Trump’s win proof of how powerful consumers are

Donald Trump’s surprising win in the US presidential elections has implications for marketers, according to a recent study by research company Forrester. Titled “Trump’s win proves we live in the age of the customer”, the study argues that CMOs need to understand the strategy that led to Trump’s victory if they are to thrive in the age of the customer.

There is no doubt that Trump faced opposition from almost every quarter –  his own party, media organisations and the business world. What Trump got right – and Hillary Clinton did not – is the understanding that the power has shifted from traditional institutions to the individual. Simply put, Trump responded to the needs of the electorate better than Clinton and won their trust.

The report points out that while there has been a clear power shift, traditional institutions such as media and political parties have been the last to realise that they no longer hold the reins. Trump bypassed these institutions – and, with a far smaller budget than that of Clinton, won the election.

It’s an age where consumers are less risk averse, they’re open to trying new ideas and technologies and they’re happy to embrace – or even demand – change. The report notes that the speed at which consumers can demand change was evidenced earlier this year with Brexit, and politicians should have noted that consumers would happily accept new ideas and political concepts more quickly than traditional institutions would have thought possible.

Trump understood that emotion is the best way to motivate consumer behaviour. In the modern age, when we have more choice than ever before, emotion plays an even greater role in driving us to try new behaviours. Like him or not, Trump was open about the emotions he was trying to elicit and evoked them successfully. He was able to connect with his target audience.

He also managed to establish a personal connection with his audience, using language that positioned him as an everyday person, just like them. Trump managed to humanise his personal brand, with the result that he was protected from “even the slings and arrows of his own mistakes”, the report reveals.

In the age of the customer, emotion is what matters most.  Trump’s personal, emotionally laden communication hit just the right note. If one can create an emotional connection with a customer, much as Trump did, the result is a relationship that creates loyalty. In fact, the more intensely an emotion is experienced, the more likely it is that people will respond to it with action. Exploiting this dynamic is how Trump got people to vote.

What the US presidential elections highlighted is the importance for brands to create emotional connections and listen to their customers. For marketers, it’s vital to measure emotional responses in order to define or improve consumer perceptions of the brand experience.

The big take-out: According to Forrester, Donald Trump’s understanding of how to tap into consumer emotions and relate to them on a personal level is what helped him gain victory in the recent US presidential elections. Trump’s win has important lessons and implications for marketers in the age of the customer.