One of the main things that may help determine the success of your company is what customers are saying about you. Most companies that are successful can attribute their success to experiential marketing. One of the things that make a lasting impression on consumers is when companies deliver an exceptional experience.
Real experiences tend to have a better impact on customers’ senses and emotions than abstract ideas, and therefore, will stay in their memories for longer. In a study conducted by the International Journal of Supply Chain Management, it discovered that brand visibility induces curiosity in 100% of consumers and increases interest in the product or service being offered.
Experiential Marketing Defined
Experiential marketing comes in different forms, such as live experiences and customer engagement, where you encourage customers to interact and partake in various activities at a brand event you’ve organized.
Such events may appear random, but there are brilliant marketers at work behind such events. They are meticulously planned to create brand awareness and teach consumers about your company’s products or services. Not all companies manage to achieve a top-notch event. You need to use professionals who will help make your event a success. The success of your campaign will be determined by how the event is arranged, the trailers, and how they’ve been branded and presented. With Craftsmen IND, you’ll be in the service of professionals and experts who know what they are doing.
A poorly executed experiential marketing campaign may come off as a publicity stunt or a way to force your products on customers. Consumers don’t appreciate being forced to buy products or services. In the end, the event could end up doing more harm than good and damage your brand image in the industry.
Note that the most vital part of your customer reach is engagement, and if you’re still struggling with that, it’s time to employ different tactics to learn more about your customers and create a successful campaign. Experiential marketing may take longer, but the results are far more rewarding than the typical social media campaign. Furthermore, they can boost your sales and increase the number of repeat customers more than the ads you have on Google.
The Value of Experiential Marketing to Your Business
Strategically planning and ensuring a successful experiential marketing campaign will need a lot of creativity, not your usual strategies used in other marketing campaigns. Email marketing and social media marketing or other forms of marketing that are similar use a personalized approach to customer experience, but don’t come close to building that unique closeness between a brand and a consumer that’s experienced with experiential marketing.
The usual brand marketing strategies help with an already existing customer base and will help you collect data on potential customers. It’s a great way to know about your customers. However, it’s only based on statistics collected, but with experiential marketing, you get to engage your customers on a deeper level. It will help your business increase the value offered to consumers because you’ll be able to conform to the customers’ needs based on firsthand interaction. It’s like a 3D style of a marketing campaign where customers react faster to a brand than when they would be reading or hearing about it.
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Let’s look at the value experiential marketing offers to your business.
- Yields better ROI (Return on Investment)
Although money allotted to experiential marketing budgets seems higher as compared to other forms of marketing, the ROI on experiential marketing is more elevated.
When brands increase their integrity by offering customer experiences that enable the consumer to learn about their products or services, it results in a positive brand perception after the event. A study by events marketers claims that experiential marketing attracts up to 74% more customer participation and positive engagement when companies increase customer experiences through experiential marketing. Increased engagement equals more sales, and therefore, a good ROI.
- Increased customer engagement
Traditional forms of advertising like TV and radio only focused on persuading people to buy from a brand, rather than connecting with the consumers personally.
In recent times, customers have become smarter and have found ways to avoid advertising. They are paying more to skip advertisements, using ad blockers on the Internet, consuming news on social media, streaming live, and even ignoring those bright billboards when driving. They appreciate human experiences and are brand savvy. These experiences achieved through experiential marketing help consumers connect, engage, and appreciate your brand better.
- Increases your online visibility and media coverage
According to recent e-commerce statistics, it states that 68% of consumers trust a business if they see something positive about the company or brand online. Once you’ve increased customer engagement, you can also attract other forms of marketing freely. For example, when customers enjoy time at a brand event and share their experiences on Facebook or Instagram, which has over a billion users combined, it will create awareness and increase online visibility without even investing in digital marketing. You can also get media coverage if your event attracts a significant presence and a lot of shares on social media.
- Builds brand affinity
Every company has lots of competition, and consumers are known to switch from one brand to another. As a company, you need to come up with strategies to increase customer retention and maintain customer loyalty. A great way to achieve this is to offer them an authentic customer experience and interaction at an event.
Experiential marketing will ensure that your potential buyers learn more about your brand and be able to test your products firsthand. This slowly and steadily builds brand awareness and increases sales.
Examples of Experiential Campaigns You Can Adopt
We’ve seen that experiential marketing brings value to your business. Let’s now look at the types of advertising campaigns you can implement for your experiential marketing campaign. Bear in mind the service or product you offer, as well as the target audience you wish to reach.
Organizing workshops
Organizing a workshop is an excellent way of interacting with customers by teaching them about your product or service. You can hire an expert who can teach a master class and help your customers learn a thing or two about something else as well. Your customers will appreciate the effort, and this will increase your customer base. They will also help spread the news about your successful workshop and bring in more people, thus increasing engagement.
Planning for tours of the facility
If your production company is nearby, then you can prepare for free tours of the facility. Customers will appreciate a product more if they know the origins of the product. Show them how the products are made, from raw material to the final product. Answer questions they may have and engage them through the whole process. This type of interaction will leave a lasting impression in the minds of consumers for a long time because they get to experience your brand in its entirety.
Free product testing
Who doesn’t love free stuff, especially if it’s a sample of their favorite brand? An event where there’s product testing won’t only increase customer engagement and boost sales, but will also convert new customers.
Tips on How to Make Your Experiential Marketing Campaign a Success
- Do a thorough research of your target market. Answer questions like what motivates users to connect with your brand, which channels do they use and prefer to connect, and also ask what you can do to offer a better product that can satisfy your customers’ needs.
- Choose a relevant strategy based on your research, and create channels to make the customer experience during the event satisfactory.
- Advertise your campaign through all social media platforms. This will reach a wider audience and make the event a success. You can also live stream the event on the day it takes place.
- Partner with other brands and create one big event. You can choose a brand that’s reputable in your niche and also complements your brand well. This will attract more customers and increase brand awareness for your product.
- Display authenticity and honesty at the event. Customers have a way of telling if you’re just in it for the sales. Show them the heart of your brand and let them uniquely connect with your brand.
- Live stream the event on YouTube, Instagram, or Facebook. You’ll reach an even broader consumer base. It will advertise your brand and also have potential customers coming to the campaign to meet you and interact with your brand.
- Lastly, work with professionals. The setup equipment and everything else need to be set up by experts if you want the event to be more successful. They will guide you through city permits and other technicalities that may arise.
Conclusion
Experiential marketing is where you can experiment and be creative. Don’t be afraid to go out of your comfort zone. Brainstorm and come up with ideas that will create a memorable customer experience for your brand. The budget is bigger, but the payoff in increased sales, social media shares, and increased brand awareness is definitely worth it.
