To truly capture the attention and loyalty of customers, your product needs to resonate with them. The core of resonance is relevance. But what does that actually mean?

Relevance is the magic ingredient that explains why a product matters to a customer in a specific moment and context. It’s the difference between a product that simply exists and one that a customer can't live without. For businesses looking to refine their strategy, messaging, and merchandising, understanding the different facets of relevance is a game-changer.

The 12 Dimensions of Product Relevance

Here are 12 dimensions of product relevance that can help you connect with your customers on a deeper level:

1. Job/Functional Relevance

This is the most straightforward type of relevance. It answers the fundamental question: Does your product help the customer get a job done better, faster, or cheaper?

Signals: Clear outcomes, performance specs, reliability, compatibility, speed, and accuracy.

2. Contextual Relevance

Is your product pertinent to the customer's current situation, timing, and environment? A product that is relevant in one context may be completely irrelevant in another.

Signals: Seasonality, local conditions, device context, usage occasion, and the customer's lifecycle stage.

3. Personal Relevance

This dimension focuses on how well your product fits an individual's unique preferences, constraints, and profile.

Signals: Size/fit, style, budget, dietary needs, accessibility, and past purchases.

4. Emotional Relevance

How does your product make the customer feel? Emotional relevance is about evoking desired feelings during and after the purchase and use of your product.

Signals: Comfort, confidence, joy, calm, nostalgia, pride, and relief.

5. Social/Identity Relevance

Does your product align with how the customer wants to be perceived by others or the groups they identify with? This is about the story your product tells.

Signals: Status, belonging, community norms, brand tribe, and cultural fit.

6. Economic Relevance

Does the value equation make sense for this customer right now? This is about the financial attractiveness of your product.

Signals: Price fairness, total cost of ownership, promotions, financing, and a clear return on investment.

7. Experiential Relevance

Is the end-to-end experience of buying and using your product smooth and friction-free? A great product can be let down by a poor experience.

Signals: UX/UI clarity, speed, ease of onboarding, quality of support, and post-purchase service.

8. Risk/Trust Relevance

Does your product reduce perceived risk and increase the customer's confidence in their purchase? In an uncertain world, trust is a powerful currency.

Signals: Reviews, guarantees, certifications, data security, brand reputation, and transparent policies.

9. Timing/Recency Relevance

Is your product timely relative to triggers and cadences that matter to the customer? This is about being there at the right moment.

Signals: Replenishment cycles, event-based triggers (like travel or life events), and limited-time offers.

10. Ecosystem/Compatibility Relevance

Does your product fit into the customer's existing stack or lifestyle ecosystem? Products that work well with others are inherently more valuable.

Signals: Platform integrations, accessories, data portability, and interoperability.

11. Mission/Values Relevance

Does your product align with the customer's beliefs and purpose? More and more, customers are choosing to support businesses that share their values.

Signals: Ethical sourcing, sustainability, DEI commitments, and local production.

12. Segment-Specific Relevance (B2B)

In a B2B context, does your product map to the buyer's role, KPIs, and procurement constraints? This is about understanding the specific needs of your business customers.

Signals: Compliance, security, SLAs, multi-user controls, and analytics.

How to Apply this Concept: Marketing a Hall Tree

A hall tree is the ultimate entryway organizer—a single, hardworking piece of furniture that combines everything you need for smooth arrivals and departures. Typically featuring a set of hooks for coats and bags, a bench for sitting, and integrated storage for shoes, it’s designed to conquer entryway clutter. By providing a designated spot for all your on-the-go essentials, a hall tree acts as a convenient 'staging zone' that keeps your home tidy and welcoming from the moment you step through the door.

Here’s how to apply the principles above to market our hall tree.

1. Job/Functional Relevance

The marketing will lead with the core problem it solves: entryway chaos.

