If you want to win more customers, there is a timeless marketing strategy you must follow. 

This might sound a bit hyperbolic, since the boundaries of when, where, what and how of your marketing strategy is usually defined by the industry you're in, or the type of business you run.

Those differences usually determine which platform you use to advertise, what kind of media you'll use, which season, what kind of messaging, and so on...

But there are a few universal strategies that all brands can - and should - base their marketing on, no matter what business they're in.

Today I'm going to share one of these fundamental strategies that will work regardless if you're an ecommerce business or brick-and-mortar store, a retail or manufacturing giant, an agency of creatives, or a company with 1 employee or 1000!

This timeless strategy answers the WHY of any marketing plan. 

And that's tapping into human emotion.

Tapping into human emotion, also called "emotional marketing," helps you develop messaging that is engaging and persuasive, without being over the top.

When done correctly, you can more easily form deep connections with your ideal buyers. These deep connections often inspire trust and heart-driven action that is repeatable.  

The Neuroscience Behind Human Emotions and Marketing

First and foremost, the majority of decisions we make are based on how we feel.

A lot of us might balk at that idea. After all, many of us like to think we're very logical. 

Maybe you make pro and con lists to weigh your options before you buy a product. Or maybe you compare competitor pricing for months, or read all the in-depth articles about a product's features, or dig into all testimonials.

All of that logic-based decision-making is very real! I'm not discounting that.

But that still doesn't change my initial statement: the majority of decisions we make are based on how we feel.

To understand how it works (and how to use it for better marketing), let's look at the world's most complex processor: the human brain.

How the brain sifts through the billion bits of sensory information we're presented with on a second-by-second basis comes down to a very efficient and effective process: feeling first and thinking second. 

According to neuropsychologists, this is because the emotional part of our brain processes information in 1/5th the time it takes our cognitive processes to kick in. 

This is the actual order of events:

Step 1: Sensory information goes through the Reptilian Complex, or the "Visceral Brain." 

Step 2: Then we get to the Limbic System, or the "Feeling Brain."

The limbic system is the base of the amygdala, which is the brain structure responsible for distinguishing between positive and negative experiences and emotions. 

It's also known as the "mammalian brain."

Based on its emotional evaluation, the limbic system unconsciously and automatically decides to continue or stop a certain action depending on if it perceives it as positive or negative. 

This overall system is also in charge of the natural reward circuit. "This is where dopamine is released following sensory stimulation, which reinforces positive experiences."

This is where your prospects mind begins to weigh how your messaging, or product design, or website or email makes them feel.

Step 3: Finally, we get to the Neocortex, or the "Logical Brain."

This is the “true” human brain.

It's where intensive decision-making happens, and where the very human elements of language, ideas, and concepts thrive. 

And yes, THIS is where the final decision to buy your product or services happens.

So, logic does play a role, but only after emotions have been touched. 

And that's why human emotion is the key to unlocking loyal customers.

It is the key that takes a skeptic and moves them into the realm of a raving fan. 

And wielded wisely, human emotion can turn distance into love and separation into alignment. 

And that's why, no matter what business you're in, if your brand is able to successfully tap into human emotion your marketing will always stand the test of time.

For the rest of this article, I will show you how to tap into human emotion to instantly build alignment and rapport, leading the way for logical conversions.

Drive Timeless Results with Understanding & Alignment

Nothing drives positive emotions more than the feeling of being understood. 

According to a study published in "Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience," feeling understood activates neural regions previously associated with reward and social connection.  

As you can imagine, this has big impacts for the way a prospect perceives and interacts with your brand.

By ensuring they feel understood you also ensure that prospects feel:

Alignment is the feeling your audience gets when they realize that YOUR BRAND understands:

•  who they are,
•  what they're about and what they value
• how to best solve their problem once and for all!  

And empathy is how you can tap into customer alignment.

It is the key to connection, enabling us to establish rapport with another person and make them feel that they are being heard.

The Empathy Map

If you can answer the questions above, you'll be able to reveal what your ideal customer's real fears and emotions are, not just what they might be presenting.  

This will equip you with what you need to communicate with your ideal buyers appropriately, empathetically and in such a way that you evoke positive emotions and positive connections with your brand.

By building your messaging around empathy and understanding, you create familiarity and trust.

Nurturing Relationships With Delight

Remember earlier when I said these timeless strategies are an emotional-logical dance?

Emotions may be a huge part of your customer's buying process, but keeping them as loyal fans requires more logic than emotion. 

Relationships taken for granted deteriorate in a flash.

The key philosophy to remember is that strong relationships are built around making the other person feel important. When you accomplish this on an ongoing basis, success will follow.

This is why it is especially important to nurture those relationships and infuse delight into customer experiences at ALL levels.

From subscribing to your newsletter to making a purchase to leaving a testimonial, after each step they take, they should be met with some action from your business that affirms that they made the right choice. 

This can look a lot of different ways!

As you can see, there are so many different ways you can build trust, loyalty and alignment with your customers.

It doesn't have to cost you a lot, and the payback for doing so can be priceless. 

In my professional opinion, it can be one of the simplest, yet most profound things you can do for your digital marketing strategy, which is why it's one of the foundational pillars in my proprietary process, the Marketing RAMP®.

I hope today's training has shown you how powerful using emotions in marketing can be, and I hope you're walking away with some ideas of how to use it in your own marketing strategies for better results! 

Remember, your ideal customer is the key.

If you're able to better empathize with their point of view and experiences, you will be able to create timeless messaging and marketing campaigns that are actually heard, and better yet -- responded to! 

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