Ideals and Promises: Selling an Achievable Dream to Your Target Market
The philosophy behind much advertising is based on the old observation that every man is really two men — the man he is and the man he wants to be. – William Feather
Behind every recommendation or online purchase is a human being. One with emotions and personal likes or dislikes. This person pays more attention to certain things more than others because of his/her creed, feelings and belief-systems.
When we talk about marketing on the web, we’re talking about selling a perceived benefit/value by communicating in a way which suits and modifies your target market’s interests/needs. Some theorists will also suggest that marketing (and advertising) is in the business of creating new needs or wants.
It’s not about fulfilling the existing needs of customers out there but the reinforcing of those needs by selling them ideals. Your aim is to associate your brand with a vision, one that integrates with and enhances each customer’s individual life goals. Buyer desires are transient and they can change but ideals do not shift as easily.
Products or services are addons: tools and means which fit into a customer’s world-view. Fair trade coffee, local organic produce, anti-sweatshop clothing, Rolex watches, moleskin notebooks. They are selling themselves as objects coherent with a lifestyle you aspire to have, one that is fulfilling and meaningful.
Image Credit: felmagalhães
For a website to be a success, it should empower its users by aligning itself clearly with a specific ideal or as I have mentioned before, a collective vision.
Take the example of a self-help site. Why are you reading it? Because it inspires you to lead a healthy and stress-free life. Even if it doesn’t always provide information that is new to you, it continues to offer an ideal and a promise.
An ideal that you can aspire to and the promise that it’ll get you there. Sometimes that alone is alluring enough to build reader loyalty. When many competitors offer the same ideal and promise, it becomes a matter of emphasis and execution.
- How well are you emphasizing your ideals and promises?
- How well are you fulfilling them in your actual site, service or product?
- Are you branding yourself through the right networks and connections?
- Are you associating your brand with right images/personalities/events?
- Do you know what your audience is thinking about your site?
Product or service value is a relative perception. It can be manipulated and infinitely enhanced by emphasizing the right ideals and promises. Focus on being better than your competitor in terms of site or product features but do not forget that long term consumer decisions are influenced by their lifestyle goals and dreams.
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This is similar to what I have said many times when advising people on how to write content for their business blogs: convey the dream of success. You are selling the ideal of success. Potential customers see the success of current customers and imagine it for themselves. Although I didn’t conceive of them using the same words as you, Maki, I do pay attention to those five points you mentioned. Product or service value is a perception, as you say, and we manipulate that perception. Thanks for the confirmation!
Well put. This plays into the convenience factor, which is such a big selling point. Show how your product/service makes someone’s life easier/better and then get them thinking about what they could be doing instead/because of your product/service…get them livin the dream.
Stephen at Adversity University recently gave me an advice that was a revelation for me: Build a story and share it. A story of my real life that resonates with readers’ values, aspirations, and emotions. It is a way of faithful branding. I gather Maki is saying the same thing in his more academic way.
I teach this concept to my self help products course students all the time and the beginning students are often astounded. Great post.
This is the very point I intend to convey in an upcoming project designed for coaches and consultants. It’s great to get this confirmation! Thanks.
hey maki . . . haven’t been here for a while and I apologize for that . . . . great post and pretty much online with how i try to treat my marketing projects . . . i phrase it in a more solution/problem example, but this works too!
. . hit me up on IM . . . haven’t seen you online for a while!
Great post Maki! As usual
I have an unrelated question. What plugin are you using for the flickr photos?
I’m trying to soak this all in. It reminds me of being in college trying to get to the essence of what was really being said and then applying it to my existing knowledge. Good ol’ constructivism in action.
Taking this site as an example, is the ideal that readers identify with that of making money online? Since there are plenty of competitors in this field, what emphasis do you use? I believe your execution to be one of deep, rich articles packed with as much practical information as possible.
Very valuable insights here. It’s got me rethinking the approach I should be taking with my blog.
Great information Maki. It is imperative to have a product that differentiates itself from the competition. Painting the picture of the illustrious lifestyle your product can bring to consumers is probably the best way to do so.
Good post, so many people miss this when creating their website and online presence.
It’s also useful to show examples of other people have done what they are trying to do. The best examples should be from people that the visitor perceives are ‘not as good’ as them.
For an extreme example, if you show them a homeless person that has achieved the goal they’re going for by using your techniques.
They automatically say to themselves, “well if he can do it, I can do it.” This makes your ideal and promise much more achievable in their eyes.
Another way of putting this is that people tend to join groups or buy things not because of what they know, but because of what they feel.
So you should try to make them feel cared about, loved, excited, pampered and all that good stuff. Yes, teach them the facts, but more especially, show them what happiness lies in store for them if they do business with you.
Or what I should say is “if I feel I have been OVERSOLD” on the dream! =0>
I am much more aware and astute these days!
