The purpose of marketing for every firm is to gain the attention of as many clients as possible, promote the product and influence the customer’s next move of buying it. Experts say that bringing new but familiar products is one of the best ways to attract and win more clients. Studies have shown that factors such as brand name, store image, and product familiarity or expertise have a definite influence on product evaluation. According to the Association for Consumer Research, product familiarity was measured by having subjects judge their own familiarity with the product based on past experience, knowledge, and word of mouth communication from friends and other associates. Eric Mutabaruka, marketing manager at Frame Ltd, customers prefer new brands but familiar, with an old taste to avoid the burden to understand the purchase process. Hence, they are more willing to stay with familiar brands than those that provide them with a new shopping experience. “The human brain wants to process information that is easy to understand and won’t let it exert more energy. The mind must not wander or be distracted from success by its sense of purpose. What is concentrated, coherent, and connected to its past has power and it shifts its attention there,” Mutabaruka says. He adds that innovation is compelling when it is focused, clear, and connects to what we can understand; otherwise, people seek mostly for a clear message. According to Andrew Mutabare, an Economics lecturer, familiarity with goods and services invokes trust especially with e-commerce. “Trust leads to feeling confident and believe a product will eventually work as the previous one or even better and this will make the overall shopping experience pleasant, allowing them to feel comfortable,” Mutabare says. He adds that a familiar product reminds of an earlier positive experience gained while using it that influences a customer to keep purchasing it, since they do not worry about quality or any other issues while using the product. According to linkedin.com, customers will buy familiar products as a way to show their loyalty. “Customers are a loyal lot! And they will repeatedly purchase a particular product till they have a negative experience. Most companies take advantage of this through customer-friendly loyalty programs.” In short, giveaways can do a great job of helping your target audience get familiar with your brand. This happens during promotion and it will increase your reach, give you engaging content and build a good relationship with your targeted audience.
