Experiential marketing is a marketing strategy that employs a range of tactics to engage customers and prospects with a brand. It has been gaining momentum in recent years.
Unlike traditional or online marketing efforts, experiential marketing offers an opportunity for marketers to communicate with their target audiences in real time. This is done by immersing them in the brand’s experience and engaging them through hands-on interactions. The experience is very different traditional approach because it focuses more on building relationships, which has been proven to be not only more effective but also much faster. (Read our blog How Face to Face Interaction Affects Consumer Behaviour)
The power of experiential marketing as a form of advertising lies in its ability to create an emotional response from consumers. The most successful experiential campaigns have been those that have found creative ways to trigger emotions such as happiness, awe, and excitement. [1] It is a unique way of getting your message across because it builds brand awareness by engaging with your customers instead of only reaching them through digital screens. It’s also more effective than traditional or online marketing because you can measure people’s reactions and emotions instantaneously and with no bias.
Find out how this technique can leverage your event, trade shows, or any other campaigns and drive conversion. Read on!
1. Raise brand awareness
As we have mentioned in our previous blog, it takes a long time before a brand is recognised especially when done organically. It doesn’t mean that it’s not effective, but if you need a faster result to bring your product in front of your audience, experiential marketing is the way to go. It is one of the best ways to get in touch with your customers and start building meaningful relationships.
2. Builds Connection with Consumers
What does this mean? In today’s new era, retailers must be comfortable and less intrusive. Consumers are more likely to respond, interact and engage with the brand through experiential marketing which leads to more impressions and increased return on investment.
3. Develops a Positive Brand Image
Today, brands must be mindful of the entire customer experience, not just the product or service they’re selling. Experiential marketing can transform a passive experience into an interactive one — and it does so in a way that feels personal to your brand. Visual elements, such as logos and branded banners, will be remembered by consumers, but so will their interactions with the brand.
4. First-hand Experience with the Product
What if you could try it before you buy it? Allowing customers to experience your products firsthand, either in the store or on your website, can make a big impact on sales plus, it gives you significant feedback. This strategy isn’t limited to physical products either. They can also offer product demonstrations, free samples and more.
5. Drives Word of Mouth Marketing
As we live in a world where we are all interconnected, word-of-mouth marketing is a powerful tool. There’s something about people spreading their opinions to others that’s not limited to just products and events. Whether it be a conversation, an experience, or anything else, people will often share their thoughts and experiences with others. This creates an all-encompassing strategy for your company by spreading your reach beyond the event itself.
In fact, according to Nielsen, 92% of people trust recommendations from friends and family over any other type of advertising. Even academic research into WOMM has proven its effectiveness in conversion. [2]
6. Cultivates Brand Loyalty
Consumers are provided with so many choices, the reason why brands need to get creative. What brands need to do is create a real-life experience for consumers. With an emotional tie to the product, they’ll develop brand affinity which in turn leads to repeat customers.
7. Show Authenticity
Marketing is all about authenticity, but it’s hard to achieve with most forms of advertising. Traditional ads are impersonal and often ignored because of their constant bombardment. But with experiential marketing, brands can establish a two-way conversation with consumers by engaging them in person and making them feel good about the brand unlike some traditional forms of marketing which often use one-way communication.
8. Helps Grow the Business
We all know that experiential marketing is an effective approach. But why? Well, it attracts customers, creates awareness, generates leads, increases sales, and boosts loyalty. It’s not just the visuals that make an event memorable, but it’s also the engagement with the brand. When customers can engage with the brand in person and have a positive and memorable experience with them, they’re more likely to buy from them in the future.
The goal of experiential marketing engages the customers and draw them to your brand. Though creating positive, lasting relationships with consumers isn’t easy, we hope that article can be helpful to get you started.
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References:
[1] https://academic.oup.com/jcr/article/39/2/429/1798974
[2] https://www.bigcommerce.com/blog/word-of-mouth-marketing/#what-is-word-of-mouth-marketing
