor, it does not work as well with tweens and teens who are finding their way in the world. These age groups are brand conscious, but not always brand loyal. Marketers have to consistently remind them why their products and services are valuable.
The children’s developmental stages have not changed over the past couple of decades, however there have been huge social, familial and economic upheavals. Today’s young people live in a global and multicultural world. In general they are wealthier than previous generations and participate in family decision-making. A good marketing strategy is to offer a balance between timeless and timely. The important goal is to produce brands that are cool and connect with kids.
Youth are extremely internet and consumer savvy, so conducting online surveys is a good way to gauge their tastes. Tweens and teens know that providing data to marketers can lead to rewards and customized goods and services. Another great method is event marketing because they love to go to movies and attend concerts and sporting events.
A marketing firm provides systems and tools that help you reach your customers in the most effective way possible. They focus on generating qualified leads by doing a rigorous analysis of your company and then using holistic digital marketing.
