Gift Focus inc Attire Accessories - March/April 2021

60 FIND OUT MORE To receive the full insight report please visit www.speedcommunications.com/homing-in creativity and ability to deliver in a team; a place where we are more than parents or partners. Without the office fuelling this psychological need, the home has evolved to become a major driver of ego fulfilment, which explains the rise in sales and searches in home improvement and searches for luxury indoor and outdoor items. These items provide the visual cues needed to feel successful. HOW CAN YOU USE THIS INSIGHT TO SUPERCHARGE YOUR MARKETING? 1. Get to the heart of what your consumer wants and needs The last 30 years and three Nobel Prize winners have demonstrated that human decisions (including consumers) are more influenced by non-conscious factors (90%) than conscious ones (10%). So, asking consumers why they do something will only yield 10% of the truth. This is one area that companies really need to invest in. Those businesses that seem to be weathering the storm have already invested in understanding the non-conscious things that influence their customers. 2. Consider the role for your business and product in meeting consumers’ emotional needs Consider engagement campaigns that build a relationship at a brand level to engage your target audience on an emotional level. Businesses need to reframe their offerings in terms away from how great they are in favour of what they can do for the consumer. How can you help the customer meet their needs? How do you help them feel more in control? How do you make them feel more connected? 3. Evaluate the channels you are using to communicate to your audience PR is a powerful channel to consider because it taps into several areas of the brain that are associated with persuasion. PR creates memorable and distinguishable communications that engage at an emotional level. Secondly, PR offers intrinsic social proof because it is an earned channel. Its flexibility allows messaging to be nuanced to appeal to different psychological needs in your target audience. 4. Make sure social listening is part of your strategy As we continue to move through an industry-wide period of unprecedented change paying attention to the wider online conversation surrounding your business and its sector has become more important than ever. Harnessing sentiment tracking as part of social listening will provide you with a rolling assessment of your audience’s mood and brand/industry perceptions – this will help you create tailored messaging to reflect these trends and also leverage the latest trends before they reach a commercial peak. 5. Invest in brand building In June last year the Financial Times , in association with the IPA, published an interesting report titled ‘The Board – Brand Rift, how business leaders have stopped building brands.’ The most noteworthy outtake was the gradual shift in marketing investment, from long-term brand-building to shorter-term direct response campaigns. In the current climate, brand building is more critical than ever because a powerful brand is the foundation of emotion-led marketing. Brand building by its very nature harnesses the power of psychology to differentiate in the market, drive trust and loyalty. Consumers are more focused on their home environment than ever before and crucially, are prepared to invest to make it a nicer place to be. Now is the opportunity for businesses to consider how they are going to make the most of this opportunity, particularly around key gifting moments.