Now more than ever, we buy things because we first trust the maker of those things. We are increasingly skeptical of promotional “deals” and flashy language, but when we feel like a company understands our needs, we’re receptive of what that company has for us.
For most of our existence, what we know about products or services that are for sale has come mostly from direct experiences. If the vacuum salesman did his job well enough, he could convince you that it’s the highest quality vacuum at the lowest price on the market, and if you buy now you’ll save 10%–an offer you can’t refuse! You really had no choice but to believe what you were told, because you had almost no access to objective information about comparable products or other solutions for your problem.
Today, the landscape has changed. Not only do we have instant access to a complete selection of products, but we have reviews from hundreds of consumers about each one. We can also find easy solutions to our problems that we can make ourselves, so when we’re looking to a product from a company we expect more than a simple transaction; we want great service, a guarantee of quality, and a way to personalize what we’ve just bought. None of this is luxury anymore, it’s just what comes with a legitimately good product.
Traditional marketing tactics continue to be the standard within the business arena despite their lacking effectiveness. This includes using offers such as discounts, limited time deals, free added products, or any combination of those. Offers aren’t necessarily bad, but they’re often mistakenly used as an entire marketing strategy–that is, a way of targeting not only people who are ready to buy your product, but people who are learning about your product, people who have never heard of your product, and people who don’t even know they’re looking for a product. What does it say about your company when the only thing your showing to the public is a money-centric offer? It says you have no substance, no motivating passion, you’re just looking to pressure someone into giving your their money without the chance to learn about you and trust you first.
A lot of businesses still use this method because it has always worked in the past. They appeal to a person’s sense of urgency and create the idea that you are in a unique situation which should be taken advantage of. The problem is, though, that this kind of appeal is EVERYWHERE. We’re so used to urgency in marketing that we’ve become numb to it, and if that’s the only thing coaxing us to buy a product, it’s not going to work.
The methods we’ve used throughout the years to market our products and services have been an attempt to strike a chord with a person’s logic or emotions, which is what it takes to show your customer you have the right solution. We’ve just gone about it the wrong way.
It seems there has always been an inherent self doubt in the history of commerce. Company’s assume their product is not actually as good as they say it is, and therefore must be shrouded in high-urgency deals and twisted logic that keep the consumer from thinking about their options. This mindset is so pervasive that even companies with outstanding products tend to use this approach when connecting with their customers.
For some, the dawn of the internet may have sparked second thoughts about the quality of their product. This could have caused some business owners to rely even more on dishonest claims, price cuts, and selling out the competition. I think, though, that it should do just the opposite. The fact that consumers are exposed to objective information about all possible products out there should motivate us not to fool the consumer, but to create better products. If a product solves a real problem, it’s that much easier to create an effective brand around that product. People will always need certain solutions, and the more earnestly we can address those needs, the better off our businesses will be, as well as our lives as consumers.