Marketing - it's all about me!
You don’t need to be Einstein to work out that we are all operating in a nation of narcissists? From attention-seeking celebrities to digital oversharing and the boom in cosmetic surgery, narcissistic behaviour is all around us and is a growing obsession that should not and cannot be ignored.
You don’t need to be Einstein to work out that we are all operating in a nation of narcissists? From attention-seeking celebrities to digital oversharing and the boom in cosmetic surgery, narcissistic behaviour is all around us and is a growing obsession that should not and cannot be ignored.Nowadays, everybody wants to be a brand and every brand wants to be a person, so what’s marketing’s role in a culture of celebrity?
A Brand’s Role
Brands were once the cornerstones of our consumer culture. But with the growth of social media, customers are now both producers and consumers meaning that marketers have a new role to play in building and developing brands. In essence, thanks to an increasingly self-obsessed audience, marketing going forwards needs to be capable of delivering:
- Choice
- Instant engagement
- Unique and individual appeal
- Mass customisation
- Added extras (value)
Indeed recently increasing numbers of retailers and manufacturers are providing their customers with opportunities to create individualised, unique products and in turn are seeing increased levels of engagement.
Individuality appeal, mass customisation
And here are three reasons why it pays to not ignore narcissists with your marketing:
1. Narcissists spend more money
According to a recent study, consumers will spend more money when they are in a narcissistic state. It seems thinking about ourselves and how we’re perceived makes us more likely to put our hands in our pockets. Indeed research published in the Journal of Retailing urges marketers to explore ways to allow consumers to customise the products and services they buy as the ability to personalise what we buy taps into our narcissistic tendencies and helps to justify the cost of added extras.
2. Narcissists like tailored content
By tweaking your messaging and making your content marketing all about your target customers, you can use narcissism to your advantage. Customers, who feel at the centre of your campaigns, will be more likely to buy.
3. Narcissists want celebrity associations
State of mind can play a big role in driving up conversions. For example, a study published last year revealed that just having seen a celebrity they like using or being vaguely associated with a product can make a consumer more likely to buy a product even if the celebrity is not actually endorsing the product.
For help in tailoring your marketing activities, including your messaging and content, so that it appeals to a growing market of narcissists, get in touch.