Don’t sell, connect

A guest post by Georgina Jijena Sánchez

If you are a female entrepreneur planning to launch or rebrand your business, chances are you want to stand out in a crowded market.

Starting your dream business or launching your brand goes beyond having a business plan or just being passionate about your niche. You need to communicate with your audience and convert them into actual customers!

So, why is it so important to connect to your audience through their emotions?

Because people buy into emotions!

Now, how do you connect with people instead of selling to them?

1. Understand your client’s problem

Understanding your clients’ problems is the first step to gaining their trust. There’s no better way to make a great impression on your audience than helping them solve a problem with your product or service. You need to understand how they feel, and pay attention to the words they use to describe their feelings. By asking them the right questions, you can know exactly what they need and how you can help them solve their problems.

2. Build strong brand values

People buy from brands they know, like and trust.

Offering the best products or services in the market is important but not enough to connect with your audience on a deeper level. People choose your brand because of how you make them feel. People buy emotions and not just the product.

Now, what are your brand values? What do you stand for? What uniqueness do you bring to the market?

Your brand values may be bringing more fun to young kids through colorful clothes, protecting the environment, learning a second language, or helping people eat healthier foods.

 Whatever your brand values are, make sure they resonate with your audience and show that you care about them.

“People don’t just buy your product or service. They buy the promise of how they will feel with your product/service.”

3. Sell based on emotions and not facts

Often when people are trying to sell, they tend to focus on facts to make the product seem like the best option, instead of focusing on how it actually solves people’s problems.

They try to sell facts instead of emotions.

Take for example, the two ads below trying to sell a luxury trip to the Greek islands:

A. Take a trip with us in a private and exclusive customized cruise and discover the Greek islands! Book today!

B. We create extraordinary travel memories.

Our private customized cruises around Greece are designed to suit your exact travel preferences and give you the experience of your life!

Can you spot the difference? The first ad talks briefly without paying attention to the needs and emotions of the prospective tourists. The second ad shows how your approach to messaging and communication can influence your audience to take action, especially when you know your niche and what your prospects are looking for. In the above case, the prospects are looking for luxury, special offer and extraordinary experience.

Love, well-being, excitement, hope, desire, pride and affluence are some of the many emotions people buy into when making purchases.

Truth is, we are all marketers! Yes, you and I (not just the business owners) are marketers. We promote and sell different products and services on a daily basis without even realizing it. We help our favorite brands grow by word of mouth. We inspire other people to buy a product by projecting our own perception of that product onto them.  

Understanding how emotional marketing works can help your brand reach your consumers and create a stronger relationship built on real connection and trust.

“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”  

Maya Angelou

Did you like this article? Pin the image below to save it! Do you have questions about emotional marketing? Let me know in the comments and let’s discuss.