The bandwagon marketing tactic makes consumers feel that they will gain the approval of their peers by patronizing your company. Bandwagon selling attempts to make your small business' product or service the most appealing on the market and appeals to your customer's need to be accepted.

Desirability

One approach to bandwagon marketing is making your product or brand desirable by using advertisements to suggest that only the trendiest and most beautiful people use it. These individuals are part of the "in crowd," and are well-known and respected among their peers. Marketers know that for the most part, everyone wants to be a part of this group. Promotions that follow this formula could include a group of beautiful, stylish women wearing your brand of shoes, or several fit, attractive men drinking your brand of liquor. The people in the ad appear happy and confident, sending the subconscious message that your product will improve your potential customer's quality of life.

Shame and Embarrassment

Suggesting the opposite, that people who don't purchase your product or service will be shunned by their peers, is another bandwagon selling tactic. Advertising material could portray a person without the advertised product as sad, nerdy or unattractive. For example, changing the music in a commercial, such as playing seductive or upbeat music when the "in crowd" enters the scene with your advertised product, and then making the music depressing when showing the person who doesn't have the item, emphasizes this bandwagon technique. Advertising may also show the people with the promoted item in bright and colorful light, while the individual who hasn't purchased the product is in dim light, or displayed in black and white, to show that anyone who doesn't have your product is not in touch with modern trends or technology.

Transformation

When a person patronizes your business being advertised, he may immediately become accepted by the "in crowd" endorsing your product. For instance, your marketing campaign may feature a social outcast discovering the item being advertised and immediately being transformed into the most popular person in his social circle. Imagine a nerdy kid who sprays on your cologne and immediately becomes the most attractive guy in school. Beautiful girls who never noticed him before are now walking arm-in-arm with him, all because of your cologne.

Acceptance

Bandwagon promotion suggests that stylish, beautiful and smart people will automatically accept your potential customer once he starts using your advertised product. Bandwagon advertising may depict a group of people turning their noses up at a "plain Jane" type of woman in the office because she doesn't drink a certain brand of coffee. However, the woman discovers a better brand of coffee, brings it into the office, and suddenly everyone is nice to her and wants to be her friend -- even though she hasn't changed her appearance. This type of bandwagon marketing suggests that your product alone will encourage people to accept your potential customer, and that everyone will want to be like her and purchase your item.