How Do You Effectively Apply Principles of Brand Intimacy
Within almost any niche, there are many brands and products consumers can choose from. When the competition is as high as this we cannot just be another something-something and just plainly state that our product does this and that in our brand development. We have to establish an emotional connection with our audience. Trust is more important than ever.
Now, it may be the best time to apply the principles of brand intimacy if you want to see increased conversion and an increasing number of loyal customers. It could be one of the most crucial factors in building a successful business in 2020.
What do we mean when we say ‘brand intimacy’? Usually, it includes tactics and steps that businesses use to build trust and establish emotional bonds with their audience. It is pretty obvious that feelings and emotional attitudes are the huge drivers of our actions and affect almost every area of our lives. The choices consumers make and the things they choose are also, of course, strongly influenced by emotions.
Huge brands like Amazon and Netflix know that, and this could be one of the main reasons why they stay on top of the competition and keep growing bigger and bigger.
For brand intimacy, feelings, and emotional attitudes should be the focus of marketing. Here it’s our goal to work with how a person perceives our brand and feels about it.
Our brand can give a person a sense of identity. Or our products can evoke feelings of nostalgia or warmth. Maybe our services provide a client with an enhancement, and they feel like a better person.
Consumers are ready to pay more to keep the relationship with the brand with which they feel a personal connection. And the principles of brand intimacy focus around building that connection and making it stronger, deepening it.
If that sounds interesting, let’s talk about ways how you can do that.
One thing to remember here is that every engagement with your brand slowly builds the bond between you and your audience. So every stage of interaction is very important.
There are a few emotional patterns that can be found in brands that show a high level of brand intimacy:
- Identity – when a brand expresses values that are very relevant to the audience and shows their aspirations;
- Nostalgia – when your messaging addresses the memories of your audience from their past;
- Fulfillment – when services or product are better than a customer would have thought;
- Enhancement – when products or interaction with a business make customers feel like better people;
- Indulgence – when a brand expresses care for a customer;
To be able to navigate your journey of establishing deep bonds with your customers more successfully, you have to adjust your messaging according to the current state of your relationship.
First, there is sharing when two sides interact and the attraction only starts to form. Bonding is when the initial stage has been passed, and now a customer starts to feel acceptance and trust towards the brand. Fusing is when two sides start to share a common identity.
Everything starts with brand awareness. A customer has to somehow found about you and your products. Your existing audience can recommend you, or a person can find about your business through any of your marketing channels.
When a person finds out about you, it’s time to attract their interest. This can be done by proposing a very appealing offer that they wouldn’t be able to resist.
The next step is probably the most complicated one because there is no definite answer. Your aim is to stronger your bond and increase attraction towards your brand. This can be achieved in numerous ways. Your customer service or a product itself can provide something that is beyond their expectations. Or you can bring value to their lives in any way you possibly can. You can become a part of their lives and provide comfort. Maybe your product can remind them of the good old times.
You can think of it as of any other type of social relationship. It’s great when there is a space for mutual respect and admiration. That’s where the trust can truly blossom. And you not just want to provide your services but also make sure that you care for your customer. Care is made out of small details like timely response and exceptional service and support.
The final point of this relationship is when your audience and your brand are identifying as one. This can be achieved by understanding the needs of your customers. When you can predict what they might want on the next stage and provide personalization you can expect your customers to feel more secure and have more trust towards your brand.
So these are some insights and ideas about how you can use principles of brand intimacy in your digital brand management. If you feel like these ideas resonate with you but you don’t have enough experience, you can always reach out to an online reputation management agency for services to use its expertise to achieve success.
