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Do you know who your buyers are? Are they trailblazers? Status seekers? Do they play it safe? Different messaging appeals to different personality types, so it’s helpful to know which categories your customers fall into. Here is the list of “types” created by marketing strategist Gary Hennerberg. Do you know which categories your customers fit?

#1. Trailblazers/Early Adopters: These are the technology innovators. They yearn to be first. They are the ones standing outside the Apple Store overnight just to grab the latest gadget before anyone else. In your marketing copy, position them as ahead of the curve.

#2. My Brand/My Lifestyle: These buyers associate themselves with specific brands. They are proud of the brands they own and like to brag about them. Flatter them by positioning them as influencers.

#3. Money Matters. This audience is practical and combines cost and value when making a decision. Talk to them as sensible buyers who make smart choices.

#4. Right Thing to Do. These buyers have a strong sense of ethics and feel that if the right causes aren’t supported, the world will suffer. Talk to them as the ones who are doing their part to make a difference.

#5. Social Relationships. These buyers have a deep need to be accepted. If they don’t buy the right products or travel in the right circles, they believe their social ranking will suffer. Position them as achieving the status and acceptance they desire.

#6. Adrenaline seekers. Adrenaline seekers feel that the odds are stacked against them, so they need to take advantage of opportunities when they arise. If they don’t, those opportunities may never come back. Financial investors tend to fall into this category.

#7. Playing it safe: These buyers are cautious and methodical. They want to gather all of the information before making a decision. Help them in the process and provide assurances that their decision is safe.

#8. Feeding my insecurity: These buyers feel that they have something to hide and fear that their flaws will be exposed. Position your products and services as helping to protect their vulnerabilities.

#9. Did I matter? For these buyers, their legacy is important. They want to be remembered for their impact on the lives of others. Position your products as helping them make a difference for future generations.

Which personalities fit your products best? Understanding how your customers fit into these buyer categories will help you craft the right messages to motivate them to buy.

Want to make your marketing campaigns the most effective they can be? Be sure to hit all of the key marketing components. Most marketers know the importance of the list, the message, and the offer, but there are other components, too. Here are nine “must haves” for any marketing campaign. How many do your campaigns have?

1. List: You have a target audience, but is it the right audience? Or the right segment of that audience? Your campaign won’t go far if you are marketing to the wrong people.

2. Segmentation: What does your target audience look like and how do they behave? How well do you understand them? Have you created customer profiles? Personas? Do you know the difference?

3. Design and Layout: How will the design and layout of the print piece or email look? What types of images will you use? Is your look and branding consistent across all channels?

4. Offer: What is the call to action and the incentive to respond? Have you changed it up recently? Or is it the same offer you’ve been using for years?

5. Channel: What is the medium? Print? Email? Social media? Mobile? Remember that multiple channels work better than single channels alone.

6. Mailing format: If you are sending direct mail, what is the delivery method? Postcard? Newsletter? Trifold mailer? Are the mailers personalized or static? If you are mailing a letter inside an envelope, is the envelope personalized? Different formats work best for different campaigns.

7. Cadence: What day of the week will the mailing hit? If you are using digital channels, what time of day will the message be delivered? What is the frequency? You want to stay in front of your customers, but you don’t want to overwhelm or irritate them either.

8. Message: What are you going to say and how are you going to say it? Should it be informational? Entertaining? Should it use humor or play it straight?

9. Performance Metrics: How are you going to measure your results? You aren’t going to measure a branding campaign the same way that you measure a sales promotion.

Are you optimizing all of the components in every campaign? If not, there may be an opportunity to improve your results. Let us help!

Top brands have key written marketing strategies, but they have visual strategies too. Think about some of today’s most iconic brands—Nike, McDonald’s, Disney. Just one glance and the entire brand—its core messages and key products—rush into your mind. Do you have a visual brand? If not, how can you create one?

1. Be consistent with brand colors.

There’s a reason top brands place such importance on their brand colors. Think Tide Orange and Coca-Cola Red. Not only are these brand colors used for products and logos, but they infuse every aspect of these companies’ marketing, both digital and print.
Even if you don’t have an official brand color, identify colors that are consistent with your company message and image. Use them consistently throughout your materials. Color can be a consistent presence in all of your marketing materials that triggers visual memory.

2. Tell your story in pictures.

What’s your brand story? How can images of your products tell that story? For example, from a branding perspective, Harley-Davidson doesn’t sell motorcycles. It sells independence and freedom. Visuals of the open road are as important as the motorcycle itself. Likewise, Lexus doesn’t sell cars. It sells prestige. Its advertising shows cars driven by men in expensive suits or by women dripping with luxury.
What feelings do your print materials need to evoke? Are your products designed to give people financial freedom, make them better moms, or boost their social standing? If so, what images will reinforce those messages?

3. Go professional.

Stock imagery works in a pinch, but it tells a general story, not your story. Try hiring a professional photographer and using pictures of your storefront or corporate offices, your employees, and your products in use (rather than just house shots). Build a visual identity based on real people, places, and things associated with your company.

Visual branding is a powerful tool — use it!