For years, companies – large and small – have taken advantage of us all. Shocked? You shouldn’t be. Our emotional responses to brands can make or break a sale, so companies adopt simple techniques to pull on our heartstrings. And if they can do it, surely your business can too, right? In this blog we’ll take a look at 3 of the ways companies use emotions to influence our purchasing decisions.
Positive Slogans
Turning browsers into buyers is key to a successful business but there’s more to it than having a good product. You’re not going to sell anything if no one knows about your products, right?
So, how do businesses stand out? Using a simple slogan or tagline that gets straight to the heart of a company’s character is an excellent way to connect with an audience. Often, the connection consumers have with a company’s slogan or logo is so powerful that simply hearing or seeing it, even out of context, arouses powerful emotions and positively influences mood.
Take a look at the famous slogan examples below and see what comes to mind. Is it positive?
Eat Fresh – Subway
For Life – Volvo
The King of Beers – Budweiser
Just Do It – Nike
Happiness Sells
The best ad campaigns are memorable because they make us feel something special, but Christmas adverts excel at making us feel AMAZING. Usually bursting with smiling, happy faces and families enjoying mulled wine next to a roaring fire, these adverts encourage us to let our guard down and imagine ourselves in the world on screen.
And what a world! These adverts are often big productions complete with epic soundtrack and sell an inviting lifestyle, not just a clinical product.
John Lewis is a company that knows how to make a cracking Christmas ad. In fact, the ads have been so popular, and the public response so positive, the company now advertises the release date weeks in advance.
They have successfully managed to make people want the onslaught of Christmas adverts to begin sooner. Who even thought that would be possible?
Remember Monty the Penguin? Watch last year’s John Lewis Christmas ad.
Christmas ads make us feel great at any time of the year!
Forget Logic
When it comes to purchasing decisions, the majority of consumers make decisions based on their emotional response to brands. As a result, companies take a LOT of time and spend a LOT of money, crafting their overall image. Logically, the focus should be on the products, 100% of the time, but it’s not.
Think of a branded product you use regularly. Now think if there is an identical, unbranded alternative available. Have you tried it? Probably not, but why?
It may be that you have tried the unbranded product and genuinely disliked it, but the link between brand loyalty and emotions has been well documented. Studies show that positive emotions towards a brand have far greater influence on consumer loyalty than trust and other judgments which are based on a brand’s attributes.
This means that many people will be swayed towards purchasing from a particular brand based on their positive feelings towards the brand and little else. And once you have developed a strong emotional connection to a brand (you smile when you see their adverts, for example), you’ll be far more likely to stick to that brand alone and ignore similar products from a competitor – even if they are identical.
From a business perspective, these attachments are priceless!
Can we help?
Is your business utilising emotion to its full force? Whether you need an e-commerce website that sparks wonder in visitors, a slogan that inspires or a marketing campaign that builds trust, we can help at Fluid Digital. For more information, take a look at our range of services or contact a member of our team today on 0161-762-4920. We look forward to hearing from you!
Image credit: Kayla Nicole
