What is YOU-centric Marketing?

At Think Media, we use a YOU-centric marketing approach to connect customers with your brand. That means that we create a personal connection with your customer that makes them feel important, valued and special. While brands tend to know and understand the value of their customers, they often forget what truly resonates with their customers in their marketing strategies and tactics, and instead focus on the attributes of their brand.
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That approach fails to recognize the competitiveness of the market. It also doesn’t acknowledge the fact that many health and wellness brands seem virtually indistinguishable in the eyes of your customers. Oh if I had a dollar for every text message (accompanied by a photo of a packed retail shelf) I’ve received from friends who are confused by the array of parallel products asking me which product is right for them. This is a where a YOU-centric approach becomes your best friend because it focuses on your customer not your brand. 

If you have heard the expression, What’s in it for me? then you know exactly what YOU-centric marketing means. YOU-centric marketing asks the questions that all consumers ask when deciding to read, view, engage, interact, evaluate, and ultimately purchase your product or service. Specifically, they ask, Why should I care? What will this product or service actually do for me? How will it benefit my health, beauty, reputation, knowledge, status, mood, etc.? How will it enhance my life or the lives of my family? Why should I bother? Will this make a difference? Is this even worth my time? YOU-centric marketing aims to answer these questions before the consumer even thinks them by putting your value proposition into messaging that your customers actually care about. 

YOU-centric marketing is genuine. It doesn’t try to trick the customer into purchasing. The goal is not to deceive. It aims to provide authentic interactions. It aims to tell, convey and reinforce that your customer’s needs, desires, wishes and wants are of the highest concern to your business. It means that not only do you have to understand your customer, you also have to make a commitment to provide them with the value and experience they seek. 

YOU-centric marketing understands what your customer needs at each stage of the buying funnel – at the awareness, interest, consideration, intent, evaluation and purchase levels – and fulfill that need. Thus, it requires thought and evaluation. It requires a willingness to see the shifts in your target customer’s behaviors and provide new and interesting ways to connect and engage with them. 

Most of all, it requires that the needs of your business are not the driving force of your customer interactions. That doesn’t mean your company’s revenue goals, etc. should be dismissed (that would be crazy), but it does mean that this isn’t all about you. It is about your audience and their needs. YOU-centric marketing is built on the fundamental truth that your customers will make or break your company, so ignoring the reality of their thoughts, interests, needs, dreams, wants and desires will lead to the undoing of your business. 

​The best way to break your brand out of a crowded space is to truly connect with your customer. Once you have the trust that true connection fosters, you can apply effective digital marketing strategies that focus on your customer. From there your customers will be more than just customers, they will be loyal customers. They will be return customers. They will be lifelong customers and brand advocates. If you fail to make this connection, your brand is just more noise. And no brand wants that.

Shahla Hebets

Shahla is the Founder and CEO of Think Media Consulting. She is a talented digital marketing expert with two decades of expertise and has overseen multimedia divisions ranging from a few million to over $300 million in revenue. Having worked with Fortune 100 brands and small business alike, she has developed a deep passion to help businesses succeed.