Competing in today’s marketplace is tough. We get it. Once you have your key brand elements and target market nailed down, how do you humanize your product to attract consumers? To make your marketing efforts hit home to the consumer on the right level you have to aim for their emotions.

As designers, one of our key roles is to take the message a business wants to put out about their brand and clearly communicate it to the end user. We live in a fast-paced world, becoming faster by the minute with technology advancements. The general population has become accustomed to digesting concise pieces of information and imagery that resonates with them personally. Lengthy, copy-heavy advertisements are not an effective way to communicate your important message. Break down what it is you want the purpose of a particular campaign to convey, or direct the message to a segment of your market, in focused, manageable chunks. Whether the media is print, digital or social, pair your message with an image(s) that speaks directly to your end user. Make them want to know more about your product or service because you have left them with a sense that you were speaking directly to them.

Once a connection is made, keep the relationship growing by personalizing your interactions with them. From the moment they step into your store, shake your hand or inquire via phone or the internet, make them feel like you have all the time in the world to answer any questions they have to ease them into a particular purchase. They are valuable and should be made to feel that way. As a wise salesman once shared with me, “There are two things every customer wants; To feel important, and to feel like they are getting a deal.” When selling anything from a car or the latest skin care product, to a home, experience is everything. Even if you don’t make the sale (which we hope you do) how you made the consumer feel during the process could secure a future sale or a referral.

Ultimately you need to give your consumer what they want: bite-sized, personalized information. The “take it or leave it” approach may work for some, but if you provoke them in to wanting more from your company you have a greater chance to nurture the relationship into a sale.