Top post by the way
Best wishes
Lewis
Yes, well put and some realizations that I’m coming to with certain sites I’m branding.
Create a vision that others can align themseleves with and they’ll believe in it, and you.
Good points here.
Thanks,
Dan
While I love helping clients find and achieve their online goals… this is rarely an easy task. Most site owners think that PageRank and high SERP’s is all they need to focus on to sell more widgets or brand their company name. When in all reality you hit the nail on the head. I visit sites that help put perspective to my thoughts, that help in my career, life, etc…
So question – how do you deal w/ clients that just want the high SERP’s and have the “to hell w/ our visitors as long as they’re buying” type of attitude? After all common sense isn’t that common anymore!
db
Another great post Maki!
I agree with what you said that – “When many competitors offer the same ideal and promise, it becomes a matter of emphasis and execution.”
It is true that a lot of successful products have used aspirations to solicit support among its consumers. Empowering your target market, specially when done in subtlety, can become a very effective tool in gaining brand loyalty.
I agree with this quote by Willioam Feather.
I think it is very encouranging for internet business bigginers like me.
A short but totally kick-ass blog post dude.
It is very motivational. Also keep in mind, on the ether end is a real human as well. Don’t scam or your site will be known for the wrong reasons.
Very nice bit of inspiration served up here… thanks!
Just thinking of the millions of people looking into the computer screen right now just like me is mind blowing! wow, your right there is a person behind every transaction.
Great Post, I feel like question number three is very important. “Are you branding yourself through the right networks and connections?” Many people don’t know the best way to advertise to the right people. They end up spending lots of money rather than spending it in the right places.
Ah, true. Every website should have it’s ultimate “selling” point — a reason, or an idea, a value that their readers should adhere to in order to continue visiting the blog.
very interesting perspective on selling the products and service you use.
Great article. I agree that people want to be associated with an ideal and marketing is all about selling that ideal to them.
Some points I’d like to add:
- If all your competitors are clamouring about the same ideal, perhaps you need to differentiate, rather then try to shout above the din.
- I would love to see some kind of followup from you regarding how to appeal to people’s ideals and emotions. Others have discussed this, but it tends to be done in the abstract. Something concrete/detailed/practical on the topic would be awesome.
I completely agree: ‘Your aim is to associate your brand with a vision, one that integrates with and enhances each customer’s individual life goals.’
Our vision is to give independent businesses every tool they need (cost saving programs, training, marketing and networking) to be wildly successful and achieve their personal and professional dreams.
We like to call it giving the Davids, Goliath clout.
Great information. How to achieve when blog is directed to everybody in the whole world?
Hey everyone… sorry for the late replies to your comments. I was a little busy recently and now I’m more free
@ Michael, Stacey, Dan
You’re welcome!
@ Akemi
Yes, your individual story can be inspiring enough… especially when you’ve already achieved the goal that others are striving for…
@ Gary
Hey Gary, haven’t seen you around in a while… I’ll try to look for you on IM when I get the chance!
@ monawea
I’m not using a plugin… just manual html.
@ Chris
I think this site’s emphasis is mainly on online marketing or how one can build websites that are marketable… I’ve evolved from a make-money-online blog quite a while ago, just haven’t bothered to change my tagline yet. Its a little strange applying ideals and promises to a blog about online marketing although I think you’re right in saying that one deliberate emphasis I’ve made is to write articles that one doesn’t often see on other websites, by making them in depth and more analytical..
@ Craig
Yes I think examples (either of yourself or of other successful/unsuccessful people) are terrific. It evokes empathy, which is a good emotional trigger when you want your audience to feel more strongly about your site or product.
@ Easton
Yup… emotions matter a great deal!
@ David
How do you deal with these sorts of clients? If they are only interested in the cold hard benefits and nothing more, there is no need to go out of your way to sell them an ideal they have no interest in. I think its important to segment your audience and deal with them accordingly. This strategy is good for long-time customers who might be interested in a more holistic seo/marketing approach. For short-term clients looking for specific benefits, just give them what they want and let them go their way. I wish I could recommend a way to convert these people but sometimes, the best way is to focus on the right customers. You can’t sell everything to everyone.
@ Gab
Great suggestions… I’ll look in them. Concrete ways of appealing to ideals/emotions would mainly deal with visible factors like site design, graphics and web copy… there might not be more than that. I’ll have a think about it…
@ Sonciary
That is a good way of putting it!
@ Everyone else
Thanks for all your comments!
This got me thinking. Its really valuable advise. This all follows what I have been reading about from the books I bought at the discount store malltropolitan.com.
As jstokes, it really got me thinking also. I took all of your points and roughly asked myself, “Is my site accomplishing this”? Always, always, room for improvement.
çok te?ekkür ederim.
Thank you very much doshdosh….
Thanks Maki. As usual, very insightful post. It’s certainly got me rethinking the approach I should be taking with my new blog.
Great perspective, will keep it in mind.