Inspired to Buy

Ok marketing the iphone is not the exact same as marketing fashion. But I admit but do have to take a second to tip my hat to the amazing marketing job those folks have done over there at Apple. Our industry, for the most part isn’t about week long lines and switching networks or the general fiasco that preceded the iphone launch. However one thing that fashion can take from this nifty little gadget and the Apple company in general is the lengths people will go to once they are inspired.

I thought about it a while ago when I was working with one client on how they could gain more business from their existing retailers. I sat there dreaming up incentives, planning a media calendar, magazines they could advertise in, even an itemized budget…. then it occurred to me that for the most part customers don’t really don’t really need all that. People don’t really need a $500 dress, a designer yoga mat or a handbag that is equivalent to the down payment of a Midwestern home.

People just want to be happy…they want to be inspired to find the necessity to buy your product. This is not to say they don’t appreciate quality or a designer’s style acumen and attention to detail. It’s just to say that people are typically looking for a return on investment that is much more emotional than financial.

So no you definitely don’t have to be a self help guru to know you can’t buy happiness…however the average company who aspires for long term success needs to pay attention to the psychological focus of their customers.

Before you launch your next marketing campaign think about what you’re really pushing. Are you a wedding gown company selling a beautiful dress or are you selling girlhood dream of a beautiful bride? Are you a shoe designer selling Italian leather pumps with stiletto heels or are you selling shapely legs that turn mens heads and other women into green eyed monsters.

It’s up to you but trust me whether you decide to target a customer in their hearts or their minds…the pocketbook typically follows.