do we all really think on the lines of utility ONLY when we 'decide to buy'? have you thought how do we make decisions as of where and on what we spend money?
well, a customer does not make logical decisions before making a purchase, most of the times, its the emotions that drive the customer decisions.
We all purchase products from time to time based more on how they make us feel than on strictly functional or utilitarian criteria. Fashion goods are a prime example. If all that mattered in clothing was comfort and price we would have no reason to shop anywhere other than Marks and Spencer. But designer labels flourish. Mostly because of how we feel when we're wearing an Armani dress, a Hugo Boss jacket or carrying a Fendi handbag (www.brandchasm.com)
many think emotions are related to the 'female gender' but to prove this wrong, lets take the example of cars. Are'nt men extremely passionate about the cars they drive..? every man has a dream car and he is emotionally driven by that dream...
now what i am coming to is, brands do a lot of activities to create a strong brand identity. one of the most important ways brands are built is through emotional branding. each brand portrays an emotional identity which the target group relates themselves with to be able to be associated with the brand easily and an emotional bond is created between the customers and the brand.
sometimes the way some brands use their promotional tactics such as ads, the visuals, the punch lines or the jingles used touch the emotional string of the customer....
why do people spend so much and buy a tommy watch where as they could buy a times watch, which will tell the time as well?
The answer is because we all have both left and right brains. The right brain reflects our creative and emotional side, the left brain controls our logic and intellectual reasoning. Effective branding appeals to both sides of the brain. It takes into account both tangible and intangible attributes which relate to both functional and emotional benefits.
This is where a great deal of conventional research into consumer attitudes breaks down. Research is quite effective at measuring logical feedback: what does the consumer like or dislike about my product or service? What research has a harder time getting a handle on is the vital emotional component of how consumers perceive your product or service. Because most people are not very good at expressing their emotions, and research is not very good at asking the right kind of questions.
Brand development and brand positioning that fails to recognise the importance of how a brand makes its users feel is unlikely to succeed. So branding becomes a blend of art and science, emotion and logic, the tangible and intangible. We ignore the emotional component of a brand at our peril (www.brandchasm.com).
