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Emotion is the drive behind many human actions. Connecting with your potential consumers’ emotions is the fastest way to develop loyalty and trust and earn repeated business. Besides, an emotional bond with your customers says one thing about you and your business. You care and understand your potential customers. With technology giving consumers avalanches of choices, having a great product is no longer enough. A connection like that leads to more sales and probably lifetime loyal customers. Here is how customer-centric businesses can create brand intimacy.
Create a strong community
Being part of a group with similar attributes or interests is an innate human need. Your customers have one thing in common. It can be the same pain point, part, vocation, or perspective. Tribal marketing is a sure way to build followings and get repeated sales with little or no extra advertising cost.
This type of marketing triggers word of mouth advertising from your consumers without even soliciting for it. Use the need for belongingness to create a halo effect, go viral, and increase revenue. Building a passionate community is easier than ever with web 2.0 and social media.
Make your message immersive.
How you pass your marketing message is as important as the message itself. One way to create a compelling marketing message is via images and videos. Social media scrolling habit necessitates brands to be more creative than ever. You either capture their attention with immersive photos and videos in a few seconds, or they are off to the next story or message down the feed. A quick visit to top brands’ social media pages will reveal how much creativity and effort they put into their media. Those washy homemade videos may not cut it anymore. It is advisable to employ the services of a video production company to create a cinematic masterpiece that is compelling and helpful.
Have a story
Storytelling gets us emotional and plays a significant role in building brand intimacy. Almost everyone has read the story of how Asa Griggs Candler bought a secret recipe for US$1,750 in 1,888. It doesn’t matter if your brand is big or just starting. That sort of story not only creates intimacy but also tradition around your brand and products. Create a strong presence in the mind of the consumers by using the same strategy. And don’t leave out variables that will make your story last in their minds.
Use Social proof
Word of mouth is the oldest and one of the most effective forms of advertising. The traditional WOM is limited in its reach. Thanks to the internet and social media, business owners can leverage this to lower potential customers’ defense and create a strong emotional connection. With social media, you can only be limited by your drive and imagination with different social proof strategies available to choose from and scale. Some word of mouth channels to explore include affiliate marketing, influencer marketing, referral programs, and reviews.
Takeaway
Marketers, most times, focus on short-term return on their advertising cost and effort. Understandably, immediate returns are necessary for business sustenance. But you might want to prioritize the long-term game, which gives more significant benefits and take the brand to the next level. An effective way to achieve that will earn a deep-seated loyalty that lasts through the customer lifetime by developing strong emotional connections.
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This content is sponsored by Jim Bevin.
Photo: Shutterstock
