Today’s consumers, especially millennials, are spending more money on experiences than on physical items, and they’re looking for more opportunities to share their experiences with their peers. They want to be part of great stories that will be memorable and evoke positive emotions.
That’s exactly where experiential marketing comes in and why there’s so much buzz about it in the business world. Experiential marketing, also known as engagement marketing, refers to the direct interaction of brands and customers, where customers have an opportunity to participate in one’s brand promotion and experience its products or services firsthand.
With this type of marketing, your customers will truly immerse in your brand and develop an emotional connection to it, which may lead to life-long loyalty. You should definitely implement it into your marketing strategy, so take a look at a few ideas to start with.
Harness the Power of VR
VR and experiential marketing – a match made in heaven. VR can be your best friend, as it can provide your customers with immersive experiences where they can “touch” your products or services and see what they’re all about. VR can engage them and make them fall in love with your brand, so you should absolutely take advantage of the technology.
Think about what kind of experiences your brand can create and turn them into VR experiences. Allow your customers and prospects to get up close and show them how your products or services can solve their pain points in an interactive way. You’ll get them excited about your brand and quickly drive them to your door.
Set Up Marketing Pop-Up Shops
A marketing pop-up is an excellent marketing tool for creating wonderful, exciting experiences that people will never forget. The main purpose of marketing pop-ups is to raise brand awareness and create experiences that people will love – not to push products and try and increase sales (although sales will get increased afterward).
Setting up pop-up shops is about letting your target customers try your offerings and connecting with them on an emotional level. It’s an awesome way to engage and interact with customers offline, face to face, addressing all their pain points on the spot and catering to all their needs.
It’s a fantastic opportunity to be where your customers are and forge meaningful and strong relationships with them, eventually becoming their go-to brand for solving all their consumer problems.
Perhaps the best part about marketing pop-ups is the sense of urgency they create. They’re here one moment and gone the next, so people want to take action immediately. They know your pop-up is there temporarily, so they don’t want to lose an opportunity to purchase some great products, which means they won’t delay their purchases.
Frequently Organize Interactive Events
Organizing events where people can get together and have some fun will springboard your brand to great heights. So, apart from marketing pop-ups, gather your target customers for competitions, giveaways, interactive games and any other event where they can do something together and get a true taste of your products or services.
Remember to market the events well in advance, so that people will know when and where they are taking place. Be sure to use event management software, so that you can easily plan and organize all your marketing events and seamlessly manage the registration process. When you integrate the software with your website, people will be able to register for your events 24/7 and instantly reserve their spot.
There are plenty of different software solutions out there, which is why you should check out an event management software comparison. Learning more about different solutions will help you make an informed decision and choose the right software for your unique needs.
Experiential marketing is definitely worth a try and it will make all your efforts pay off for the long haul. Experiential marketing campaigns are incredibly fun and they create long-lasting relationships, so harness their power and you’ll gain a huge number of customers who will absolutely love your brand.
