Marketing is like falling in love, you need to be attentive and skillful

Brands are constantly doing marketing, but what is the essence of marketing? Marketing is like falling in love, you need to be sincere and skillful, how to do it specifically? Let's take a look at the author's summary.

Someone on Zhihu asked: "What is the essence of marketing?"

From an academic perspective, the essence of marketing is to identify, create, communicate and deliver value through a series of strategic arrangements and specific activities to meet customer needs and achieve corporate goals. This involves market research, product design, pricing, promotion, distribution, and service, which together build a marketing system.

However, today let’s try to explore this issue from a different angle – comparing marketing to a love affair (more often than not, a love affair that begins with the pursuit of a brand):

When you first meet, you are struck by the unique light that shines in each other. In the process of mutual attraction and getting closer, you explore the other person's hidden needs and actively demonstrate your value to them. As your feelings grow stronger, your understanding of each other deepens, and you increasingly want to give each other the best that you can. Both parties will become better versions of themselves because of each other in the process of falling in love.

In the marketing love process, brands play the role of pursuers most of the time. They will actively look for, approach and attract consumers, or actively enter their sight and gain their attention when consumers are looking for a partner, and then win their purchase choice through some efforts, just like the hero and heroine confirm their feelings for each other and start a long-term relationship.

Brands rely on various marketing methods to find, approach and attract consumers, including advertising, public relations, promotions, activities, events, etc., just like the various scenes of meeting and getting to know each other in love.

Oh, by the way, many romantic TV dramas have such plots: the hero and heroine pass each other in various scenes until they come into deep contact due to a certain event or accident, and finally confirm this fate, and the marketing process is often like this.

There are hundreds of beauties in the world, but I only love you. Thousands of brands and consumers like the vast sea of ​​stars can choose each other because "you have exactly what I need" and "what I love is your soul", which is the value provided by the brand: differentiated brand positioning, products or services provided, unique brand tone and brand culture.

Of course, brands and consumers may also meet by chance and fall in love with each other, but this requires special opportunities. This opportunity is actually because the information created by marketing increases the probability of meeting each other, and the brand must have the value that consumers need when they meet.

All of these require brands to put in the effort in normal times. It may seem like unintentional success, but in fact, the gears of fate have already begun to turn secretly.

If a brand wants to maintain a healthy "romantic relationship" with its "significant other" (consumers) for a long time, it needs to manage it carefully in addition to the initial excitement and use appropriate techniques.

First, brands need to gain a deep understanding of consumer needs and preferences.

Only when you truly understand the needs of your romantic partner can you provide them with the value they need, thereby keeping them happy in the relationship. Only when brands understand the real needs of consumers can they design and provide value that truly meets their needs.

Just like understanding a romantic partner, brands need to discover the real needs of consumers, not just superficial, wishful thinking, including not only material needs but also emotional and spiritual needs. To this end, brands need to deeply understand and study consumer needs through market research and user interaction.

Based on understanding needs, brands must create and provide value for consumers, including material value, emotional value, cultural value, spiritual value, etc.

It's like in a romantic relationship, partners not only have to meet each other's material needs, but also care about each other's emotions, cultural identity and spiritual sustenance.

Material value is the most basic demand satisfaction, which is reflected in the functionality, practicality and cost-effectiveness of the product. Consumers buy products or services first to solve a specific problem or meet a practical need. Therefore, brands must ensure that their products or services meet or exceed consumer expectations in terms of functionality, while being reasonably priced and cost-effective.

Emotional value refers to the emotional satisfaction that brands provide on the basis of satisfying consumers' material needs. This can be achieved through product design, packaging, advertising, etc., so that consumers can feel pleasure, satisfaction and recognition in the process of using products or services. For example, some brands create a warm and romantic advertising atmosphere to make consumers feel cared for and valued during the purchase process.

Cultural value is the bond that connects brands with consumers at a deeper level. If the cultural concepts, lifestyles and values ​​represented by a brand are consistent with consumers' cultural identity, they can resonate with and inspire consumers' loyalty. Therefore, brands need to clarify their cultural positioning and effectively convey it to target consumers through various marketing methods.

Spiritual value is the highest level of value satisfaction that a brand provides to consumers. It is reflected in the concepts, beliefs and pursuits advocated by the brand, which can inspire consumers' inner motivation and become the spiritual pillar of their lives. For example, some brands have attracted many consumers who pursue high-quality life by emphasizing their unique historical heritage, exquisite craftsmanship and pursuit of excellence.

At the same time, brands must meet consumer needs through effective promotion, sales, communication and interaction, and be good at showcasing their products, services and culture through marketing.

It's like being in love, couples need to express their love with appropriate words and actions so that each other's material needs, emotional needs, etc. can be met and feel their care and warmth.

This requires brands to have keen market insight and predictive capabilities, be able to identify and seize opportunities in a timely manner, and attract and retain consumers through effective content, communication and promotion, and create a good user experience.

In addition, brands should be good at motivating consumers to understand themselves, deepen interactions and even let them participate in the brand building process, so that the relationship between the two parties will be more harmonious and inseparable.

This is like how a couple in love have a deeper understanding of each other. In addition to superficial appearance and financial ability, they also need to understand the deeper inner contents such as knowledge, culture, character and world outlook. The bits and pieces of common experiences of both parties will deepen this understanding and make the relationship between them more harmonious.

To this end, brands must use their brand culture to resonate with consumers and allow consumers to participate in building the brand, thereby establishing a deep relationship between them.

This kind of relationship will be as inseparable as that of a couple in love, and consumers will be more loyal to the brand, which will not only help to increase the brand's awareness and reputation, but also bring more business opportunities and competitive advantages to the brand.

From the above, isn’t marketing a bit like a love affair between a brand and consumers?

If this love affair is successful, both the brand owner and the consumer will achieve mutual success and become better versions of themselves over the years.

If this relationship fails, the brand and the consumer will go their separate ways, and you may never meet again;

The worse scenario is that fierce conflicts may arise between the two sides, making the situation difficult to control.

The success of this "love affair" depends on whether the brand can truly understand consumer needs, create and provide value, and communicate effectively.

Author: Chen Hao; WeChat public account: Brand Market Relativity (ID: Brand-Marketing)