Halloween's here, you need to watch 'The Fall Of The House Of Usher' on Netflix!
Without giving too much away, the story centralises around the rise and fall of a family dynasty as the heirs start to mysteriously die.
In this series is an amazing monologue from the character Roderick Usher around marketing lemons - aka. Lemonpire.
So this got me thinking about something that strikes fear into the hearts of marketers everywhere: strategy. So how can we slay this monster?
Usher talks about the scarcity and value of lemon’s and how this tactic will help increase their value, making them more attractive.
"Lemon is the only way to say ‘I love you,’ the must-have accessory for engagements or anniversaries."
One way of strategically driving demand is by looking at your paid campaigns. Google recently launched a new demand generation campaign type. It focuses on lead generation or purchases to help drive relevant traffic to your site, meaning you have less chance of wasting spend and more chance of boosting your ROI.
Another way is to be strategic with your content marketing. This can include:
Making sure your content provides value can drive traffic, nurture their interest and increase your brands’ authority.
Usher goes on to list brands and celebrities that could influence people into buying your product. This heavily suggests that the power they have outweighs anything that traditional media could harness.
"Timotheé Chalamet wears lemon shoes at Cannes…Billie Eilish, ‘OMG, #lemon.’"
According to Statistica, approximately one-fourth of consumers surveyed in the United Kingdom said that social media influencers had completely or somewhat influenced their buying decisions. The importance of keeping up with trends isn’t something to be ignored. It can help across a range of aspects:
Usher highlights the importance of securing your revenue streams by providing product options to help maximise profits.
"You charge 40% more for organic lemons, 50% more for conflict-free lemons."
This isn’t a new marketing strategy and a lot of research has gone into understanding psychological pricing tactics, but does it align with your business goals? Pricing structures can vary depending on the angle you want to take:
Not only can these options help to diversify your clients, but can also help in reducing churn, promoting upsell and increasing your revenue.
Apart from the fact that Flanagan has produced an amazing show with an astounding (if slightly cynical) view of marketing, I think it’s safe to say that strategy is the bones of any good marketing campaign. Without understanding how to drive demand, the latest social and industry trends or how to monetise your offering, how are you going to survive?