HUMAN CENTERED MARKETING

Many CMOs, marketing managers, marketing bloggers and professionals are known to emphasize the human element to marketing, and throw around words such as “social listening,” “human to human marketing,” and “buyer personas.”

But do we actually understand what these phrases mean in the larger context of human centered marketing? Do we know how to unite these often abstract concepts and practices into one, consistent model of attracting, interacting with and maintaining a relationship with our customers?

This quote from an unknown source accurately sums up the complexity of human relationships in general

“The greatest mistake we humans make in our relationships is that we listen half, understand quarter, think zero and react double.” – Anonymous

Since business and customers have even more degrees of separation than the average human relationship, it’s even more crucial that marketing coordinators are well aware of their need to not only analyze, collect data and optimize, but to listen, empathize, engage and continue to pursue a relationship with their customers after a sale.

So what are the steps and phases of establishing truly human centered marketing efforts? Here are three elements to consider and apply in your business.

1. Human centered customer attraction

As businesses vie for the attention of consumers, it is quickly apparent that the businesses who are the best at “listening” to their customers have the best short-term and long-term success. Apple, ranked by Forbes as the #1 most valuable brand of 2016 has built its empire on the principles of making consumer needs its top priority.

In order to attract a customer, you have to:

1. Listen to your customers. Where are your customers gathering, and what are they saying? Which social sites to they most frequenting, and are they praising your brand or complaining about it? What are they not saying about your brand that you want them to say?
2. Understand your customer by creating mental models. You must comprehend and anticipate what your customer’s fears, desires, needs, wants and thrills are. What makes them tick? Develop mental models, which are frameworks that illustrate the common thought processes and philosophies of your customers. These can only be properly developed when you are an expert “listener” to the people who are talking about your brand.
3. Create marketing personas. You may have heard the term “marketing persona” before, but it is important that you think outside of box on this one. Often, creating marketing personas is approached from a purely “corporate” frame of reference, meaning that impersonal terminology is used and the real “human” behind the human marketing persona profile is missed. Make sure your focus is on an individual and their fears, needs and desires, instead of simply analyzing their buying activity or average purchases per quarter.

It’s hard work to make a brand personable and expert at interaction and “listening,” but once this is accomplished, the brand will be able to successfully attract customers with more than just a great product!

1. Human centered engagement

“The most individualistic cultures are the United States and Australia … You could say in Asia the thinking is ‘we, we, we,’ and in the West it’s ‘me, me, me.’

Companies in the East put a lot more emphasis on human relationships, while those from the West focus on the product, the bottom line … Western business people often don’t get the importance of establishing human relationships.” – Daniel Goleman

Although he has strong words for the West, Goleman, a psychologist and author of the book Emotional Intelligence, hits upon an interesting point. In the West, there is a strong sense of individuality, which is a valuable trait. In the East, there is more emphasis on community, which is also a valuable trait.

Apple, Google, Microsoft and the other top brands that ranked at the top of Forbes’s list of most valuable brands of 2016 are–interestingly enough–all Western brands. So what can we take from Goleman’s statements?

It is important to strike a healthy balance between focusing on the individual, and being aware and sensitive to larger groups and demographics. There is something to be said about a “herd mentality,” and it is wise to be attuned to not only the needs of the individual, but the needs of the “herd”.

Apple, Google and Microsoft have mastered this balance, and the proof is in the statistics. So what do these brands do to interact with the individuals and the groups of humans they need to reach?

These brands all have three things in common. They know how to:

• Engage. Once they listen to their consumer base, they don’t just sit back and say “Oh, that’s nice.” They respond. They adapt. They innovate to make sure their brand fits exactly what their customers need right now.

• Empathize. The best brands pull up their sleeves and get into the “nitty gritty” with their customers and their problems. They don’t just stop at saying, “Here I am to help you fix your problem”, but they go on to express, “I totally understand why you are frustrated. I would be frustrated too! Here’s how I can remove your frustration.” They feel with their customers, and thus are able to meet their needs to a T.

• Expedite. These brands have so studied their interactions with their customers, that they have been able to develop streamlined models and CRM processes that make customer interaction simple and easy.

1. An ongoing, human centered relationship

“A good relationship isn’t an end goal, it’s a lifelong process maintained through regular attention.” – Arthur J. Huy, Sr.

Your brand may be a pro at attracting customers, engaging and empathizing, but if it fails to develop and maintain an ongoing relationship with your customers, you will not only miss out on future sales, but will also potentially lose out on the brand awareness your customers could be helping to spread.

Successful brand-client (or rather, human to human) relationships will be maintained by:

1. Continued interaction. Interact and share with your followers on social media, email, forums or other mediums of interaction on a consistent basis.
2. Continued sharing of valuable content. Make sure your consumers have the blog articles, support forums, printouts, guides, videos and more that they want and need!
3. Continued empathy and understanding of your consumer base’s current needs. What your customers needed1, 2, or 5 years ago will likely not be the same as what they need today. Stay up to date, and you’ll consistently provide them with just what they need.

Just as solid human relationships take a lot of work, human centered marketing is no easy feat. However, developing a brand that is human centric will be an incredibly rewarding experience for both the brand and the consumer. 
What are your thoughts? I’d love to hear about your experience with implementing a human centered marketing philosophy in your company.