Marketing Art and/or Science?
Many traditional marketers describe marketing as art, driven solely by imagery, emotion and unpredictable response. As a result, the art of marketing avoids accountability and fails to adjust to changes in consumer behavior or poorly directed campaigns.
Some modern marketers suggest marketing is strictly science, driven by data, calculated placements and messaging. The science of marketing often fails to consider long-term factors by focusing on immediate data and conversions and direction of your marketing.
Use science to determine major decisions and use the art for the nuances.
Understanding and applying customer behavior is the key factor to balance the art and science of marketing. With customer data, marketing is both art and science. The science will lead, measure and optimize, while the art will inspire and create.
Develop a balanced marketing approach by considering these eight psychological factors that drive all consumer behavior:
- Engagement. Create a sense of personalization and connection between your customer and your product or service.
- Greed. Tap into your customer's desire for a deal by showcasing value and competitive offers online.
- Timing. Match advertising and product releases with seasonality or demand trends.
- Authority. Consumers want to buy from an authority. When prices are equal, purchases are made based on perceived assurance and authority. Words like 'largest' and 'best' appeal to authority. Focus on quality - the quality of your website and online promotions, where you advertise and carefully crafted messages to your target audience are all factors that increase your perceived authority.
- Association. Associate your product with something the consumer already does or knows about.
- Community. Everyone wants to belong to something. If you can create a sense of belonging in your sales process, through testimonials, inclusive copy or reviews, you will be closer to a sale.
- Satisfaction. Guarantee your product. If a consumer thinks they can't make a mistake with the purchase, such as being offered money back if unsatisfied, there is one less barrier to buying.
- Urgency. People will usually wait for the best deal before making a purchase. Provide incentive to close the sale and let the consumer know why they should buy NOW and not later.
Comments
Informative article and i actually agree to the perspective you took in defining marketing. To me marketing can also simply mean the act of promoting or selling a product or goods. Atleast there must a common factor that exist in defining marketing, which is selling something in exchange for cash. Remember the popular saying that nothing happens until there is an exchange of money for a product.