People have a lot of information entering their brains throughout the day. When you are dealing with customers of your business, it can be tough to cut through all that clutter and convince them to take a specific action that will benefit themselves and your business at the same time. Other companies, social media platforms, entertainment, pop culture, and other factors are constantly vying for the attention of your customers every minute of the day, which doesn’t even include everything happening in their personal lives.

With all this input, how can you make your brand an influential part of their lives? How can you convince them to pay attention to your messaging when they are processing through such a massive influx of information non-stop?

The key is to provide value with your efforts. If you can offer something that truly benefits a customer, then they are far more likely to pay attention to your business. The following five tips are unique tricks that can be used to provide value to customers, thereby influencing their decision-making in favor of your brand without being gimmicky.

A Welcoming In-Store Atmosphere

If your business has a physical location where customers go to make purchases, then your in-store atmosphere is a tool that can be used to affect their decisions. The more welcoming the space, the longer a customer might stay inside, giving them more time to consider purchases. A coffee shop could play specific music to create a calming environment that encourages dwell time.

A clothing store can enhance the lighting so that people can accurately gauge what outfits will look like in broad daylight. A car dealership has multiple pristine models inside for potential buyers to observe and consider the features they are looking for. A welcoming atmosphere can convince customers to stick around and puts their minds at ease as they make purchasing decisions.

Fostering a Community

People love to feel like they belong somewhere. Your brand can become that “somewhere” by fostering a community with your customers, specifically on social media. The tools available on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and others make it easy to create groups, respond to comments, and interact positively with individuals in your sphere of influence.

When customers feel personally connected to a brand, they are more likely to purchase your product or service. You may even become their exclusive provider of said product or service. Building these relationships through social media channels can grow the customer base and produce greater brand loyalty.

Solve a Need with Marketing Campaigns

For the most part, marketing is one-way communication. Your company creates a piece of content, like a social media post, a blog, a commercial, or an email, and then you send it to customers and hope for a response. The success of these marketing materials depends on if the messaging aspects are convincing. But what if the medium of the message can also solve a need?

That is precisely what promotional products do. If your target audience includes fitness enthusiasts, then providing them with branded merchandise like promotional hot and cold gel packs can fulfill a need in their lives while promoting your brand to them and others who see your logo on the products. Fulfilling a need improves your standing with these customers, developing brand loyalty.

Know Your Customers Inside and Out

Any successful business owner will tell you about the importance of knowing your audience. After all, if you do not understand the customer, how can you meet their needs? There are many ways to learn about your audience, from feedback surveys to interactions on social media to paid audience research firms. Knowing your customers is not just about demographics or broad patterns, but specific details like their lifestyle choices and what problems they face daily. This information can guide your product development, marketing campaigns, customer service, and sales training processes.

Give Them Ownership of the Brand

As mentioned before, customers love to feel like they are a part of something. If you can help customers feel like the product is an extension of themselves, then you will have a loyal buyer for life. A couple of ways to foster this principle include giving customers a hand in product design, helping them become intimately familiar with your products, and product personalization. These tools can give customers a more significant stake in your brand, making them more likely to purchase products and talk up the company to others.

Influencing is Not About Control

The idea of influencing customers to make favorable decisions for your brand may sound like it is manipulative or forceful. However, there are plenty of ways to influence customers without manipulating them. The strategies listed above are all easily observable by the customers, ensuring that they do not feel like underhanded ways of getting what you want. These tools will simply give your company a leg up on creating a positive impression on customers and adequately serving their needs.