Conquering the Market: What is the Snowball Effect?
Each of us has been a recipient of viral actions and mass trends at least once – something not entirely planned, happening suddenly. Such situations usually start with something small, which then grows and gains strength – faster and faster and with greater momentum. This is the snowball effect.
It can be both positive and negative. The name comes from the idea of a literal snowball rolling down a slope, getting bigger and faster. Today, the number of online platforms and media is conducive to generating more and more frequent discussions, in which various types of environments are included. The more people become active in them, the bigger the “ball” becomes.
The Snowball Effect in Marketing
Psychology and marketing are two closely related fields. Using the tools they have at their disposal, we can better understand the motivations of future customers. So the question arises, what influences consumer behavior and decisions? Many researchers, in order to understand the snowball effect, reach for the processes described in psychology. This leads to a situation in which undecided people accept the opinion of the majority, which goes hand in hand with the so-called social proof of rightness.
There is also the exposure effect, which country code +49, germany phone numbers in marketing means that people respond more favorably to things they have encountered before, as well as the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon, whereby recipients, after becoming familiar with a given thing, notice it almost everywhere. For example, imagine that you are planning to buy a red bicycle, but in the store it turns out that the model is already sold out. After leaving the showroom, you suddenly notice red bicycles everywhere. So when it is time to make a purchase again, you will no longer hesitate.
When planning your own marketing strategy, you can also use the snowball effect. First, you need to gradually introduce customers to a given product. You can't reveal all your cards right away, it's about creating a story that the future customer will slowly identify with. Then you need to take care of positive opinions and comments about your product. The next element is recommendations - from influencers and friends. At some point, the customer will have the impression that everyone is talking about your product. Remember, however, that this will not always be associated with a sudden increase in profits - it all depends on the industry. When it comes time to make decisions, the customer will already have specific plans.
Benefits
What benefits can you expect by using the snowball effect ? This is a long-term strategy – a profitable investment that takes time to show results, but the most important advantages include:
profit growth;
strengthening brand awareness and reputation;
gaining popularity;
increased trust among customers;
permanent group of consumers.
How to plan a strategy using the snowball effect?
When planning your marketing strategy, you need to keep the sales funnel in mind. This is about referring to the customer journey, or the individual stages of lead generation. You need to know the profile of your future consumers – the best way to do this is to use the resources of Google Search Console and Google Analytics.
5 Steps to Planning a Snowball Strategy
Step 1: Interest
First, you need to exist in the minds of consumers. This is the arduous work associated with building the aforementioned brand awareness. The product itself is not enough here, it must be surrounded by contexts. The best strategy in this case is content marketing referring to the entire brand profile.
Step 2: Advertising
To increase interest and emphasize your position on the web, it is worth using Pay Per Click (PPC) ads . Their biggest advantages include immediate effect and an easy implementation plan than in the case of SEO strategies . You pay for the effect, not for the display, so you can precisely define the target group.
It is worth adding a landing page to this. A landing page is a type of website that a potential recipient first lands on as a result of promotional activities of a given brand or company. Thinking about the snowball effect, it is worth using a landing page of the coming soon type. This is a good solution when introducing a new product to the market. Then such a page can be transformed into a landing page generating leads, and then - into a sales page.
Step 3: Education
In order for sales to occur, you need to educate your audience. You should be aware that most users who enter the site do not have specific intentions yet. They are especially not focused on making purchasing decisions – they come much later. Lead nurturing is the activities leading to finalizing the order. We are talking about content creation, e-mail marketing, retargeting, and social marketing .
Step 4: Contact
The next step is to establish contact with customers, which will allow you to maintain their interest in the product on an ongoing basis. You can use the above-mentioned communication channels, as well as launch a chat on the website so that recipients are aware that you are ready for dialogue at any time.
Step 5: Engagement
The result of your actions should be to encourage customers to interact. For this purpose, it is worth using all kinds of promotions and competitions. Online activities should also be supported by offline strategies, and in this case, press meetings and open events for those interested may be a good solution.
Sum