I think we can all agree that the world isn’t as simple as it once was. It’s way more complex, with businesses getting bombarded by complications and challenges, especially during COVID-19. Customers are getting more and more complicated as there are tons of options to select from. There are massive amounts of information at their fingertips, a variety of social networks to discover, and experiences to consider. The speed we all operate nowadays is utterly crazy yet necessary, and it also explains why ‘relevance’ is an important concept.
To put it simply, relevance is something that will bring meaning to your business. It’s a full experience of a service/product that will change behaviors and thought processes and, most importantly, sustain that change long-term.
- Let’s not forget that behind every business, there is a person. People are getting more and more choices, and it’s not necessarily a bad thing. We, as businesses, have to stay relevant to keep growing and scaling up. Usually, customers tend to choose the brand/product they are familiar with, which calls to them. A recent study showed that people prefer brands that they establish some emotional connection with. Relevant brands make it their life mission to be practical and as understandable to the masses as possible. Simplicity is key in this case.
- People place their hard-earned money into a brand’s hands and want to get a guarantee that that particular brand will solve their problem. And it’s completely understandable if you ask me. I’m a customer like any other, and I want to get quality products/services that I paid for. The key here is to establish whether you as a brand can provide that quality product/service. You can’t just offer something to people and hold your fingers that it’ll sell and that the customers will be satisfied. You have to make an effort to understand your customers and their problems. After you do that, you can move on to figuring out how exactly you can solve that problem while providing a quality service/product.
Another trend that I observe lately is that customers are getting spoiled. And I mean spoiled as in spoiled with choices. Sure, the emotional/psychological part plays a huge part in whether the customer will buy your product/service. But to establish a long-lasting relationship that will guarantee loyal customers, you need to resonate with them and provide them with something they can only get from you. You can’t be selling everything to everybody.
We’ve heard marketing departments across industries and highly successful companies buzzing about a new term that’ll soon become an organizational standard—customer success. The way people resonate determines what kind of strategy you adopt within your business.
You can find that out by dividing your marketing efforts into specific categories such as age, gender, income, geography, culture, job position, education, etc. When you find what works best for your business, you will instantly become more relevant to that specific niche. You can read a post on customer success written by one of GlobalEdgeMarkets managing partners, Marla Bace, by clicking here.
Relevance also heavily depends on the visuals. Let’s be honest, most of us are extremely attracted to a beautiful visual, whether it’s a funky cereal box packaging or a tastefully decorated showcase. I know I am. You can’t forget about circumstances when trying to become more relevant: content, context, and the way you present those two together. Maybe it’s time you think not only about what you sell but how you sell it as well.