It has often been said that the average person is met with over 5,000 marketing messages in a single day. And while that number has been disputed over the years, one thing is clear. The promotion field has given way to clutter when it comes to the number of advertising seen daily. From sponsored tweets and targeted YouTube advertising to traditional radio jingles-it’s now an accepted part of the vast amount of communication available.
But how does one distinguish one ad from another? What makes a message resonate with consumers above the countless others out there? For many businesses, the answer can be found within mindful marketing practices.
1. The Mindful Approach
Mindful marketing is a consumer centered approach that closely aligns a company’s interests with that of society. It’s advertising that not only increases shareholder’s values-but also upholds and supports the values of a more just and sustainable world.
So can businesses succeed on Wall Street by ‘doing good’ on Main Street? Of course they can. Which is why I’m encouraging companies to consider making mindful messaging an essential part of their selling strategy. If you need some examples of how to get started, here are some simple rules to keep in mind.
2. Defining the Delivery: Asking the Right Questions
A key component of successful mindful marketing is framing the message around issues that truly matters to your clients. Is your communication with your core audience a one-way conversation? Or is it a robust dialog where you listen to their concerns to create a company culture that reflects their needs?
For example, is it simply enough to say that you are the largest provider of a particular product? Or do consumers really care about the environmental and societal costs of producing it? Taking a mindful approach means that you should be willing to engage your clients to learn what’s important to them.
When drafting the questions to pose to your target audience, be prepared to ask questions that are more rhetorical in nature. The idea is to not dictate what you feel the clients should be concerned about. Instead, you should ask both your internal and external customers questions designed to provoke and inspire creative thinking.
3. Building the Mindful Experience.
In order to facilitate this step with your clients, it’s critical to be in the moment.
Think about it. Multitasking has become an essential part of our culture. Texting our boss while standing in line for coffee. Sending a business email while at dinner with family and friends. There’s little wonder that many marketing messaging seems fractured as we are constantly being pulled in multiple directions.
By comparison, the mindful experience is one that depends on focusing on one priority at a time. Doing so will not only relieve stress but also allow you the clarity to identify what’s vital to both your shareholders as well as your client base.
So how do you break the multitasking habit? Try thinking outside the box to include techniques such as taking walks, breathing exercises, or even meditation. The ultimate goal is remove the outside distractions in order to recognize your message’s true objective.
4. Shifting Your Thinking
Once you create the perfect environment in which to train your mind to focus, it’s time to apply your audience’s responses to define your values. As you do, you may realize that maybe your company culture doesn’t quite measure up to the ever-changing needs of the marketplace. If this happens, there may be time for a major paradigm shift.
Change can definitely be scary. But take this as an opportunity to identify your purpose. When considering your next steps, make sure that you take the following into account:
- What changes are necessary and why?
- What effect will this have on your business’ bottom line?
- What effect will it have on society and your clients as a whole?
- How will we put this change into effect?
- What would success look like in six months? How about 12 months?
5. Delivering the Message:
When it comes to being a mindful marketer, delivering the message in a responsible way is just as important as the message itself. This means, taking time out to carefully examine what method (social, print, etc.) would work best to reach your base.
Selecting the perfect advertising vehicle should involve more than ROI. To ensure a proper synergy between customer and companies should consider the following:
- Is it ethical? In the case of print media-is the amount of materials distributed appropriate while environmentally sustainable?
- Is it honest? In the case of digital media-does it honestly describe the message being conveyed? Or would audiences see it as click bait?
- Is it responsible? Does the materials contribute to communications clutter?
Key Takeaways:
Mindful marketing is the practice of creating a value-based branding that allows businesses to align with socially responsible interests. Companies looking to take advantage of this should engage their target audiences to find out what concerns them most. Practitioners looking to tap into this strategy should avoid the traps of multitasking to look beyond the mental clutter to identify your company’s focus.
This post is dedicated to Janet Fouts and Tamara McCleary, two of the most mindful marketers I know!
