3 Behaviours Marketers Often Miss Out on (FOMO’s One of Them)

The world of marketing is constantly evolving and, if you’re in the marketing game, it can sometimes feel like an uphill battle trying to keep up with the latest trends and marketing tactics in such a fast-paced and competitive industry. 

Gone are the days of walking door to door in the hopes of making a sale. Nowadays, companies with a decent budget will hire an influencer to spread a brand’s name or product to their thousands, if not millions, of followers in a few simple clicks. So, if you’ve been in the business of marketing for more than a hot minute, chances are you’ve had to change tack more than a few times in the last couple of years in order to keep up with an ever-changing landscape.  

However, where marketing and advertising executives have to constantly evolve their approach to sales, the consumer by and large remains the same. And, as a general rule of thumb, the average consumer, regardless of what’s being sold, wants a high quality product for a reasonable price. Not exactly rocket science when all’s said and done. 

So if the customer is still the same as he or she has always been, why then do marketers need to become chameleon-like characters, adept at foreseeing the future and predicting behaviours like some kind of crystal ball-reading clairvoyant? The answer is simple: over-saturation. 

Years ago, when a product filled a gap in the market, it was a marketer’s dream. Advertise the product and wait for the buyers – simple! If the product was good, all you needed to do was draw people’s attention to it and word-of-mouth would do the rest. But these days it seems that any product released into the world is followed by a thousand almost identical items at almost the exact same time, leading to consumer confusion and an unprecedented level of market saturation. 

And it’s this saturation that makes it so difficult for marketers to get their client’s products noticed, let alone sold. Which is why you need some clever tactics in your arsenal. 

With that in mind, we’re going to take a look at some consumer behaviours that marketers often overlook when considering their marketing strategies. These small but very significant behaviours are insights into how consumers think and how they will ultimately interact when faced with a new product or service.

Behaviours that marketers often overlook 

We all know that marketing is all about strategy. Just like a game of football, the manager doesn’t just train his players for a match, he also studies their opponents before sending his squad out to compete. And it’s the same in marketing. 

With that in mind, let’s take a look at some consumer behaviours that marketers often overlook when planning their strategies. 

External triggers 

As a marketer, you know the importance of getting your product under the nose of the consumer. But external triggers are more than just creating giant billboards and loud TV advertisements. For instance, in the case of an industry such as online casinos, most operators need to work hard to focus a customer’s attention on their brand in a sea of other casino sites, and using other external triggers has proved to be extremely useful to this effect. After all, they all use TV, radio and social media advertising, so to stay ahead of their competitors a good casino brand will have some other tricks up their sleeve.  

For example, a recent report from the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) found that a lot of consumers are prompted to play casino games by a whole wealth of external factors other than just standard advertising. These included passive influences, such as hearing about someone else’s big win, or tapping into our inherent satisfaction at getting ‘something for nothing’. 

According to the UKGC’s report, one customer was quoted as saying “I’m a sucker for a promotion or ad, it does draw me in to play. I’m also a fan of the ‘spend a certain amount get a certain amount free’ deals- who doesn’t like free money!”

Now let’s say this player gets offered free spins to use on a slot game, and they win a cash prize using this bonus. Not only have they won real money, they’ve effectively got it ‘for nothing’, as they won using bonus spins from a casino. So for the player, it’s a win-win situation and they’re very likely to return to the same casino the next time they want to play slot games. 

These external triggers can be the difference between a potential customer thinking about purchasing a product or service and actually taking action, and the power of triggers like “they won, so I might win too” or “I’m getting free money by taking on this bonus” are essential to converting a lead into a paying customer. 

Internal triggers 

The other sign of the coin is internal triggers. Friends talking about buying a sleek new car may well encourage you to consider shopping around for a new ride yourself, but how you feel about cars in general will have a huge impact on whether or not you’ll actually get down to a showroom and take something out for a test drive. 

For instance, if you were brought up with the belief that a car symbolises wealth and success, you may well be inclined to search for a stunning car that will turn the heads of anyone you pass by. Or perhaps you’ve been obsessed with cars since you were a little kid and the idea of getting a new one is about as exciting as all your Christmases at once. However, if you were raised to think that cars simply serve to take you from A to B, chances are you’ll have no interest in splashing out on a new ride anytime soon; maybe even ever. Therefore, no amount of advertising will push you to buy the new Mercedes or BMW that your friends covet so much. 

It’s the same with all consumers. Their inherent beliefs and views on a particular product will dictate how they interact with it. 

Let’s look at online gambling again. If a player enjoys the thrill of online slots, and gets a rush from winning real money, then he or she will be far more open to the prospect of trying out a new slot. However, someone who views gambling in a negative light won’t be swayed by any amount of advertising or external triggers. They are simply not your customer. Therefore, as a marketer, it’s your job to identify your demographic and capitalise on a customer’s internal triggers in order to potentially make a sale. 

FOMO – the ultimate marketing tool? 

Fear of missing out (FOMO) is a recently-coined term for a behaviour that’s been around forever. The sinking feeling that someone is having a great time and that you’re missing out is a powerful marketing tool that can have an immense impact on your sales. 

Let’s return to our earlier example of the UKGC’s report on gambling habits. One online casino customer said “I saw an ad on social media for a Valentines day draw and I couldn’t help but get involved, I feel like I’m missing out if not a part of it and it will play on my mind“.

Whether it’s missing out on a prize draw, a new gadget, upcoming event or even the latest viral TikTok dress, consumers all over the world want to feel included and will often part with their cash for no other reason than FOMO. 

So, is FOMO the marketer’s ultimate tool? In truth, the term might be new but any good marketing firm has been profiting from FOMO for many years. And if you haven’t, it’s time to get some FOMO yourself and jump on the bandwagon!