Despite having a horrid season last year, it’s very surprising to see that most of the Manchester United fans stood by their team. Two back to back disastrous seasons are surely enough for anyone to switch sides, but this wasn’t the case with Man-Utd fans. Not only they stood by them, but also defended them.
The same goes for Apple. Why is it that people wait in long queues and long hours to buy iPhones? What is it in these brands that people feel connected? It is certainly not the result of exceptional customer service. It is Brand Affinity. Let’s explain how this works, and how one can build and resonate with customer’s emotions.
HBO, for one, has always had genius marketing campaigns. Here’s a look from their Games of Thrones 3 marketing campaign:
YES! This dragon dominated the premium pages of New York Times. HBO took a huge risk and it paid off. Let’s jot down the key-points that contributed to this campaign’s success — it’s clean, relevant to the theme of the series and most importantly builds a mysterious feeling among users. This simple dragon didn’t gave any central clue and led people to think and question themselves about what the new season would hold. As expected, both the campaign and TV Series were a HUGE hit.
Emotions is the Key
In today’s digital world, every single company is striving hard to attain brand loyalty. While it is important to have loyal customers, what most companies are missing out on is that the Holy Grail to succeed and stay ahead of your competition is by building emotional affinity with these customers. Apple, Google and other successful companies have successfully transformed their loyal customers to their brand advocates. So how exactly is it that these companies have connected so well with their target audience?
First of all, building an emotional connection with your audience allows you to capture both their heart and mind. In a world where every company is competing for your customer’s money and attention, emotions are what cut through the crap and lasts. Emotional memories are not only powerful but they stick in one’s mind as well.
How to Resonate with Customer’s Emotions
It is the power of emotional memories and their depth in our subconscious that has allowed these organizations to succeed. It is this emotional resonance that has allowed them to stand out from the competition. In today’s competitive world, while all the eyeballs are on greenback, emotion often takes the backseat in most of the marketing campaigns. Before we proceed any further, it is important to highlight the difference between features and benefits.
As marketing expert Samuel Hulick explains that people do not want to buy products nor are they interested in knowing about them. All they want to know is how that product will enrich their lives and make them better individuals.
Are you also making the same mistake of focusing on the attributes of the flower whereas your main focus should be on explaining its benefits.
The 3 E’s to Build Brand Affinity
It is emotions that has allowed brands to reduce the distance between their perspective customers and them. This psychological distance has been reduced as brands are getting more close and personal with their audience. If we were to name three factors that have allowed brands to build a strong emotional connection, it has to be 3 Es which stand for- Enticement, Enablement & Enrichment.
- Enticement appeals to the artistic needs. People want to enjoy a brand service that appeals to their senses without compromising on the needs.
Let’s explain with an example- Starbucks has successfully crafted an experience that looks great to the eyes. With the fresh smell of coffee beans combined with the soothing music and comfortable interiors, they have created an experience that has now imbibed in people’s mind and is now an integral part of the brand itself.
- Enablement appeals to people’s needs. Everyone likes to be in control. As told earlier, people do not want to buy products, they want things that solve their purpose and makes their live easier. If you can make them feel that they can get their job done quickly and easily by purchasing your product, your job is done.
- Enrichment appeals to spiritual needs. This single factor is most dominant one as deep down, everyone wants to help the society in someway or other.
Take the example of Classmate. For every one copy that you buy from them, they donate money to support the education cause. While people buy their products, they experience a good feeling that somewhere this purchase helped somebody in need. That’s a great feeling.
Conclusion
If we were to leave one take-away for you from this article, it has to be the 3 E’s. These are the only three factors that will bring you closer and allow you to build emotional connection with your audience. Now get that brain working and think of creative marketing strategies that blends all of these 3 factors smoothly.
