Whether to make your brand one that polarises your audience has long been a discussion in marketing circles. This Harvard Business Review article, Make the Most of a Polarizing Brand provides a series of examples of how companies have either placated the haters, poked the haters or amplified the polarising attribute to build more enthusiasts.
In the UK, Marmite has consistently used the tagline “love it or hate it” in their marketing and whole communities of ‘Marmite Lovers’ have sprung up in support of the intense yeast based spread. There’s even a museum.
Having consumers hate your product is actually a good thing! And entrepreneurs shouldn’t be afraid to polarise people.
In this article a few weeks back I touched on the topic of polarised marketing, writing;
“Social media marketing provides online business owners with the opportunity for both specificity and polarity of messaging. You want to not just attract the right people but to also repel the wrong people. You want people to scroll on by as much as click through and engage. We don’t want to win a popularity contest with millions of followers, but rather have a handful of highly committed clients taking action and investing in the value you provide.”
As if by perfect timing just a few days later I received a reply to one of my Facebook ads that called out to my lovely introverted people, which demonstrates the need for polarising content well. So well in fact that I am sharing it here so it’s forever in the archives!
Below I share the advert I was running to purposely only call out to fellow introverts. You can see how it works as an example of polarising marketing.
The original advert.
The Reply I received.
My follow up post on Socials which had the screenshot of the reply (with the originator blanked out as above)…
And there were more…
The secret to good marketing is to bring in the people who are ready to accept your methods and understand that the solution is right for them at exactly the point they find themselves in. This is where online marketing can serve us very well.
Once you’ve polarised and focused on your perfect people, you can start showing your people exactly what their journey would look like if they had you as their guide and confidante.
Highlight what your people need to believe in themselves to make the commitment to actually go on that journey.
Contrary to standard thought, your job as a marketer is NOT to convince someone that they need your product. Your job as a marketer is to show the person that you have the right solution for what they need.
You do this by living your brand everyday when you show up, lead by example as how you wish the world to be, and share the impact or change you wish to see. Just as I did in this rather stellar case study. See how easy it is to stop being bashful when you step into your true introvert power!
If you’d love to learn more about how to market your business, then The Spark Space is your one-stop solution that includes personal support and feedback over the year your business pivots and grows, your way.
Last Updated, September 17, 2023
Published by Susanna Reay, July 29, 2022
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