People often see brands as just logos and products. These are important, however, businesses are so much more than that. Long-lasting businesses are based on creating relationships, meeting the needs of customers, creating connections, being authentic, and sharing and building values. All of this is vital for your brand to be successful and enduring. The first several impressions a potential user or customer has with your brand can always be improved through data driven optimization, resulting in a greater immediate return on ad spend (ROAS) and long term improvements of life time value (LTV) and retention. Small, yet impactful adjustments today will lead to increased profitability and scalability in the future. Today, we will dive into why making good impressions for your brand matters.
Each touchpoint or interaction your next customer has with your company will slowly build a full picture of your brand in their mind. You have the power to shape that picture by carefully crafting positive relationships with your customers. The sum of these small interactions add up to the overall impression that a customer associates with your logo and product. Examples of these small interactions can be anything from searching for a product on a site to an interaction with a customer service representative or even seeing an ad or opening an email. You can have the best logo in the world, but great design will never make up for a lousy experience.
Every impression, click, visit, or face-to-face interaction compounds into an overall impression of your brand. That’s why understanding and nurturing each and every micro-conversation ultimately matters. By doing this you are guiding the consumer journey into a positive direction. You might have a fantastic product or service, but building a long-lasting relationship with your future customers is all about optimizing every single interaction they have with your business.
Here are some common interactions that matter most when building your brand:
Building business relationships is a lot like building personal relationships. In fact, the closer you zoom in, the more similarities there are. Let’s examine some things that matter most in both cases:
Our brains are wired to remember certain things. It turns out that emotional connection is what gives various memories weight. The more emotion, the more likely a memory is to stick with you. Therefore, brand interactions with an emotional connection carry more weight and are more likely to be retained.
One positive emotionally weighted interaction can have more impact than 100 interactions that fail to evoke a powerful response. That being said, this can go both ways. A sharply negative experience can turn consumers off for a lifetime.
Come up with strategies to create positive interactions and share those interactions with a surprise and delight campaign, Facebook group, event, or personalized campaign. Post content with personality that delights and engages your audience or provides them with something of value.
For example, Enfuso, a producer of infused oils and balsamics, personally selects recipes for their products and includes them with each order.
Here are some ways to consider deepening your connection to drive interactions that matter.
The best-performing brands are authentic. Authenticity is earned by staying true to your mission/purpose. What that means is different for every brand. . But a brand that speaks authentically to a specific audience is poised to win. If you stray too far from what you really know, it generally comes through in the interactions with your consumers. You don’t have to be an expert to drive a successful business, but knowing where your blind spots are will help you build and leverage your team strategically to fill those gaps.
One brand that sticks with what they know and does a great job at it to be authentic is Vans Footwear. Vans knows their customer and markets to the young, punk, skaters and surfers of the world. They rarely stray far from their origins or the foundational products they offer. Vans knows that optimizing and growing doesn't necessarily mean forgoing their authenticity. They are a perfect example of a brand that is not trying to be something they are not. They stick to their target audience and what they are good at. As a result their success can be clearly seen as they are one of the most popular shoe brands among the younger generation.
Chances are your business is aligned around some core values. Examples of those could be sustainability (Slunks), eco-friendly (KASSIA + SURF), informative (Skin and Bare It), family-oriented (Enfuso), and so much more. Those values should be embedded throughout the consumer journey, not just on the “about us” section of the website.
A great example of a value driven brand is Patagonia. They have pledged to be eco-friendly and follow through consistently in all aspects of their brand interactions. Recently Patagonia’s founder, Yvon Chouinard, gave away the company to a trust and a nonprofit. Chouinard and his family could have sold the company and made themselves a lot of money. However, by giving it away to nonprofit that battles climate change, a big portion of their profits will now go to that cause. This is an amazing example of a clear display of values. Patagonia values the environment and sustainability and does an excellent job presenting those values in their brand. For example, Patagonia created an advertisement in the New York Times encouraging people to buy second hand jackets instead of theirs. This is dedication to their authenticity of being environmentally sensitive. They know their audience and align their values with the eco-conscious market.
Let’s face it, appearances matter. If it doesn’t look like you’ve put your best foot forward, consumers aren’t going to believe you treat your product or service any differently. A clean logo, organization, well-designed website, and product packaged with care all directly convey the care that you put into your product and service.
One way you can create a visual display of what you want your brand to look like is through a brand book. A brand book depicts all aspects of your business, from goals and values to colors and fonts. Creating a brand book can be a good reference to use to stay true to your brand and clearly depict what you want your brand’s appearance to be.
Our agency was built from the ground up on top of a foundation of well-earned relationships. We understand the importance of creating a bond and community with your customers that will outlast passing fads, fleeting trends, or macro-economic woes. We're here to guide you in crafting meaningful and lasting impressions at every step of your customer journey, helping you improve your ROAS, boost long-term LTV & retention, and increase profitability at scale.
Get in touch to receive a free consultation on how to get the most out of your brand.