Experiential Marketing: Lead the Way in Branding & Sales!

By: Beth Butler

Many of us are desperately trying to stand out from among the crowds. We try to craftily create ads that catch our target market’s attention and beat our competitor’s ads creating better results. Read here about the leading trend in marketing – experiential marketing that engages and entertains your target audience.

I am right there with you – executing daily my “To Do List” that consists of what I feel will get my product line the attention it deserves and so desperately needs. We all churn away at the endless list of things that we hope and, often times feel certain, will drive our companies to that next level and beyond. And yet, do you ever find yourself stopping in the middle of the day and asking yourself, “What can I do to shake this up some?” Feeling perhaps that the results aren’t quite what you were hoping for?

More than three years ago I paid some pretty pennies for one-on-one coaching with a well known contributing writer for Entrepreneur Magazine who enlightened me to the ways of experiential marketing. First of all, many of you might be phonetically stumbling over how to even SAY the word, much less execute it! Let’s use the following, very basic pronunciation key (compliments of yours truly, an elementary school teacher forever at heart!): ek-spear-ee-en-shuhl. Now please note. You will not find that pronunciation guide in Webster’s! But it works! Because if you are going to use experiential marketing, you need to know how to say it!

I implemented this type of marketing into the plan for my business, and we have experienced exponential growth every one of the six years we have sold our products. The simplicity of why and how experiential marketing works is the key to making it possible for each and every one of us to use it right away. It offers the consumer engaging, entertaining and interactive experiences with your product which helps create a stronger relationship with the consumer.

In a simple step-by-step process you and your team create a plan to bring the experience of your product to your target market. You then activate the plan by finding the venue where you will demonstrate and bring your product to life for your potential consumer along with conceptualizing how you will make the demonstration interactive. Once there at the time of the actual experience, you engage the consumers in attendance by allowing them to try, to sample, to hear, to play with (you get the idea!) your product. Once back in your office you measure the results to check your return on investment.

Call it what you will – some refer to it as guerilla marketing, some say it is out-of-the-box marketing, and many of us refer to it as experiential marketing. The bottom line is it improves your bottom line! And isn’t that what we all are searching for? Starbucks, Harley-Davidson, Kraft Foods, T-Mobile USA and many others use it regularly to connect with their consumers; you should too!

Not sold on this idea yet? Check out the psychology associated with the success of experiential marketing which reflects a right brain bias as it aims to fulfill a consumer’s desire to experience comfort and pleasure. Research suggests that this type of interactive marketing creates a stronger relationship with the consumer by delivering a deep and connected meaning which is instrumental in brand-building. Contrast this with traditional product-centric marketing that many of us still use, and you will note that it reflects a left brain bias because that style seeks to persuade a consumer to buy your brand over a competitor’s. Consumers buy more often based on emotion than on rational thinking.

Think about your own buying patterns and how often that statement is true…have you not found yourself more often buying things because of the connection you have with the product, the feeling it creates within you once you see the packaging or smell the scent of it or hear the sound it creates or feel the texture of its fabric? Just imagine allowing several hundred of your potential consumers experience your product with you right there to share your passion about the product and the story behind it. Now you are most likely asking, “Where do I find those hundreds of people?”

Experiential marketing can start off for you as simply as calling a local moms’ group and asking to share part of your morning with them. Sure, it might be only fifteen or so families represented, but it is a great way to get your feet wet. Once there you demonstrate your fun product, allow the moms and their children to experience it (if applicable), and share your true story of how this product came to life and how cool it is. As you become more and more comfortable with the live demonstrations and fielding all of the questions, the sky is the limit!

Local craft fairs, expos and associations that deal directly with your target market are excellent ways to build your audience numbers. Offer to speak at these events for free where in turn you get to set up a booth or a trade table with your terrific product front and center for people to interact with. The speaking aspect of these types of venues increases your visibility as an expert in your field. Now is not the time to be shy! You believe in your product, and you are the best one to demonstrate to others just how necessary it is to have it!

Be innovative, make your target market smile while in your presence, and be certain that human interaction takes place. If you remember to do those three things – things that used to be considered alternative approaches for good marketing – you will blaze a trail to higher product sales!

Beth Butler, CEO of The Boca Beth Program www.bocabeth.com