Marketing has undergone a seismic shift in the last few years. We all know that it’s important to offer a personalized experience to the modern consumer, but what about a human experience?
Anyone can personalize an ad on Facebook or address a buyer by name in an email. We’re talking about going a step further by establishing human-to-human connections.
Today, shoppers are looking for brands that feel authentic and honest. It’s not enough to stick to customized advertisements or personal messages – consumers want to see and feel what makes your business real.
But what actually makes a marketing strategy “humanized”? More importantly, why should you even care about humanized marketing tactics and utilizing them in your own marketing? Let’s talk about it.
Understanding Humanized Marketing
Simply put, humanized marketing is characterized by personable, genuine connections with customers. It’s a strategy that gives your brand a voice, which in turn helps your shoppers connect with you more directly.
The goal is to build a better rapport with your customers by marketing to them in a way that’s memorable, relatable, and easy to understand. Humanized marketing helps you stand out from all the noise so that people can remember your company and its message.
More importantly, humanized marketing is customer-centric. Consumers care more about their interactions and experiences with brands than ever before. Humanized marketing demonstrates that your company cares and will go above and beyond to provide tailored, effective solutions to them.
How to Spot a Humanized Marketing Campaign
✓ It’s Easy to Understand
Humanized marketing is all about intimate connections with shoppers. You’ll notice that it’s characterized by simple language that anyone can connect with or understand. When you write with a humanized approach, you speak to customers as though they’re your friends or family.
There’s a reason that 90% of today’s organizations market with content. Research indicates that 80% of people appreciate learning about a company through its content, and up to 70% of customers feel closer to a brand as a result of its content marketing. Your language and how you speak to customers matters, and humanized marketing strategies emphasize that.
✓ It’s Empathetic
To write a great human-to-human marketing campaign, you need to walk in your customers’ shoes and understand their points of view. Your product exists to solve a problem – but to understand that problem, you need to fully understand and experience it firsthand.
Customers are looking for empathy, not just solutions. They want a brand that’s on their level and that “gets them.” Humanized marketing should elicit an emotional reaction from the person reading your message, as well as a deeper connection.
✓ It’s Unique
Set yourself apart from your competition. What do you have that’s different? And we’re not just talking about your product’s design or colors. We’re talking about what makes it distinctive.
The more prevalent and unique a brand is, the more recognition and loyalty it earns. Customers have millions of options at their fingertips – they’re only going to remember and support you if you have something distinctive, human, and memorable about you.
Why Brands Need to Be “Human” Today
The truth is that customers trust fellow humans – not companies.
Ford Motor Company’s 2020 Trends Report indicated that consumers worldwide were becoming increasingly skeptical of brands. Then, their 2021 Trends Report revealed that up to 76% of adults globally expect brands to take a stand on things like social issues. Consumers are looking for signs that they can trust the people behind brands to do the right thing.
In other words, if you want customers to trust and rely on your brand, you need to establish a human connection – and that’s where humanized marketing is crucial.
Although personalized marketing does have its benefits and can make people feel seen, it doesn’t allow customers to see the faces, personalities, and values that run your business. Personalized marketing doesn’t relate to real people, nor does it make your brand feel relatable or trustworthy.
The question is, how does a brand begin to “humanize” itself in a way that still sells?
First Steps Toward Humanizing Your Brand
1.Be More Transparent
Show what it is you do, how you do it, and how it helps your customers. Talk about your employees, your processes – anything that gives your customers a “peek behind the curtain.” Not only do most customers find this interesting, but it also helps them feel more knowledgeable and connected to your brand.
2.Share Gratitude for Others
Part of being human is expressing gratitude and appreciation for those who help you along the way. To be a humanized marketer, you need to express your thanks to your customers and partners. In turn, this gratitude drives strong customer loyalty. This isn’t just about a transactional sale – it’s about a genuine, mutually beneficial relationship.
3.Polish Your “About Us” Content
Use this content to not only talk about your brand and the people behind the company, but also to highlight your company’s mission and core values. Faceless brands aren’t easy to trust, so work on introducing the people behind your brand. Explain who everyone is and what they care about, both as individuals and as a team.
4.Ask How You Can Help
Remember that it’s not about you: it’s about your customer and how you can help them. Your marketing shouldn’t be a bragging session or opportunity to flaunt your products – it should be a message about how you can benefit your target audience. Asking “How can we help you?” goes a long way toward establishing an emotional connection.
Furthermore, you can (and should) humanize your brand by sharing its impact on social issues, its charitable giving, and its environmentally friendly movements. Not only will many customers pay more to shop with a business that’s making a positive impact, but they’ll also feel they can trust them.
Need Help Humanizing Your Marketing?
Inbound Studio recognizes that there has been a monumental shift in marketing messages in the last decade. Personalized marketing is a good start, but it takes more than that to reach customers on a deeper level.
Humanized marketing puts you ahead of your competition and helps you stand out in increasingly crowded markets. We know that it can be daunting to pivot to a new marketing message, but our team is here to provide you with everything you need to improve your branding and digital marketing.
Contact us to learn more about how humanized marketing can put your brand and message in front of your ideal customers.
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