• Website Copy: "Tame the entryway clutter. With 5 double hooks for coats and backpacks, 3 cubbies for hats and gloves, and a sturdy bench for taking off shoes, this hall tree creates a designated spot for everything."
• In-Store Signage: A simple bulleted list of features:
  • Holds up to 10 jackets/bags
  • Bench supports 250 lbs
  • Keeps wet shoes off the floor

2. Contextual Relevance

It's mid-August in Boston. This timing is a key opportunity.

• Email Campaign Subject: "Get Your Entryway Ready for Back-to-School!"
• Social Media Ad: "Winter is coming, Boston! Before the snow, slush, and hockey gear take over, get your mudroom organized. Our new hall tree is the perfect solution for the changing seasons."

3. Personal Relevance

The store needs to show how this specific hall tree fits the customer's home.

• Product Page Feature: Show the hall tree in multiple finishes (e.g., rustic oak, crisp white, modern black).
• Instagram Post: Create a carousel post showing the hall tree styled in different home types: a narrow condo entryway, a spacious suburban mudroom, and a character home foyer.

4. Emotional Relevance

Sell the feeling, not just the furniture.

• Marketing Slogan: "Welcome Home to Calm."
• Lifestyle Photography: Instead of just a sterile product shot, the main image shows a parent smiling, stress-free, as their child easily hangs up their own backpack on one of the low hooks.

5. Social/Identity Relevance

This piece says, "I have an organized, welcoming home."

• Ad Copy: "The first impression of your home is the last thing you should forget. Our hall tree shows your guests that you value style and order from the moment they step inside."
• Influencer Collaboration: Partner with a local Boston home & lifestyle influencer to showcase how they've integrated the hall tree into their home.

6. Economic Relevance

The value proposition needs to be clear, especially during an expensive time like back-to-school.

• Limited-Time Offer: "Back-to-School Sanity Sale: Get the all-in-one entryway solution for $299 (Reg. $379) until August 31st."
• Bundle Deal: "Buy the hall tree and get two matching storage bins for the cubbies for 50% off."

7. Experiential Relevance

Make it easy to buy and build.

• Product Page Highlight: "Easy Assembly! Watch our 5-minute video guide."
• Service Offering: Offer a "Click & Collect" option at their Boston location, or add a "White Glove Delivery & Assembly" service for a fee.

8. Risk/Trust Relevance

Build confidence in the purchase.

• Website Feature: Prominently display customer reviews and photos. "See how 75+ other Bostonians have organized their entryways with this 5-star rated hall tree."
• Badges: Add icons for "1-Year Warranty" and "30-Day Hassle-Free Returns."

9. Timing/Recency Relevance

Create a reason to buy now.

• Ad Trigger: Target ads to people on real estate sites who have recently moved. "Just moved into your new Boston home? Start off on the right foot with the perfect entryway organizer."

10. Ecosystem/Compatibility Relevance

Show it as part of a larger solution.

• Cross-Selling: On the product page, have a "Complete the Look" section that features a matching console table, shoe cabinet, and decorative mirror from the same furniture collection.

11. Mission/Values Relevance

Connect with the customer's values.

• Product Description Detail: "Crafted from sustainably sourced birch wood," or "Proudly designed in Boston to withstand harsh Massachusetts winters."

12. Segment-Specific Relevance (B2B Adaptation)

Target small businesses.

• LinkedIn Ad: Target local businesses like boutique fitness studios, small accounting firms, or salons. "Give your clients a clean, professional space to hang their coats and bags. Our durable hall tree is perfect for small business reception areas."

Ultimately, the humble hall tree shows us that a product is never just a product. It's a solution, a feeling, a statement, and an experience all rolled into one. By moving beyond its basic function and viewing it through the 12 dimensions of relevance—from the emotional calm it provides to its contextual importance for a Boston family facing another winter—we unlock a more potent way to connect. The challenge for your business is to apply this same holistic lens to your own offerings. Stop selling isolated features and start communicating total relevance. When you do, you won't just make a sale; you'll build the kind of meaningful connection that turns a one-time buyer into a loyal advocate for your brand.