4 EASY WAYS TO MAKE CONSUMERS LOVE YOUR PRODUCT
Believe it or not brand expectation has a direct correlation with the purchase of the product. So the higher the brand expectation your consumers have the higher the likelihood they will buy your product.
So can you influence consumer brand expectation?
Well, turn out there is a science behind it. You see, expectations really have an impact on our daily lives.
Time and again, studies have shown that our expectations drastically influence how we think and feel about the world around us.
People are naturally optimistic. Optimism is really an expectation that only good will happen. Over time, the world teaches us to be a bit more cautious about who or what you should lend that optimism to.
If the train has been late five times in the row it would be foolish to expect the train will be ahead of schedule on the sixth time. Of course, the lateness also causes you to lose trust in the entity that manages the trains. If you can walk away you will and you will take your money elsewhere. If you can’t walk away you will become apathetic and/or angry.
And this is the dangerous yet wonderful thing about consumer expectations. If you are able to maintain positive brand expectations then your customers will become your brand’s ambassadors. If you are unable to maintain the positive brand expectations then your customers will not only stop being your customers but they will also become your brand ambassadors. Only in the latter case they will complain, leave bad Amazon reviews, and call your customer service reps excepting their money back.
So if are planning on using the information in this article to build up your brand make sure to not use effective marketing techniques on a subpar product.
1. NOVELTY IS EVERYTHING
One way to create novelty is to create fancy names. Just think of every single coffee name in Starbucks. Caffè Americano, Cappuccino, Caramel Brulée Latte, etc. All these names sound exotic and just by saying “Caffè Americano” an image of a French guy operating a brewery somewhere on the Appalachian Trail comes to my mind.
In fact, each coffee name makes you believe that the coffee was especially designed by the world’s best coffee breweries and each coffee has a unique flavor profile that is based on a recipe designed by some indigenous group passed on from a generation to generation until the present time. And this is exactly the power a good name can have on your product because the very fact that these thought are even in my head is enough to influence my next purchasing decision.
Another way to create novelty is by adding extra features to your products. Look at the recent iPhone X. To an average consumer iPhone 7 will not be any different than iPhone X except for a new VR feature that no one will use and DSLR quality camera no one really needs. But it’s new and refreshing so why not buy it.
A huge part of creating novelty for your products is an ability to create brand story. Check out our guide on how to master brand storytelling in 5 easy steps by clicking here.
2. ANTICIPATION IS YOUR GREATEST ALLY
Make your customers wait. Sounds counter intuitive, but most effective things in life are. Humans are naturally curious. This is why we all wait for the next episode of Game of Thrones. And the evil HBO knows that we are waiting so they purposefully space out the episodes. Because the more we wait the higher the chance we will watch the next episode.
The same applies to pre-sales product presentations. For example, Apple makes a Keynote about 2 months before you can buy they product. The presentation tells you how wonderful this generation of products is. People form lines day before the official sale day creating a news frenzy which creates even more publicity for the product. It all ends with an interview with the first official iPhone buyer.
3. MAKE SURE COST IS NOT AN ISSUE
Cost is the biggest barrier to overcome. It’s difficult but not impossible. The factors to consider are quantity and time. How many payments are there and how long will it take to collect them all.
I suggest to move to a subscription model altogether. All the big brands are doing it why can’t you. It use be that you would buy software on a CD. You would then go home and install that software. Now that computers are able to download large files over internet software companies like Adobe are no longer charging one large fee. Instead they put you a never ending payment plan that ensures that you have the most up to date software on your computer.
4. BE THE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN
If you make you customers wait too long for the product the enthusiasm will begin to disappear. Don’t let that happen! Instead you customers feel special but letting them on the secret of you product.
That’s right. Show them how the product is made. Show them how you coaching business works on the inside. This goes back to a phenomenon called operational transparency. Basically it states that to keep consumers satisfied they have to be a part of selected group that offers special perks or special access. So if you are launching a video course create an early bird mailing list where the members will get access to the first module one week before launch. Get the picture?
Remember expectations are everything! Learn what you can from consumer psychology to turn your customers’ highest hopes into their most memorable experiences.