I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the idea of “connection.” It’s one of the most basic human needs, yet it’s also one of the most elusive these days in that the skills require the energy to: a.) Try to understand others, and; b.) Have a certain amount of empathy for them or their situation.

Maybe it’s an age thing or a general cultural shift I’ve noticed, but more and more, I see a reluctance in many people to really want to “connect” with each other. The subtle messages society sends are also somewhat concerning on that scale – the self-focused “you do you” age and honestly, screw everyone if they don’t like it.

I worry that some of that mindset seeps into marketing as well. As a brand, we do this, “we do that,” “we offer this,” “we offer that,” “here are the great features,” and “buy this from us.” It’s very self-focused rather than making any attempt to understand or connect with audiences first.

In fact, if you think about marketing, it’s ultimately about starting a relationship with a customer. So, isn’t connecting really the first step? It’s not about “Hey, buy this now!” If you send that message out before connecting with customers, many will be dismissive: “Uh, who are you?”

So how can you as a small business better connect with potential customers? There are 3 main ways through marketing:  

• • Building an emotional connection
  • Providing practical help
  • Aligning with their values/beliefs

Let’s cover each of them.

No. 1: Building an Emotional Connection

Let’s face it: Emotions drive decision-making, loyalty, and brand advocacy. In these pages, we’ve often talked about the importance of understanding the four core emotions of marketing —love, hate, ambition, and fear/anxiety. The reason is that understanding each of these can help small businesses can tailor their messaging and offerings to resonate more deeply with their audience.

For example, let’s take ambition as an example. And let’s assume you’re a wellness provider of supplements that help potential customers to, say, burn fat. Yes, you could talk about how your product helps practically and will help them lose weight. But that isn’t the real emotion or ambition around it. The real ambition is to look good when they go to the beach so they don’t have those layers of stubborn fat around their mid-section. If you know that about a group of people, it’s worth putting that messaging out there.

The other day, I saw this ad for a similar product that talked about those who go to the gym and struggle with being “skinny fat” – people who do a lot of cardio but still aren’t able to look good. The company Vshred, was founded by this guy Vince Sant, who is also the spokesperson. In all the videos, Vince gets out and addresses these frustrations among people trying to look good, and in doing so, connects with people emotionally. And regardless of whether you believe him or his products, it’s that emotional marketing connection he establishes that wins him sales.  

No. 2: Providing Practical Help/Becoming a Valuable Resource 

Beyond emotional connection, small businesses can establish strong relationships by offering practical help and positioning themselves as valuable resources. This involves understanding the core challenges or needs of your audience and offering solutions that make their lives easier.

A lot boils down to content creation.

Here’s an example: A small home improvement store might create DIY guides, host workshops, and offer free consultations to help customers tackle home projects. By providing this practical help, they position themselves as a go-to resource for all things related to home improvement. And when those individuals need to buy tools, where else do they go but the place they got the practical help!  

From a content perspective, we often recommend small businesses think of the following as helpful, practical content:

• • Downloadable Guides
  • Top 5 or Top 10 Tips (in your particular specialty areas)
  • Webinars (live or recorded)
  • Quizzes with answers for them that give them next steps
  • Infographics that outline an approach, a method or a series of steps for audiences to take when doing something

All of these can help. Plus, if you structure them the right way, in many cases, you’ll be able to also acquire names, emails and topical interest/needs to further nurture individuals toward a purchase.

No. 3: Aligning with Customer Values: Representing What Matters to Them

In today’s socially conscious – and certainly divided – world, customers increasingly choose brands that reflect their values. As an example, Nike, for years, has built its reputation on cause-based campaigns. Whether that’s supporting Black Lives Matter and former football player Colin Kaepernick or its support of female equality and inclusion, it’s a brand that’s known to align with the values of a certain segment of the population. That hasn’t always sat well with some sectors of society but Nike has made their choice clear here. And because of those values, many are loyal to Nike as a result.

Other brands also do this successfully. Ford and Chevrolet align with the values surrounding family. Chipotle aligns with the values around the environment and the whole-foods movement. Apple identifies with the values around visual beauty and ease of use.

But it’s not just big brands that have big advertising budgets. As a small business, you can project the same thing (perhaps not on as large of a scale.) If you understand the underlying values of your audience, you can position your company similarly.

How do you do that?

Start by understanding what matters most to your customers. This could be sustainability, social justice, health, community involvement, patriotism, even beauty and money etc. And then, look inward at yourself. Where do you also match with customers and hold those same values? (That’s important because you want to be authentic whenever you’re projecting the company outwardly.) If you find that match, start talking about your values and we can almost guarantee you’ll see more connection with potential customers.

Conclusion

We hope that helps. As always, if you need help, don’t hesitate to contact us for a free consultation. Our mission is to help you excel in digital marketing.