Instant gratification refers to the satisfaction of the mind and soul that one receives on getting what one wants.
It is an instance where the heart presides over the head and continuous such impulses will help in persuading a customer or a target audience to buy a particular product/service.
Examples-
1. Hitting the snooze button before waking up.
2. Eating junk food instead of healthy food.
Instant Gratification being leveraged in marketing –
1. Companies write blogs to communicate with their customers.
2. Companies change taglines to convey the fact that they will keep in sync with the public’s requirements. For example, recently Alstom made their tagline to ” Mobility by nature ” that shows that they will take up work that involves futuristic transport.
3. Use of catchy and non-catchy phrases like ” Download a free book on cooking” etc.
4. Make promises – like 5x fairness in 3 weeks. 😀
5. Running instant comm systems like a chat service by real people or chatbots.
6. Use of AR (augmented reality ) – like enabling the potential buyer to take a picture of something to search for something similar on the website.
7. Use of (VR) virtual reality – Like the use of slimming software to showcase the results that can be used by those who will use particular gym equipment.
However, if the product/service on offer is not good enough- sales will not see through.
This is how instant gratification works.