Why your brand needs to market to humans, not robots

Photo credit: Peyri Herrera

We, as consumers, are not robots. We are not the hyper-efficient computational machines which make consumption decisions in order to optimize every minute or every dollar in our lives. We are not these dogmatic robots which startups often make us out to be.

Market to humans, not robots

Startups often pitch their venture with the view that improving on existing products, services, or processes is a guaranteed way to success. That saving consumers an extra dollar, or an extra hour, is an all too enticing value proposition and therefore fail-proof.

“We can save consumers 10% for habits they are already doing — why shouldn’t they use our app?” Sounds familiar?

We forget that KPIs are the rational aggregation of irrational individuals.

But we are not robots; we are, fundamentally, social mammals. And our decisions are not a result of optimising equations to save that dollar or hour, but of instincts modified by an ever-changing society. Our instincts, whether conscious, subconscious, or in our deepest consciousness, tell us to survive while society tells us how to survive. It is our habit to follow these instincts and to fit in with society that guides our consumption decisions; not our desire to save a dollar or an hour.

This is a hard thing to admit, especially for those involved in startups. Investors and media that cover startups often focus on KPIs such as retention rates and revenue per user. These KPIs often portray consumers as predictable statistics – that each consumer costs $100 to acquire and 25% of users will be retained.

But we forget that such KPIs are the rational aggregation of irrational individuals, that it’s much easier to predict the actions of populations than it is of individuals. That a startup’s value proposition to save consumers money or time might be effective to populations, but not so much on the individual level.

Startup founders often dogmatically believe that by simply saving consumers time or money, their user base will grow exponentially.

But it’s individuals, not populations, that startups must market to. On the other end of every marketing email, advertisement, or banner is one irrational individual interpreting both consciously and subconsciously a startup’s marketing and brand. And this has significant implications on brand strategy for startups, something which is often lacking.

Startup pitches often focus on how it will improve the way things are currently done. This is not wrong.  But startup founders often dogmatically believe that by simply saving consumers time or money, their user base will grow exponentially and organically.

They forget to mention, or have never even thought of, their brand strategy. How do users, whether individuals or businesses, feel when using the product or service? What unmet needs, desires, and fears exist within their conscious or unconscious persona? How does a startup’s product or service tap into these unmet needs, desires, and fears? What is the trigger that will associate your product or service to these feelings? And how will society view them if they used the product or service?

Case study: Uber

Let’s take the example of Uber. Why do consumers use Uber?

The dogmatic, robotic answer is that it’s more convenient than hailing a taxi and is often cheaper. If this is so, why does Uber use slogans such as “arriving in style“, “moving people,” “treating yourself,” and “everyone’s private driver.” Coupled with these slogans are imagery of young, attractive people arriving well-dressed to events and getting out of nice cars.

The Takeaway