Marketing, as a concept has its roots in a thorough understanding of the psychology of human communication. A crucial context is understanding what motivates people to buy, choose or remain loyal to specific products and services. As the world continues to advance with technology, there is an increasing need for marketers to understand the psychology of human communication and its influence in marketing activities. This process is what has evolved into creating a human-centered approach to marketing.
Technology has not only altered human behaviour generally, but it also reflects in human behavioural responses to activities such as our buying behaviours. Understanding the critical influences of rational purchasing choices is very vital to the success of any marketing efforts being carried out by an organisation as it helps in curating the ideal marketing approach to reach a particular target audience. For example, what influences the decisions of Millenials to purchase an item highly varies from what influences a baby boomer. Understanding human psychology helps us in gathering insight and curating informed decisions in marketing strategy development.
The concept of empathy in human psychology is understanding another person’s experience by imagining oneself in that other person’s situation. In modern marketing, there is an increasing need for marketers to attribute the value of empathy in their marketing efforts. It merely means a conscious effort to observe new human behaviours and while making decisions for marketing purposes. Quality research methods of modern social practices, carrying out ethnographic research, scenario and context imaginations, sampling and testing procedures are some essential attributes that can help marketers hear and listen to the intentions of their target audience.
In addition to adequate background research and testing methods, it’s also important to create personas of the target audience. How well can you spot a pattern? For example, if your brand sells a comfort item such as “pillows,” at what point in the day do you think someone in your target audience will require the use of your product? Probably at night during sleep. At what point in their day can your ad convince them to make a purchase? Maybe at sure hours when they are most likely to rest or take a nap at work? Through the development of a buyer persona, you’ll be able to gain an insight into the situational context of new behaviours and challenges experienced by modern customers and buyers.
Understanding the need for empathy in developing human-centred marketing framework is vital to the success of a marketing campaign. The entirety of its application is manifested in the various component of strategy development such as consumer journey mapping, content development, creative & visual design, messaging conceptualisation, choice of media channels, sales incentives, business development framework and more.