The Love Story of Products and Brands: The True Marketing Soulmates

Heather LeVine — Tue, 10 Sep 2024 00:52:48 +0000

Think of two people destine to be with each other. The perfection, the balance, and the dynamic they provide for each other is unmatched, and they are legitimate soulmates. That is exactly what a product and a brands
relationship is. It’s a match made in marketing heaven.

In the marketing world, products and brands are seen as the exact same, but different sides; like a coin. They each have specific and distinct roles, never overbearing each other, but they work together; side-by-side, seamlessly. This is where the sparks fly. Think of the product as heart. It’s what I like to consider “the hero”. This is because the product is the very reason why most customers show up at all. It’s the reason they use, try, touch, smell, and fall in love with your brand. Without a product format and a solid product to produce, the brand is selling nothing, which creates barriers within the customers trust. I always say you need to know your “why” in a brand… but your product is your “what”. You need a “what” to figure out your “why”.

The brand though is the soul. It builds empathy, emotional connections, intrigues perceptions and tells
the “why” of the product. The brand adds value and a story that can relate and resonate with customers
far beyond what a customer can see, touch, smell, etc. It creates trust, loyalty, and can transform a
regular and simple one-time transaction; to a loyal, long-lasting, and fulfilling relationship.

But for a business to work and succeed; a product and brand must balance each other. At the end of the
day; a brand draws customers in. But a product; keeps the customer there and coming back for more.
Think of Disney. Disney doesn’t just sell products, they sell experiences to “The Happiest Place On Earth”;
once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Which are balanced and intertwined within their products. Creating
movies, toys, lifestyle products, and more.

So as you plan your product… think of its soulmate. Think of it’s “why” to
its “what”

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What Makes You; You: How Personal Factors Make You a Perfect Consumer

Heather LeVine — Tue, 27 Aug 2024 00:43:49 +0000

I was at Target the other day, no intention to buy anything; just running errands with my
mom. After about an hour in Target, I was walking towards the self-checkout, and I realized I
had a cart full of things I had no intention of buying! Which made me think as I was putting all
the bags in my trunk; the intricate and precise flow of psychology, emotions, and personal factors
conducts every decision we make; even when we don’t know that we are making that decision!
Within consumer behavior, there are personal factors that businesses use to their
advantage with creating products/services, ads, and even using the factors to determine the shade
of blue they want to use. It’s all about who they want to target, why the specific audience would
want to buy it, and where it’s placed in stores or on websites to grab their next target. Once the
business has who they want to target; now its time to use psychology and other personal factors
to get the sale. Age plays a major role in consumer behavior. Whether they are older, just
graduated from college, about to graduate from high school, or about to start their first post-grad
corporate job; many factors can be affected by just how old someone is. Price is one example;
while most older consumers are price sensitive, the younger consumers are typically not. This is
dependent on Occupation. An individual’s occupation has a direct influence on the products they
pick for themselves and the services they use. MSG (Management Study Guide) With older
consumers mostly being retired, more relaxed and not needing specific items (like work
uniforms, suits, etc.) The younger consumers are just getting started and are needing specific
items for their career. Like myself for example, being a young entrepreneur, who is starting her
journey in the workplace, I am more likely to spend money on business attire than a consumer
who is stepping down as a CEO for their retirement. Something as simple as personality,
interests and perceptions can be the deciding factor of a businesses target audience. So if a
business is targeting a younger generation, who has just graduated college, in the social media
departments, making around $60-$80K a year, confident, likes to meet people, optimistic, etc.
The business would not be targeting an older consumer, who is retired and is traveling the world!
That is why businesses need to not only understand their target audience, but they also need to
run consumer behavior tests to see how their target audience can optimize their sales.
All in all, to understand the personal factors that could majorly influence consumer
behavior (like age, occupation, income, self-reflection, personality, interests, etc.) allows
consumers to make more informative and responsible decisions that truly focuses on our desires
and necessities. This is how you become the best consumer. You become the one who steers the marketplace with confidence, clarity and poise. The ability to pick out what honestly matters guarantees your choices are not only self-satisfying; but it’s also reflective of your self-identity. Ultimately, being the best consumer is about making decisions that are not just smart, but also meaningful to you.

The post What Makes You; You: How Personal Factors Make You a Perfect Consumer appeared first on HLDM Agency.

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The Love Story of Products and Brands: The True Marketing Soulmates

What Makes You; You: How Personal Factors Make You a Perfect Consumer