Can a company make sales without establishing a connection with the buyers? The answer is no. A human-centered marketing approach is required to understand the experience goals of the buyers, what they are trying to achieve when they get into the process of making a transaction with a company.
Still stuck with business-centric approach?
Many companies are still stuck on business-centric mode of operations. They are failing to understand that empathy is a necessary element when marketing products or services to buyers. It is necessary to understand how buyers feel throughout the journey of doing business with a company because most of them are not going to make a purchase on their first interaction with a certain brand. This is especially true in case of B2B transactions. To succeed, businesses need marketing strategies that support the goals of their buyers in each phase of the transaction.
Digital transformation is transforming buyers
Today, technology has changed human behavior. We are living in a world where digital transformation is impacting and altering our behavior as individuals and customers. Tablets, smart phones and cloud-based services are impacting our purchase decisions and how we interact with a company on various levels. This change needs to be understood and tapped by companies.
By implementing human-centered marketing, every major or minor change in consumer behavior will have to be considered. This will help marketers gain insight and understand what is needed to attract buyers in future.
Marketing is not just limited to occupying social and digital space. It has moved to analysis of end user’s behavior to create meaningful experiences, to interact with them, engage them and create a long lasting relationship. The need of the hour is to understand the needs and demands of modern buyers and to design and implement strategies around them.
Phases of human-centered marketing
As mentioned above, empathy is an important factor when developing human-centered marketing strategies. It is necessary to listen what the customers want and observe every change in their behavior that can impact the business.
Second phase involves the analysis of data gathered after listening and observing consumer needs and behavioral changes. This helps in identifying opportunities, setting priorities and developing the right strategies. Third phase is all about using the analysis to model content strategies, sales approaches, communication channels, and media and so on.
In today’s competitive world, getting your message heard or read in the sea of information has become difficult. This has pushed the need for human-centered marketing approach as it helps in establishing an instant connect with the target customers.