By: Dr. David Bridwell, People Scientist and Jake McKenzie, Chief Executive Officer
The pathway from being initially aware of a brand to buying that brand can be complex, and it differs for different brands. Some customer journeys might be best captured by a three stage path from awareness to purchase while others might have a five stage path that includes repurchase, and so on. And based on these unique customer journeys, brands can often find the exact point where they are losing customers so they can direct their marketing efforts toward filling that gap.
Often, however, you can find some common issues with the purchase journey across many different brands, and that was the case in the latest research from LinkedIn’s B2B Institute and the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute. The researchers surveyed 1,200 buyers of B2B products and found that brand awareness was four to eight times more of a problem than brand rejection. Many brands had been focusing on getting people to like the brand, yet the real issue was the lack of people who knew about the brand in the first place.Â
It’s easy to see how marketers got stuck in this situation. We often suffer from our own egocentricity bias, meaning that we’re far more aware of ourselves and how we appear than others are. Remember that one time you tripped while walking down those stairs? You probably do, but the people who saw your embarrassing fall forgot about it shortly after it occurred. We overrepresent the degree in which others perceive us and care about us all the time. And marketers do this too when they think about how much other people think about and care about the brands they work for.
Your customer’s perspective is shaped by their personal experience and their personal frame of reference. And one of the primary factors that shapes how we approach new information is the impact that that information has on us personally. When we encounter new information we first ask ourselves “how does this impact me”, and second, we ask “how does this impact how others perceive me?” As a result, at the end of the day, customers don’t care how great you are, they care about how great you can make them.
As marketers, it’s important to understand the perspective of the customer and to have well thought out theories for our attention, perception, and memory as we go about the day. Applying an understanding of psychology and neuroscience can help shed a different perspective on many of the common challenges we face as marketers. To learn more, you can check out our latest webinar.
At Intermark Group, we leverage psychology and the behavioral sciences, including memory science, to help make sure that advertisements have the most impact. We work with you at all levels of the campaign, from strategy, creative, production, and media, and more. Feel free to give us a call at 833-578-1314 or email us at [email protected] to discuss how we can help with your marketing challenges.
