Seduction or Marriage?
Marketing is all about seduction, yet many brands assume it is a marriage
Here’s a recognisable truism: brand owners tend to create a perspective that suits their own agenda, objectives, and internal structures, processes and procedures.
But that means they can end up, sub-consciously, living in their own safe, inward-looking little bubbles. Stick with what always worked in the past, because, well, it seems to work. But that approach sometimes leads to a decrease in sales performance, with everyone scratching their head as to precisely why.
So the job of any good marketeer is to add a good dose of reality - to stand back, be a protagonist, challenge dangerous assumptions, and unearth the insights that can make a real difference.
That’s why, in theory, brand experts exist – they can offer an unbiased and valuable ‘third-party’ view, because brands can often be too close to a subject (and too partisan) to actually see the truth. A good agency will always ask uncomfortable questions. A good agency will always ask you to be brave in order to escape that bubble.
The last 12 months have reinforced the fact that we live in a fluid, ever-changing world. What was true yesterday isn’t necessarily going to be true tomorrow. So we have been reminded that we always have to reassess, reframe and recalibrate.
That should be true for brands too.
And that’s where the idea of Seduction verses Marriage comes from.
We can’t assume that prospects will automatically be drawn to you, or that existing customers will always look at you in a favourable light, simply because they always have in the past. I know some of you will be ahead of me here, but the analogy neatly exposes the fact that each new project/communication/task must offer something more - we should not pretend that we always have a captive (or captivated) audience.
So we need to reveal something enticing – something that adds depth and promotes curiosity, and avoid making convenient/lazy assumptions. In fact, changing your mindset is a fully-fledged commercial imperative.
When it comes to the customers we already have, we can’t expect to have a well-established, on-going, and mutually respectful ‘marriage’ without putting the work in – so we need to have an attitude that equates to making that audience swoon and/or fall in love with us over and over again.
Because the reality is that there are a lot of motivated rival suitors out there.
So, with all this competition fighting for a sale, how do we keep the customers we have AND find new ones? How do we even begin to compete? How can you, your products or services, be seen as more valuable, worthy and alluring than your rivals?
Feeling uncomfortable?
Well I think there’s an intelligent way to approach this dilemma.
We could chase, or we could create a scenario where we are chased.
Let’s take the ‘seducer’ analogy one step further. What is it that draws us to one person and/or brand over another? What’s at the core of attraction?
Of course, these are complex questions, but I’d argue that a quiet sense of self-confidence goes a long way.
Ask yourself this: who is the most attractive person at a party? The self-assured one who seems both interesting and interested, or the noisy boorish one who’s obviously trying too hard to please?
A calm, self-assured ‘you can rely on me/us’ persona is an incredibly valuable asset for a brand. If you are seen to be comfortable with yourself, it’s much easier for others to be comfortable with you too. In essence that should be the ‘umbrella’ for all communication, as everything else (what we say, how we behave, etc) reinforces (and is reinforced) by it.
That is a brand.
A brand should exude a sense of knowing something that others should want to know too. To ensure an existing or perceived need/interest is enhanced, reinforced and is ‘accessible’ in a meaningful fashion – so customers/prospects will ‘buy’ with confidence, already imagining/anticipating a positive outcome.
So ask yourself: does your business need marriage counselling, or perhaps a refresher course in the art of seduction?