Headspace: Marketing to moments — emotion, purpose & effectiveness

by Tenielle Maris. The definition of the customer journey has manifested as a plethora of infographics, funnels and explanations, all of which endeavour to plot out the crucial points for brands to connect with audiences. It goes without saying that mobile and social media have pervaded and shaped the traditional customer journey, irrevocably altering attention spans.

Consumers have instant access to products, services, information, experiences and even reviews, and their demands have evolved into something far more complex and convoluted than we could have imagined. Instant gratification has become a movement that brands need to join, or else they will be left behind.

The pursuit for ‘more’

To add to this dynamic, tech advancements have provided consumers with the platform to perpetually evolve their needs and change their minds. Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, sums this up perfectly: “Customers are always beautifully, wonderfully dissatisfied, even when they report being happy and business is great. Even when they don’t yet know it, customers want something better.”

Brands and retailers need to be finely attuned to their audiences’ evolving needs, to ensure that whatever is being put out there is not only relevant but provides a valuable solution to a specific pain point in their lives that cannot easily be replicated.

The problem with that is that no longer is it as simple as creating a one-of-a-kind product, service or experience to hold someone’s attention. Oh no. Consumers are simultaneously on the hunt for brands that understand them as individuals and enrich their lives in some shape or form, and you had better be giving them those things if you plan on keeping them.

Identifying moments

Never has there been a better time to pinpoint the most-opportune moments to make your brand hard to resist in the eyes of your audience, something that Google has mastered through identifying micro-moments.

According to Google, “The consumer decision journey has been fractured into hundreds of tiny decision-making moments at every stage of the ‘funnel’—from inspiring vacation plans to buying a new blender to learning how to install that new shelf.”

By understanding when people are most susceptible to be influenced by brands, marketers and advertisers are armed with the insights to create hyper-targeted and relevant content to connect with audiences on much deeper levels.

More than a moment in time

“While consumers will seek to speed through some experiences, and slow down to savour others, one constant objective remains: to extract maximum value from every moment.” — trendwatching.com

There’s no doubt that these moments present the most optimal opportunities to reach audiences and to make an impact; however, we need to take this a step further: we need to execute work that demonstrates an understanding that each moment is so much more than a stepping stone to buying a product or take action, and rather a critical component in the overall consumer-brand experience.

Getting it right

L’Oréal is breaking ground in recognising shopping behaviour and complementing it with content that demonstrates a deep understanding of its audience. The brand’s makeup collections have been integrated in the AR beauty app, YouCam Makeup, which is now accessible to shoppers when browsing in-store. By recognising that shoppers stand in stores, looking for inspiration online and on social platforms, the app makes it possible to instantly discover inspiration and to navigate the range: creating an enhanced makeover experience and a seamless consumer journey simultaneously.

In the ever-demanding world that we live in, we need consumers to want to actually opt in to hearing what we have to say to them. As advertisers and marketers, we need to pause to connect with consumers in ways that go beyond reaching them at the right time and place. We need to ensure that what we have to say is not only engaging, but meaningful and relevant or we will miss the opportunity to make an impact.

If we want to be ready for those moments, we need to continually strive to leverage powerful insights and reinvent ways to create value for consumers. In so doing, we stand to create more meaningful and memorable journeys with our brands.

References

• Globalwebindex: The New Consumer Journey: Why Social Media Matters
• Brightcove: Why Social Video Needs To Dominate Your 2017 Marketing Plan
• Google Consumer Surveys, August 2015,
• Loreal.com: L’oréal joins Perfect Corp’s YouCam Makeup app

 

Tenielle Maris is strategic director at TTL agency, 34°, in Johannesburg. Beginning her career in branding and communications, she has spent the last decade in the marketing industry where she has worked upon big brands spanning the African continent. Having found her passion in understanding what drives human beings to connect with particular brands, her time is spent getting up close and personal with the people whom brands are trying to connect with. Tenielle contributes the monthly “Headspace” column, which unpacks anything and everything that helps marketers and advertisers understand why people connect with brands, to MarkLives.com.

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