Why do you like the people you do? What is it about them that draws you in? Is it their humour, fashion sense or that you share a guilty pleasure of a badly written movie? However sensible or silly the reason is it resonates with you.
Marty Neumeier defines branding as a person’s gut feeling about a product, service or company. How you feel about people is, at some level, informed about how they behave, think and what they believe in. And in many cases, it is a gut feeling. Companies are like people. They have personalities. They are authoritative, quirky and chilled. Those personalities inform perceptions consumers have of those companies. Consumers are attracted to brands they understand and share something in common with; as it is with people.
How do you then present your company in a way you want to be perceived?
Consumers buy from brands they know, like and trust. Hence, the relationship between the two parties should develop organically. Your customers should feel like they are part of your company and share your brand. As with any relationship to develop there has to be a common denominator pulling the two parties together. Finding a common denominator with your customers starts with you.
They want to know why you exist; what differentiates you and what problems your company solves. Defining these clarifies your company’s purpose and gives consumers a reason to care about your brand.
A 2020 consumer culture report conducted by 5W Public Relations indicated that ‘71% of consumers prefer buying from companies aligned with their values. This statistic shows it is important to inform consumers where you stand and what your values and beliefs are. For example, socio-political issues are now igniting. People are talking about societal issues openly. There is interest from consumers to know where brands stand in such conversations. When establishing your audience at the beginning of your brand strategy, you need to align your values with your potential customers. Pick a stand and allow people who share the same values to become your true fans, as defined by Kevin Kelly. With that said; it is important to understand not everyone believes in what you believe in. You cannot please everyone.
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‘Marketing is dead’; they say (at least as we know it). Consumers do not want to be sold to anymore. Think of it in this way: how do you feel when you receive an email from someone you don’t know selling you their product? How about that telemarketer calling you out of the blue? Or a door-to-door salesperson ringing your bell whilst you are waiting to see who gets voted out on Idols? You don’t want that. So why do the same to consumers?
Over the years marketing has been about selling, selling and more selling. There is a decline in engagement with such marketing strategies. People are more likely to engage with posts that inform or entertain them. In recent times consumers have developed what is called ‘banner blindness’. It is a phenomenon wherein they ignore anything that looks like an advertisement. They simply skip it. This is a paradox people have and which companies should learn to navigate: people love to buy but hate being sold to. To help your company navigate this paradox, you should consider stopping direct selling and in turn inform or entertain your customers. This method of marketing increases customer engagement, thus increasing brand loyalty.
How to navigate the paradox
Build an audience, not a customer base. The difference between the two is: an audience is excited to give you their time and attention; whereas you pay customers for their time and attention. You build an audience for your brand by being consistent with the values and messaging you put out to consumers and being respectful of their time and attention by providing them with valuable information with zero expectations. People are giving you the most precious resource they have – time. Be gracious and reward their attention with value. Build an audience – not just customers. ‘Stop selling. Start serving’; Chris Do.
A 2019 Deloitte survey indicated that 36% of millennials carved a relationship with a company because the company was ethical. 37% stopped or lessened a relationship because of the company’s questionable ethics. Millennials are not a group to be ignored. These are people who you want to grow with your brand and remain loyal to for the years to come. And if this helps explain it better: they were estimated to spend $1.4 trillion in 2020 (before Covid-19). This staggering amount includes the fact that millennials are likely to pay more for a product or service if some proceeds of the purchase go to charity, according to 5WPR Founder and CEO, Ronn Torossian.
The worst thing you can do as a brand is to not care. Pick a stand. Show consumers, you care about something – anything. Know where you belong. The middle is generic and boring, and people are indifferent about it – sometimes even just confused. Some companies battle with this because they don’t want to be offensive to anyone. There are 7 billion people in the world. We don’t all believe in the same things. Why should it be different from brands? Out of the 7 billion people, someone is not going to care for you and it’s okay. A perfect example of a brand that chose a stand is Nike. They showed us who they stand for, and what their values and beliefs are with the ‘Belief in Something’ campaign. They knew some people will be offended. What they understood was they have an audience that shares the same value and the campaign cemented that relationship further, thus increasing customer engagement with the brand.
Build your brand as a compelling personality. Do this by telling a captivating story that consumers can relate to. Be okay with not everyone liking your brand. Don't be afraid to pick a stand. Every company has customers – few have an audience. The idea of marketing as selling is dying out. People are more interested in being informed or entertained. Give value to those who give you their time and attention.
‘People buy brands; not products.’
Phathu Nenzhelele is a Co-founder and an Executive Creative Director of Chameleon Touch. He has a combined experience of 10 years in branding, experience design and visual design. He is also a design content creator through short posts and full-length articles such as Let yourself be bored on Medium.
