Creating a unique slogan or brand phrase is only the first part of the marketing process. The next part is making sure there’s enough message retention in the content to make people act.
It doesn’t matter how creative your copy is or how much effort your team put into the visual designs, if your customers don’t remember it, then your business isn’t going to grow.
Don’t let people wander in and out of your business without making an impression. Follow these six tips to increase message retention.
Create Something Unique That Stands Out
People remember new and unique items that make them stop in their tracks. Most consumers have so much stimuli throughout the day that their brains filter out unimportant and uninteresting information. Your customers might see your brand messaging, but if it’s bland and forgettable, they will quickly dismiss it.
If you want your products or brand messaging to stick in your customer’s minds, then you need to be unique.
Consider the list of weird fast food items launched in past years. Some people might have genuinely hoped the waffle breakfast taco or frito cheese pizza took off, but most brand managers knew these items would generate buzz because they are unique. The uniqueness makes people remember your brand long after the weird items or messaging have faded away.
Increase Message Retention With Repetition
Repetition is the key to success in marketing. Not only are people more likely to remember the phrase and associate your brand with it, but they are also more likely to believe that it’s true.
The phrases “Just Do It,” and “Eat Fresh,” are two examples of repetition and belief. Without hearing the names, customers think about Nike and Subway just by their slogans. Not only do these phrases cause brand recognition, but they also cause people to image athletic scenes or healthy vegetables. Whether Nike has the best gear for training or Subway has the healthiest foods is irrelevant, because the brand association is there.
Repetition is one of the main reasons retailers use overhead messaging in stores.
The message sticks when customers hear it multiple times when they shop, and shoppers are more likely to believe it by the time they leave — making them take action. It’s a success on both fronts.
Make It Easy-to-Remember
Along with repeating your message, make sure it’s also catchy and easy-to-remember. Convoluted slogans and ideas will confuse people and make them dismiss your ideas, limiting message retention.
One way you can make sure your message is easy-to-remember is with digital signage. Visual marketing is effective because graphics:
- Transmit information quickly to the brain
- Help people absorb information
- Help people remember information
So using graphics along with audio and text on digital signage will increase the chances that customers remember your messages.
As you go through this process, consider A/B testing ideas to see which phrases or offers customers remember when they see them in the store or in your online ads so you can see what sticks. The goal is to get the idea into your customers’ head so they don’t have to think about choosing your brand (or worse, other brands), when they need your products or services. They just do it.
Add Emotional Associations to Your Messaging
Humans are not inherently logical creatures. As a whole, we tend to react based on emotions and perceptions of things. When brands want customers to remember what they have to say, they focus on strong emotional messages that elicit feelings of hope, sadness, or anger.
Think about the ASPCA ads featuring abused animals. By showing the state of the animals, not how happy they are after the ASPCA helps them, the brand adds an emotional plea that creates message retention and drives them to donate.
Brands can also tap into association memory with the use of overhead music and messaging. Along with your marketing messages, choose playlists that tap into nostalgia, memory, or simply general feelings to make people associate your brand with those sounds.
Retailers play up this association during the holiday season, while restaurants often base their music playlists on their overall brand goals. Both elicit emotional responses from customers and change their behavior.
Take Steps to Create Positive Customer Experiences
It isn’t hard to convince most business owners that positive experiences lead to more business. However, many struggle to understand the true impact of one bad experience.
Even if customers have had multiple positive experiences, their view of the brand could be impacted by one bad day. According to Brand Strategy Insider, three things happen when customers have a negative experience:
- The experience that happened and the memory of what we expected to happen creates dissonance, confusing and alarming your brain.
- The accumulated memory of a brand changes and affects how we think of the brand moving forward.
- The time of association between brand and emotion slows, and people are more tempted to think about their choices.
Even if customers always have positive experiences with your brand, their memories could forever change at once. Instead of always viewing your brand positively, they will have mixed emotions and be more cautious.
The fact is, 87% of customers compare all brands against a select few. You might not think you’re competing against Amazon, Chipotle, Starbucks, or Apple, but your customers are pitting you against each other.
They expect customer service to stack up against these brands and will think less of your brand if it doesn’t meet their standards. This is why customer service is critical to your brand. If you can’t prevent, reduce, or alleviate negative experiences, then you’re doomed to keep losing customers forever.
Test Messages Across Different Channels
Some messages might do better in overhead messaging while others need visual cues to help people remember. Consider testing your messages across a variety of platforms to see what sticks and what gets left behind.
If you’re worried about customer message retention and want to make sure you’re getting your brand out there, contact Spectrio. We have multiple media solutions to transmit your messages to customers in ways that they will remember.