Emotion is the biggest influencer when deciding on a purchase. Consumers will consider previous and related experiences that may alter how they make their choices. Therefore, your brand should align with the values of your customers in order to win their business.
Love and happiness are what sell a brand
Among the top well-known love brands is Coca-Cola. From the beginning, the brand positioned itself as a path to happiness with these slogans: Ice-Cold Sunshine; The Pause That Refreshes; Things Go Better With Coke; Open Happiness. Coke makes consumers trust in the product because it encourages happiness. In turn, trust is built which is one of the biggest factors in establishing customer loyalty.
Brand love is caring
When a consumer feels care, they experience joy which leads to trust. Consider the Swedish furniture store, Ikea. The brand is loyal to the needs of its customers. Before entering a new market or country, Ikea conducts research by talking to potential customers about their wants, needs, lifestyles and shopping methods. Through this process, Ikea discovers little nuances that make big differences. This is why American Ikea lovers will find deeper drawers in their furniture than those in Italy. In India, furniture made of untreated pinewood is offered to protect the items from the country’s humidity.
A love brand is more than a brand that people want; it is one that they trust as a friend
It transcends the scope of its product or service because it represents emotions, values, and beliefs with which consumers identify. When a consumer loves a brand, an emotional bond is created. When a brand’s products embody customer needs, love shines through making their lives easier in some important way.
When a brand becomes a personality that also reflects a certain lifestyle of its customers, it holds the power to become a love brand.
Make Your love mark
Love means happiness and your brand should convey that. After all, don’t we have enough negative news in the world these days? By shrouding your brand with good vibes, you will position it in a positive light. Since a love brand connects emotionally with consumers, choose feeling over product as a part of your overall marketing strategy without discounting the quality of your product, of course.
Keep the Spark
Making the long haul in any relationship requires effort beyond the initial spark. So, in the case of a love brand, sweating the small stuff is essential. Love drives action and is just as much about recognizing the subtle nuances as it is about delivering the seemingly larger product or service. This is why smart brands go beyond conducting good business. A love brand nurtures its relationship with consumers so that it continues to realize the value for life. This is where marketing comes into the picture – strategies that focus on creating bonds and value bring a brand and consumers closer together. When a brand leverages the balance between the smaller nuances and the larger deliverables, it stands to become one that consumers love.
Love builds loyalty
Oh yes! Love is the tie that binds. When a consumer builds an emotional relationship with a brand, it is not so easy for the competition to break that bond. When the consumer is regularly informed about the brand’s news (e.g., through social media and other communication strategies) they can even forgive a mistake or two in the name of the relationship. If the brand then expresses transparency and humility in recognizing and in some way apologizing for these mistakes, the situation can turn into a positive one by further reinforcing the customer relationship. This is trust at its finest!
The love for a brand causes consumers to disregard price since the relationship takes precedence. Therefore, love brands can practice higher pricing than their competitors while keeping the consumer relationship. But to maintain customer loyalty, a love brand must couple numbers with emotions and consistency by considering what consumers think and feel and focus on both. Winning the affection of customers will increase customer engagement.
Let there be love
From the get-go, establish in your brand a core set of principles and values
✶ Build features and a unique tone of voice
✶ Help it grow and build relationships
✶ Guide your brand into developing its own special style
✶ With love and nurturing, your brand will become magnetic!
✶ Give your brand a face
✶ What solutions does your brand provide?
✶ Identify your target market and thoroughly understand its lifestyle
✶ Become a part of your target market’s culture
✶ Give your brand personality
✶ Shape its purpose (branding)
✶ Give it purpose and drive (planning)
✶ Establish a position and direction (strategy)
✶ Give your brand a signature look
✶ Pick your colors (max 3)
✶ Design your logo (the face of the brand soul you’ve created)
✶ Ensure the tone and energy of your logo matches your brand’s personality
✶ Ensure that your logo connects with the culture of your target market
✶ Give your brand a voice
✶ How your brand ‘speaks’ depends on the personality and principles you put into it
✶ What is it – intelligent, curious, compassionate, bold, ambitious?
✶ Pick your messaging platforms (social media, static content, video marketing, print, etc.).
✶ Give your brand a purpose
✶ Come up with a byline (boil it all down and keep it bitesize)
✶ What will your brand do with the personality you have given it?
✶ Keep its tone consistent with its personality
✶ Give your brand action
✶ A good brand picks its friends wisely!
✶ Carefully craft your brand’s actions according to its unique identity
✶ Practice consistency in brand activity to strengthen relationships
✶ A healthy brand believes in its own value!
✶ A brand with soul integrates into the community
✶ A good brand stands behind its truth
