Want to win the hearts and minds of your customers?
Stop creating a company. Start building a brand.
In a densely crowded marketplace, where competition creates infinite choice and customers consume 5,000-10,000 advertising messages daily, you need to find ways to break through the noise to emotionally connect with customers, gain their trust, win their hearts and earn their loyalty. You do this not by creating a company, but by building a brand.
So, what is a brand, anyway?
“Brands are powerful assets for creating desire, shaping experience, and shifting demand.”
– Rick Wise, CEO Lippincott
As we’ve learned more about marketing, advertising and buyer psychology, the definition of the word ‘brand’ has developed into something quite intangible.
A brand is not your name, logo or product – it’s what your customer thinks, feels and experiences when interacting with your business and how it changes the way they live and view the world and themselves.
We consume products, but we fall in love with brands.
Think about some of the cult brands for a moment. People don’t tattoo the Harley Davidson, Apple or Nike logo on their body because they’re in awe of the design; they do it because of what the brand represents.
Harley Davidson represents freedom, rebellion and grit.
Apple represents creativity, beauty and self-expression.
Nike represents high-performance, authenticity and self-empowerment.
These brands are bigger than their products and have generated extreme loyalty because of what they are to their customers – the brands have become symbols for what customers stand for or aspire to be.
When the budget is blown on a pair of Christian Louboutin heels, a Chanel handbag or a Tiffany Blue Box, it’s not the practicality of the item that is driving the decision, but the luxury, status and social standing that comes by owning them.
Our buying decisions change around brands we love. It’s not a purchase where features are analysed and prices are compared; it becomes a statement to the world of who we are and what we stand for.
What if you could create this emotional transition in your customers?
Create a brand your customers will love.
While you may want to jump straight to marketing (the tactical application of branding), without giving your customer a reason to connect with you emotionally or a cause and passion for sharing, your job of breaking through the noisy, overcrowded marketplace will be so much harder.
So, how do you create a brand that customers will bond with, engage with and fall in love with? It starts by having the right brand elements in place.
Here at VM+C, we work closely with you to establish your:
Brand Purpose
why you’re here and why it matters
Brand Values
what you stand for
Brand Vision
what you want to accomplish in the world
Brand Mission
how you will achieve what you want in the world
Brand Promise
what your customers can expect from you
Brand Personality
who you are and how you interact
Brand Positioning
where you sit in the market
Brand Essence
the guiding principle you live by
Brand Culture
how your employees share your brand
Buyer Persona/s
who you serve and why they should care