In our latest podcast, international footballer Thomas Hal Robson-Kanu shares his story, from playing in the Premier League to setting up a hugely successful nutritional drinks business that saw a 600% increase in sales in its first two years.
Here, Herdify’s lead data scientist Ed Barter takes a deeper look into some of the insights that Robson-Kanu shares on the podcast, and the behavioural science that’s led to The Turmeric Co.’s success.
The strategy
Thomas and The Turmeric Co.’s goal is a long-term one… To ultimately change the lives of 100 million people around the world. In order to do this, they started small, by targeting trade shows and using these as a way of gathering customer data.
They then encouraged user generated content (UGC) in the form of reviews and video testimonials to fuel their content strategy, allowing them to build messaging to target the exact demographics of their now-defined target audience.
Thomas and his team leveraged the experience and journeys of the people using the product, to feed social media and creative, ultimately building audience and engagement.
Social proof: people are influenced by people like them
Why was this an effective strategy? In behavioural science terms, the decision to target niche communities meant that the testimonials became more powerful. This is because prospective customers were able to see themselves in those testimonials – and ultimately, as humans we are most influenced by people who we perceive to be like us.
Reinforcement is important
In research into adoption of a health service, it was shown that the fourth recommendation was the most powerful referral, leading to the desired action taking place. In the same way, building communities ensures that the same people receive multiple testimonials and recommendations, increasing adoption time.
People are more influenced by messages they feel are genuine
Using real customers in adverts increases their impact, and similarly the unsponsored UGC content from other customers reflects an even more genuine message.
Because these are shared in communities, people are likely to see multiple messages, and therefore marketers – in this case The Turmeric Co. – enjoy the enhanced effects from reinforcement.
Next steps
The Turmeric Co. has a well-engaged community that has organically generated strong word-of-mouth and brand advocacy. To further leverage this, the team could experiment with word-of-mouth targeting.
Prospective customers who have already been exposed to the brand through community and word-of-mouth are much more likely to engage with advertising activity, because they have been primed by someone they trust.
