Learn to partner with creators and build customer trust with authenticity. Join leaders from TikTok, the NBA and more at Social Media Week, May 16–18. Register now.
Meeting people where they are isn’t just a theory or hypothesis; it’s proven effective by a number of different brands that embrace this consumer-centric way of thinking. A better understanding of consumers allows brands to move from being transactional businesses to being businesses consumers trust and support, fueling deeper loyalty and sustained connection over time.
Today there are plenty of brands out there that say they’re all about the consumer. But to say it and to be it are two entirely different things.
It’s easy in principle
Which is why it’s become so prevalent. The challenge and opportunity to be a brand of action that delivers sits with the practice, not the principle. Ultimately, without the consumer as the central figure in the marketing ecosystem, we have to question: if not for them, then for who?
In examining a number of different brands, there are patterns that illustrate how these brands go from strategic vision to concept development to marketplace activation:
- Understanding the consumer. Not superficially as demographic data points but have true deep knowledge of who they are.
- Having a clear understanding of the brand’s value proposition.
- Identifying the intersection between the brand and their consumer.
- Observing the broader world and pick up on cues. Read the room, the overall consumer marketplace and current events.
- Defining attributes based on the building blocks above to serve as a core pillar for the brand to build from and connect with the consumer.
Brands spotted in the wild
For brands that are looking for a place to start or for use cases on how this comes to life, the following is an all too short and entirely non-exhaustive set of brand examples spotted in the wild that have shown proof of concept in meeting people where they are across product, price, place and promotion. It intentionally spans industries and audiences because this concept is meant to be universally applied.
Providing the best drive-up experience: Target
Target understands that for any number of consumer-behavior-oriented reasons, ranging from pandemic safety to time-strapped shoppers or parents with kiddos in car seats, the ability to offer a seamless curbside option expertly woven into its app experience creates ease, simplicity and a dopamine rush of checking something off the list for the consumer. Center of the bullseye.