The power of emotional triggers in marketing
A successful marketing engine that effectively drives demand is by definition data-driven. But there’s also a side to marketing that’s driven by a response to feelings.
I’m not suggesting we throw out all data and base marketing decisions on how we feel on any given day, but rather that emotional triggers play a significant role in the way people perceive and connect with brands and products.
For this reason, understanding these motivations is incredibly powerful when selling or raising awareness.
Building an emotional connection with your brand
Consider your favourite brand. Why do you like it and what emotions do you associate with it? Maybe it’s a brand that you’ve been using for years and it feels familiar and comforting.
Or maybe it’s a brand that you associate with a particular lifestyle you aspire to. Whatever the case may be, there are probably some pretty strong feelings wrapped up in your relationship with that brand.
My first pair of running shoes as a young long-distance athlete were from Nike. They were professionally fitted and lightweight. Thanks to my Nike trainers I could ‘just do it’ and run the longest distances. I only ever won a few medals, but what mattered was I participated, did my best and had fun doing it. Thanks to that early first impression I have such a strong affinity with the brand, that 15 years on Nikes remain my go-to running shoes.
Now, think about a brand that you dislike. Maybe it’s a brand you’ve had a bad experience with. What emotions do you associate with it?
A friend recently had a frustrating trip to Melbourne. The airline lost her luggage, leaving her to navigate the sticky summer heat with only one change of clothes for several days. It was far from the cheerful, stress-free journey promised in their marketing and she is unlikely to fly with that airline for some time.
The point is, emotions are a huge part of how we interact with brands and if you tap into those emotions, you can establish a powerful connection with your audience, or loose them for good.
Understanding and targeting emotional triggers
So how do you go about creating messaging that meets customers at the right point in their buying journey and convinces them to choose you?
Start by understanding:
- What are their pain points?
- What motivates them?
- What emotions do they associate with your industry or product category?
Knowing this will guide your messaging strategy, enabling you to speak to both the emotional and rational aspects of their decision making process.
Behavioural segmentation also provides valuable insight about customer pains, desires and fears. This kind of information tells us what concrete information customers need when learning about their problem and making decisions about how to solve it with a particular product or service.
This could be data about the high risk of smoking if what you do is help customers overcome this habit, or a testimonials from customers who’ve tried your product or service.
Storytelling is also a practical tool for making people care. When done well, it connects your audience to your brand by appealing to both emotion and reason.
Whether it’s the origin of your product or a customer success story, the right narrative helps people see your value and feel something about it.
Key takeaways
If you want customers to care about what you do, give them a reason to feel something and a reason to believe it. Here’s how:
Know your audience
Start with a clear understanding of what your audience wants, what they worry about and how they feel about your category. This will shape everything from tone to message.
Balance emotion with logic
People buy with their hearts but they also justify with their heads. Your message should speak to both. Create emotional connection and back it up with practical reasons to act.
Use real stories and make it relatable
Founding stories, customer testimonials or even product use cases can all work in the right setting. Additionally, speak your audience’s language and use imagery, references and tone that match their world.
