So, we probably all know that creating a memorable brand experience is crucial for attracting and retaining customers. BUT how do you do it?
Well, a strong brand experience goes beyond just offering a great product or service. More so, it’s about fostering an emotional connection with your audience at every touchpoint. Every step of the way if you like.
Actually, its rather easy when you think about it if you concentrate on 3 key areas.
- Developing a strong brand personality,
- Exceptional customer service
- Creating immersive experiences
This will possibly make your company stand out in the long run and increate the brand experience for your customers.
In this article, I’ll explore each of these elements in depth and hopefully provide insights to help you with your brand experience that might make you increase sales and get returning loyal customers.
Develop a Strong Brand Experience
Like we said, number 1 is to try to develop a strong brand personality using brand guidelines . This is possibly the backbone is of creating a suitable and recognizable brand experience.
Of course, your brand personality is a set of human characteristics that define your brand’s voice, tone, and even identity. In short, it’s what makes your brand relatable to other human beings and helps your customers to relate to you and your company as one.
So, how do you develop a strong brand personality? Its actually not that difficult.
1. First of all, define your brand’s main values. What does your brand stand for and what do you want to do?
2. Secondly, understand your brand’s purpose and create brand guidelines. More importantly, make a document and outline a solid brand voice. This concerns all the social media channels, website and any other profile you might have.
3. Lastly, bring your brand personality to life through storytelling. Everybody loves a good story so make sure that yours is personal. Share your love and story behind your brand. Try highlighting your unique journey and the challenges you’ve overcome. Customer likes real stories. Above all, use your brand story to create a narrative that you are proud of.
After all, sharing your brand’s origin story allows you to connect with your potential customers on an emotional level. The goal here is to give them a reason to care about your brand beyond just your offerings.
Friendly Brand Personality
Let’s take a real example, Innocent Drinks, a UK based smoothie company. Actually,they have developed a quirky and friendly brand experience and personality that sets them apart in a very competitive market. Their brand voice is conversational and humorous, with product descriptions that read like notes from a friend.
Image via Innocent
In short, this strategy has allowed Innocent Drinks to build a loyal following of customers who feel a strong connection to them.
Another way to capture your audience’s attention is to design a more engaging brand experience. One that is perhaps more visual with videos that showcase your company in the best possible light.
Of course editing videos can be difficult to do yourself and while video editing costs can vary depending on the scope of your project, creating quality visual content is a worthwhile investment. Actually crucial when it comes show your image on social media and other digital platforms.
As explored in the Attrock guide, another way to add more to your brand personality into your marketing materials is to create images with a distinct color palette and font style. For instance, choose colors and fonts that goes with your brand’s personality and use the same colors and fonts all over your marketing materials.
For example, if your brand experience is fun and playful, you might choose bright, bold colors and a whimsical font. Most of all, this ensures a steady visual identity.
Deliver Exceptional Customer Service
So the second key are is to have good customer service. One could say that delivering exceptional customer service is a critical component of creating a memorable brand experience. Just ask the 98% of marketers who believe so.
These days, customers expect fast, personalized, and efficient service all the time, everywhere. All the way from social media to email to phone support. When you prioritize customer service, you show your customers that you value their business and are committed to their satisfaction. Your positive reviews will of course follow and that in itself will lead to more business. Try some of the following advice below:
- Train your employees to prioritize customer satisfaction above all else.
- Educate your employees to go above and beyond for customers. Like for example, to offer discounts or to take the time to listen and find solutions for any problem that they might have.
- Encourage employees to put themselves in the customer’s shoes and think creatively when it comes to solving problems.
- Implement and stick to a problem free customer service strategy so customers can reach you through their preferred channel, whether it’s via live chat, email, or phone.
- Lastly, use good customer service software to manage inquiries.
One brand that has mastered the art of exceptional customer service is Zappos, an online shoe and clothing retailer.
Brand Experience With 365-day Return Policy
Interestingly, Zappos shows its commitment to create a memorable brand experience through its legendary customer service. You can reach out to them 24/7 by phone, chat, email, or even social media and expect a quick, friendly response.
On top of that they also offer free shipping and returns to make your shopping experience risk free and easy.
Zappos also often surprises customers with unexpected upgrades and perks. Showing customers that they go above and beyond to exceed expectations.
With a 365-day return policy and happiness guarantee, it’s clear that customer satisfaction is their top priority.
Encourage Customer Reviews For Better Brand Experience
As you know, reviews are an important aspect when it comes to making a good brand experience. Therefore you must encourage customers to leave reviews by making it easy to do so. For example, you can send an email or place a prominent review form on your website.
Then, you can use the feedback you gather to improve your offering among other things. Don’t forget that it will make you and your employees feel good as well.
Beyond reviews and feedback, you can also use customer data to tailor your communications and product recommendations to each customer. However, don’t exaggerate this as you do not want them to think of you as spam.
For example, if a customer has previously purchased a particular product, you might send them an email recommending complementary products or offering a discount on their next purchase.
A pro tip: When you start getting positive reviews from your hard work from these best practices then perhaps consider embedding Google reviews or other customer feedback on your website.
Furthermore, if you have good online presence then this can help build trust with potential customers and even show your commitment to customer satisfaction.
Create Immersive and Interactive Brand Experience
Last point in this article, creating immersive and interactive experiences. This is the third key to building a good brand experience.
In today’s experience economy, customers are looking for more than just a transaction. More so, they want to be involved and entertained by the companies that they want to buy from. Therefore, immersive and interactive experiences can be a sure way to get your customers attention and as a result connect to them.
One way to do this is by designing engaging in-store and online experiences that showcase your brand. For instance, use your brand colors, messaging, and imagery to reinforce your look.
Perhaps even, consider incorporating interactive elements like product demos, virtual try-ons, or personalized recommendations. This might make the experience more engaging and tailored to each customer if you are any good at it.
You have probably also heard that leveraging technology is another effective way to create immersive experiences. Therefore, use AR or VR to give customers a unique way to interact with your products or services.
The IKEA App
For example, IKEA has an AR app that allows customers to see how furniture would look in their homes before making a purchase. A bit of a genius thing I believe.
Image via IKEA
Another important aspect to consider is to collaborate with influencers and partners in one way or another to expand your brand’s reach and create immersive experiences.
For example, team up with Instagram brand ambassadors or other famous influencers to showcase your products in new ways. For instance, you can host events or pop-up shops that allow customers to interact with your brand in person and create shareable moments. Learn how to brand yourself.
One company called Glossier excels at creating immersive experiences. The all famous beauty and skincare company’s online community and Instagram-worthy pop-up shops have helped them build a cult following of loyal customers. This is easy to understand but not so easy to come up with.
Another example is its Realms of You pop-up experience in London in November 2023.
By creating spaces that encourage customers to touch, feel, and photograph their products, Glossier has turned the act of shopping into an experience that customers can’t wait to share with their friends
Conclusion
Now we have reached the conclusion and tased about the 3 kay aspects of creating a good brand experience for your exiting and potential customers. You need to create a brand experience with a strong brand personality. Make sure you deliver exceptional customer service, and lastly make immersive experiences. By doing this you can succeed in making and maintaining an emotional connection with your audience. You will need to do this in order to survive.
Author Bio – Reena Aggarwal
Reena is Director of Operations and Sales at Attrock, a result-driven digital marketing company.