When you buy a product or service, what is it that makes you say, “Oh, my gosh, I love this! This is the brand for me!!” Is it the brand’s logo? Is it the colors they use on their packaging? Is it because it has a catchy name?
While all of these things have an impact and must be part of the mix, the answer to these questions is a resounding, “No!”
Customers don’t buy your products or the services you provide; they buy solutions. Customers affiliate with brands that make their lives easier, make them feel good, and that solve a problem.
Customers also buy from companies because of the experience they have when they interact with the brand. If their experience is easy and hassle-free, if it is transparent and honest, and if it is made clear that customer service is of paramount importance, customers will not only buy your product, they will become your biggest ambassadors.
One of the first things we do at Avocet is walk our clients through a brand essence exercise that helps them – and the Avocet team – distill, define, and articulate the WHY of the brand. The WHY is what informs the solution and engages the customers on what I call a “human-centric” level. As integrated marketers, we take that essence and weave it throughout every campaign, every tactic, and every strategy we deploy. You might be surprised by how many companies miss this vitally important piece of the branding puzzle.
The fact is it’s noisy and crowded out there. Differentiating your brand and connecting with your customers is more important than ever. You can only do that if you know…and LIVE…your brand’s essence. And it’s integrated, experiential marketing that helps brands gain this high-level, top of mind awareness and rise above the din. This is true for all industries: asset intensive, retail, tech, space…even craft beer.
Not too long ago I had John Bryant, owner of the No-Li Brew House in Spokane, Washington, on the Integrate & Ignite podcast. He uses marketing as a key driver in creating memorable customer experiences. His goal every day, is to find ways to share the passion he and his team have for the product with their customers. Because for John, it’s about the PEOPLE who drink his beer. It’s about the folks who come to the Brew House and have fun with friends and family, and who walk away full, happy, and satisfied. “The beer,” he said, “is secondary.” (You can listen to John’s podcast here.)
Just like John and his group, the team at Avocet not only dives into our clients’ brands. We become part of it.
