🧠 The GREATEST Psychology lesson OF ALL TIME

Hey there,

Welcome back to the 53rd edition of Brandish,

Your guide to crafting an iconic brand.

This week I feel like switching things up.

For good.

I’ve decided to stop making newsletters about branding and start making newsletters about sports.

This week we’re talking about the history of the Olympics.

Fun fact: Did you know that the Olympic logo has five rings.

Why?

I have no idea…

But you know what also has the number five?

The 5 stages of frikin’ awareness

And you want to know another fun fact?

Screw the sports newsletters because in this week's newsletter, we’re talking about the undisputed GOAT of psychology tactics which is…

The 5 stages of frikin’ awareness

Show some patriotism 🦅

Pop open a can of Brez,

And let the games begin 🗣️

The 5 stages of awareness are exactly what they sound like…

Sorta…

They’re the 5 stages a customer goes through before they ultimately hit that sweet sweet buy button.

But I said sorta…

While the part about your customer hitting the buy button is spot on.

A “better” name for them would be The 5 Stages of Customer Awareness.

And they’re way more than just stages.

A customer’s awareness level is how aware they are about their problem and how aware they are about the solutions available.

Here’s what I mean…

Do you understand this?

𓃀𓂋𓄿𓈖𓂧𓇋𓋴𓉔    𓇋𓋴    𓏏𓉔𓂋𓅱    𓎼𓍯𓄿𓏏    𓈖𓂋𓅱𓅪𓋴𓃭𓂋𓅱𓏏𓏏𓂋

No.

EXACTLY

Neither do I.

And that’s why being able to understand these stages is so key.

A person who is unaware… 

Who doesn’t even know they have a problem in the first place…

And doesn’t understand how your product can help them or even what your solution is…

Will never buy.

Because unless your prospect can translate Egyptian hieroglyphics…

Targeting a customer who is on a different awareness level than the one your message is intended for is the same thing as getting your message across to them in Egyptian hieroglyphics.

These 5 stages exist because we all know that if you want to be at the top of the food chain it's not enough to just have a great product.

You need to understand each and every one of your prospects on a deeper level.

You need to meet your potential customers exactly where they’re at in their current frame of mind.

And only then will they become your customer.

Within these 5 stages of customer awareness, people move through each of them, starting at unaware and eventually making it all the way to most aware (we’ll go more into those in just a second)

But how quickly they’ll move through those stages.

I can't tell you…

But what I can tell you is that no matter what stage a customer is in, there’s always a way to make that sale.

So let’s get started with stage one.

Kicking it off with the first one.

This is where ALL buyers start their journey.

And you’ll notice that it’s just what it sounds like.

Prospects at this stage are unaware that they have a pain or problem to solve and couldn’t even fathom that a solution exists…

Because why would a solution exist for a problem that doesn't exist…

So pretty much you can say these people are completely clueless and are generally considered the hardest to sell to, requiring the most nurturing out of the bunch.

Your ONLY goal when targeting these prospects is to EDUCATE them on the problem.

And instead of preaching to them about why your product is the finest in all the lands, your ONLY goal should be showing these prospects that their problem ACTUALLY exists.

Okay, so now your prospect is AT LEAST aware that they have a problem.

This is the stage where your prospect realizes that they have a problem, but still don’t know solutions exist yet.

Before you yell out “Now what?”

There are a few things I need to explain that you NEED to keep in mind.

The next four stages can be separated into groups of cold and warm traffic.

Stages 2 and 3 are where your cold audience hangs out, and stages 4 and 5 are where your warm audience hangs out.

Now that you have that in mind.

Now what?

Since we’re on stage 2.

We know the prospect isn’t aware that a solution exists.

And we know they’re cold so they don’t know WE exist.

The goal here again is to again… EDUCATE them. 

But not in the same way as stage one where you’re educating them on the problem.

This time you're educating them on the SOLUTION.

Now your prospect is hooked on the idea that there’s a solution out there that can fix their problem and is now on their way to becoming…

This is where it gets fun because now your prospect knows they have a problem and knows there’s a solution for them.

But they aren’t aware that YOU have the solution.

Your ONLY job when targeting prospects at this stage is showing them that YOU can solve their problem.

You gotta put your name out there.

You gotta prove to your buyers that YOU are an option out there that they can put 100% of their trust in.

Show them that it works for others just like them.

Show them that you can help.

If you’ve made it all the way down to stage four.

This means…

Your prospect still hasn't bought from you.

Even though they know they have a problem

Even though they know there’s a solution out there.

And EVEN THOUGH they know YOU have the solution that can solve their problem.

Don’t sweat it though, it just means you haven’t completed your mission.

Yes, they’re aware of your solution.

But…

They’re not sold on you yet.

There might be another brand that’s stealing their heart.

But it’s not game over just yet.

All you have to do is convince them that YOU have the BEST solution out there.

I know it’s easier said than done but…

You’ll figure it out…

Whether it’s the best price…

Best quality…

Best guarantee…

Whatever it may be…

Make sure it’s the BEST.

If you managed to make it all the way to the bottom here at stage 5.

You’re at the forefront of your prospect’s mind.

They like your product.

They’re sold on your brand.

Congratulations 🎉

On being the worst marketer of all time…

How on earth have they still not paid you???

Just kidding…

Please don’t kill me 🙌😭

All they need is for you to send them a little email saying here’s 10% off and you’ve done it.

You just took a completely random person that knows absolutely nothing about you.

To handing you their credit card information.

You fu*king legend 🫡

One last thing before wrapping up…

Even though I’ve recently been an avid hater of CRO this week I’ve decided to change for the better.

If you're looking to increase your AOV and yes…

CRO

Catch our recent podcast episode where Ash and Drew sit down with Dave, the President of Bambu Earth to discuss exactly how you’re going to increase CRO with strategies from the best in the game.

Showing your target customer an ad on the wrong awareness level is like showing them an ad in a completely different language.

I don’t really need to tell you why that’s a problem but I’ll tell you anyway.

They’re not going to understand.

Which means they’re not going to resonate.

Which means they’re not going to convert.

That’s all.

Thanks for reading along.

I hope you learned something new this week about the psychology behind branding 🧠

And have an amazing rest of your day.

Until next time,

Ankit