What are the main goals of marketing? Some may think this simple – you’re looking for people to look at your brand, deem it valuable, and engage with whatever you’re selling. That might involve buying concert tickets for a new band, signing up for a streaming subscription, or making a donation to a charity.
But it’s important to know that several psychological measures are going on in any marketing effort. To begin with, you have to imply a lack of whatever it is you have to offer, and how fulfilling that lack is important. That creates desire and intent. Then you have to show a value proposition, showing that yes, they too can incorporate this thing into their lives quite comfortably, and be better off for it.
Throughout all of that, you have to inspire trust. That you’re worth taking a risk on, or trying out for the first time. But how can you give that message through marketing without directly suggesting it, especially for highly technical industries like the medical field? In this post, we’ll discuss that and more:
Use Social Proof For Comfort
People tend to trust things other people trust. This is a common method of providing social proof. So for example, you might integrate testimonials on your website, or use more trustworthy third-party options like TrustPilot because you won’t have written or pre-selected those yourself.
You could also use customers in your advertising, or even have influencers review your product without any qualifications, this way, you can show you’re willing to be open and transparent.
Be Clear About Your Protocols
A little helpful instruction can go a long way. There’s a reason many fast food chains started to be open about how and where they sourced their ingredients from at the start of the century, because consumer opinion was changing and many individuals wanted to know what they were eating as opposed to taking a brand’s word for it. That’s just one example, you might showcase how your clinic has been using Spectrum Ophthalmics to lead the cutting edge of your client care, or the internal review and auditing systems you implement to ensure quality control. It all counts, so don’t dismiss such vital efforts as secondary.
Hold The One-Stop Resource
It’s very easy to cultivate an opinion on someone based on what other people have told you. But then you might meet that person and realize most of those rumors were untrue. This happens to almost all of us over the course of our lifetime, and it can happen in business too. That’s why investing in your website or other essential platform to host all the information to know about your company is key. From transparent earnings reports each year to blogs dedicated to explaining what you’ve learned from mistakes made this year, being able to step out and remain confident in your approach, and never trying to hide a learning experience for the sake of good PR, can help you curate goodwill in the best sense.
With this advice, you’ll see that trust, while a virtue earned over weeks, months and years, can absolutely be a marketing principle worth investing in.