The following is an article “Selling Happiness is Not as Hard With These Business Insights” by Marc Primo.
Happiness takes many forms and one of them is simply getting what you want. Be it money, popularity, or power, ‘happiness’ is what drives people to try out new things. And that’s basically how marketing works!
Marketers know that a campaign is effective if it makes people happy and good sales follow if consumers are satisfied with a product. However, before consumers learn about a product, businesses need a good marketing hook that will catch the market’s attention and establish loyalty.
In the old days, consumers’ eyes lit up when they’d see ads of people with wide smiles on their faces, content in using the product. Back then, these types of ads could be quite infectious and could influence consumers to make a purchase to find out if the promises these ads conveyed were true. However, not all marketing campaigns with shiny happy people on them really work as products still have to deliver in real life.
If you want to sell happiness effectively through your own marketing campaigns, consider these insights that can help your product be a market winner.
Bank on experience. Today’s marketing strategies have evolved with experiential events being one of the top preferences among consumers. This is because today’s market of Generation Zers, who by next year will comprise 40% of the whole consumer population in the world, wants more interaction and rely on experiencing a product first before deciding to support it. Produce your marketing copies and ads in a way that people can experience them rather than focusing solely on the product. Sell candy not because it’s sweet but because one mommy can make her upset child smile because of it. The more people enjoy their life experiences by using your product, the more you can expect good sales.
Integrity is the prize. The disclaimer “Truth in Advertising” you usually see in multimedia ads is enforced by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to ensure consumer safety from the products they buy on the market. In the past, major brands have collapsed because of false advertising scandals. Red Bull’s promise of giving customers wings via their ads cost them $13 million, Volkswagwen’s “clean diesel” cars as a subject of a recent Netflix documentary Hard Money, and Kellogg’s claims that their Rice Krispies boosts your immune system resulting to a $5 million loss for the company are just a few of the many ad fails throughout the years. The true trick in selling happiness is staying true to your product’s promises and to never mislead consumers.
Look beyond financials. It’s not wrong to build a product with the aim of amassing profit but if you want to strike a chord among today’s consumers, give equal focus on addressing what they need and how your product can make a difference in their lives. If Baby Boomers relied on customer service and satisfaction, Generation Xers started the product review revolution, and Millennials introduced online purchasing twinned with word-of-mouth reviews; Generation Zers want more transparency from a product than just quality and gorgeous models on ads. This rising consumer population also looks into a company’s altruism efforts, social stand, and the community it fosters. Most of the time, it’s better to think of a marketing strategy as a charity campaign wherein you prioritize addressing needs first before turning the spotlight on proceeds. Remember that you are selling happiness in your marketing campaigns, so look beyond profit and discover what really makes your target market happy first.