How to promote intangible products or services using a field marketing agency
When marketing an intangible product or service, you may be stuck on ideas. Without the physical aspect of a product to showcase, your brand must discover new and innovative ways to engage consumers. As a field marketing agency, GottaBe! has worked with many brands whose products are intangible; through several marketing channels, we effectively deliver the products or services to audiences. Discover the different ways to promote your brand’s intangible products!
What is an intangible product, and why is it difficult to promote?
Intangible products cannot be physically bought. Typically, travel, insurance and even a haircut are classed as an intangible product or service. You pay for something but do not receive a physical object in return. While things such as travel and insurance are self-explanatory and sell themselves, other industries need more help to promote their products or service.
For example, everyone needs financial services, but typically, consumers tend to stick with what they know and probably what their parents use. They do not tend to move away from this. For a new bank, gaining sign-ups can be challenging. The authority long term brands have in the banking industry is what assures consumers their money is safe. So, your financial service must find a way to persuade consumers to leave their long-term trusted service and come to you.
How will field marketing benefit my brand?
Field marketing does what it says. It gets a product or service out into the field and in front of consumers. It does not necessarily focus on sales but plays a crucial role in gaining sign-ups and increasing brand awareness whilst also driving customer acquisition. As discussed in more detail within the blog, creating brand awareness and purpose is essential when promoting intangible products. Utilising a field marketing strategy will help your brand to do this.
How to market an intangible product to engage audiences?
Unlike a tangible product, your brand must paint a picture for consumers when marketing the intangible. Consumers tend to make purchases based on an emotional connection, which can be difficult to create when you do not have a physical product. Whilst for some industries promoting an intangible product is much easier due to the demand, for others, they must think outside the box. GottaBe!’s top 5 tips for marketing intangible products will help your brand engage with consumers and convert them into loyal customers.
Humanise
Understanding the client’s needs and showing you value them will allow you to engage an audience effectively. The consumer must feel valued and think that they are getting more out of the deal than you are as a business. By adding value, the consumers will feel an emotional connection to your brand and product, increasing their desire to buy the product. The theory of reciprocation allows brands to trigger consumers into behaving in the way they need them to. By receiving something good, consumers will then feel obliged to do something in return. You can utilise this to gain sign-ups, reviews, and testimonials.
Your brand will need to sell the consumer the benefits of the product. Doing this through a field marketing activation will allow you to create physical bonds so that they feel your brand is the best option for them. Brand ambassadors running a campaign put a face to the brand, which for an intangible product is priceless. With no physical product, consumers need to be able to trust someone instead. Brand ambassadors build the human connections consumers often miss when purchasing a product or service they cannot physically see.
Experiential
One of the ways to ensure your intangible product is effectively engaging consumers is to run experiential campaigns that continue to humanise the product.
Your brand must make your product or service exciting. Typically, intangible products don’t have much differentiation. The objective should therefore be to make the brand more desirable than the product itself. Your brand can build around the intangible through an experiential activation, making consumers feel a certain way. This will resonate with them, and when they think of your brand or product, they will hopefully have a positive sentiment.
Experiential marketing is the perfect channel to engage the consumer as you can showcase how you will add value to their life. Consumers need to be shown a reason to move away from what they know and to take a chance on a new product when they are secure with the current. Fun activations are remembered, which increases the likelihood of consumers sharing their thoughts via word of mouth. Not only are you securing an audience through an experiential activation but growing one through their suggestions.
Experiential marketing should be run parallel to other marketing channels. It provides the perfect opportunity for your brand to collect data and user-generated content, which can draw a wider audience further down the marketing funnel once the activation has ended.
Make it clear
Having a range of videos that show the consumer how to use the product or how it will benefit them will make their purchase decision easier. You can build trust with your target audience by offering free trials to give security in commitment so they can experience the benefits for themselves. It will make them feel they have a physical product as they receive the benefits without risk.
The biggest reason why customers fear investing in intangibles is that they often don’t understand how they work because they cannot see anything physical. When your brand shares content, it brings the product to life and allows them to create a physical connection with the intangible. A multichannel marketing strategy works best when promoting an intangible product. User-generated content can connect with potential consumers showing them your credibility and creating a sense of FOMO.
Make it personal
The fastest way to make your product tangible to the customer is to describe how it will improve their lives. 95% of purchase decision making takes place in the subconscious mind. So, building an emotional connection with your consumer and making the purchase a personal decision will mean they pick you over competitors. To entice the consumer away from the safety of what they know, we suggest including a tangible product they will benefit from immediately. Things such as a free or discounted railcard, coffee subscriptions or a month’s worth of gym membership will gain their attention long enough for you to gain their trust. By making the customer service more than just the product, the consumer feels they have nothing to lose but much to gain.
A strong brand purpose is essential when marketing an intangible product, as your brand will need to use it to replace the product physically. Consumers know that they will benefit from your product in the long run but want to see their money’s worth immediately.
“Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.”- Jeff Bezos. Whilst the consumer waits to start experiencing the benefits of your brand, ensure they have nothing but positive things to say!
Social proof
Your brand will need to consider your social proof to prove to your consumers that your product is worth their time. As Robert Cialdini highlights in his book “Influence: Science And Practice,” people are more likely to do something if they know that many others have done it. By sharing reviews, testimonials, and user-generated content, consumers will be reassured of the authenticity of your brand.
Another way to raise your social proof would be to bring experts onto your social media, including an influencer campaign. As we know, consumers trust the opinion of influencers and others over brands. Having affiliations with them proves your trustworthiness. Sharing your brand’s milestones also adds to your authority as you showcase to consumers that you are wanted and up and coming. People like to be involved, and up to date, so the fear of missing out will increase engagement levels.
How can GottaBe! help?
As a marketing agency, we provide solutions to your marketing challenges. Our dedicated team work around the clock to ensure your products and services can be effectively delivered to your target audience. With over 14 years of experience, we create tailored multichannel marketing strategies that get people talking. Book a chat with the team today to discover the possibilities available to your brand!