Feeling a little stressed?
Stress is a natural part of life—but as a culture, we’ve upped the ante and are entering an era of super stress. The consequences of that super stress are showing up in every aspect of daily life and come with incredible costs as we wrestle with the consequences.
Here’s the reality—it’s not going to be getting better any time soon. The causes of this heightened level of stress are here to stay and believe it or not, in some cases—it’s just going to get worse. The country’s economy, a tough job market, and the rising cost of living are the top three stressors cited in a recent survey.
These challenges are not going to be resolved in the foreseeable future, which means their influence will continue.
Another reason we’re a little stressed is because we choose constant connectivity. Our always-on world just keeps getting faster. We’ve explored how the workday is no longer 9-5 but really it’s become 24/7. And it’s not just work.
Our constant hunger for being in the know means there’s always one more video to watch, one more post to read, one more Facebook update to post and one more news story to pass on. We never unplug which also means we have no down time to unwind.
Even the things we love—like having lots of choices, living in urbanized areas, and our Western lifestyle all contribute to why we feel stressed out all the time.
The marketing insight that comes from all of that is—if we are feeling the stress, so do our customers. What should we do with that?
Point out the stress-reducing aspects: If what you sell can make life easier for your customers, be sure they see that attribute. Help them see how your product or service helps them unplug, unwind or unload some of that stress.
Make working with you easier/less stressful: This goes way beyond just having convenient hours or an easy return policy. This is about really walking through your buying process and eliminating as many of the challenges and difficulties as you can. Be sure you let your prospects know that you have made it simple to do business with you.
Simplify the choices: All too often, marketers believe they should offer as many choices as possible. The reality—too many choices equates to stress. Maybe it’s time to look at your offerings. Do you have too many choices? Are the distinctions between the choices clear? Is there something you could do to reduce the number of choices without compromising your prospect’s ability to choose?
Mix in some fun and surprises: People need to find ways to have some fun in this stressful world. But everyone has less leisure time (remember – 24/7 connectivity), which means the fun needs to come to them, right in the middle of the stress. What could you do that would be completely unexpected and add an element of joy or delight to your prospect’s or customer’s day?
The benefits of helping your customers’ de-stress goes far beyond their mental health. It will make interacting with them easier—which your employees will love and if you truly can reduce stress levels, the loyalty that will breed will drop right to your company’s bottom line.
And there’s no better stress reducer than that!
This article was originally published by Drew’s Marketing Minute
Published: December 22, 2014
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