Give your audience these three feelings, and they won’t be able to resist you.
Many companies focus on the logical decisions customers make when building their businesses. They think about what types of products their customers want to buy and how much to charge for them, and while this is a generally good model, it ignores the fact that customers buy experiences—not just products.
If you want to be successful in the long term, your brand needs to give your audience positive feelings, before, during, and after their engagements with your brand. These are three of the most important feelings you’ll want to evoke:
- If customers feel like your brand is out of reach, or out of touch, they aren’t going to engage with you. Speaking directly to your target audience, remaining warm, and responding to anyone who approaches you can help cultivate an atmosphere of approachability. Being down-to-earth also helps, though some specific brands may desire a loftier presence.
- You also need your customers to feel like your brand is familiar. Being consistent in your brand standards helps to cultivate this feeling. You can also generate familiarity artificially by using identity elements your customers already know and love, or by evoking feelings like nostalgia.
- Finally, your customers need to know they can trust you. Giving them reassurance that their decisions are protected, showing your history, and demonstrating your expertise are some of the best ways to do this (not to mention maintaining a great customer service record).
If your brand can give customers these three feelings, both your customer acquisition and retention will improve. Work on honing these qualities within your brand, and instituting them at every stage of your marketing, sales, and follow-up processes.
