Is your brand your Valentine this year?
With Valentine’s Day not too far away, love is in the air and on everyone’s minds!
This year, why don’t you let your brand be your Valentine? You can show love to your brand and your customers based on the principles of Dr. Gary Chapman’s #1 New York Times Bestselling book, The Five Love Languages. Although meant to identify the ways we give and receive love within interpersonal relationships, we can (and should) use each idea in business to build brand loyalty.
Quality Time
Just as you take time to get to know a significant other, you should do so with your brand. Many times, problems arise when a brand doesn’t have an accurate view of who they are and what their relationship is with the outside world. In order to avoid any controversy or tension, create an in-depth mission statement and an articulate voice for your brand. When you have a thorough understanding of who you are as a brand, it is easier to make all your marketing decisions. Understanding who your audience is and what is important to them will also guide you in creating the best possible content in the platforms they use, at the time they are ready to act.
Words of Affirmation
Your brand’s voice is either your biggest asset or downfall. Carefully consider the words you use in every piece of marketing material. Aside from consistency, the most important element of your brand’s voice is that it reflects and connects with your audience. Think of it as a vehicle to your ultimate objective-to increase sales or awareness. Ideally, it should have an inviting feeling that allows your customers to feel safe, secure, and empowered to take action. Viewing your customers and audience as people with needs instead of sales opportunities is the key to real connection.
Giving Gifts
Depending on your industry, rewarding your audience is a great way to interact with your audience. Contests, sweepstakes, and loyalty programs can boost audience morale while building brand loyalty. When creating these activities, remember you don’t have to break the bank to get someone’s attention! As long as everything falls within your brand guidelines, have fun and explore different and creative avenues for gifts! When done successfully, the goal is for your audience to feel valued.
Acts of Service
This is a two-fold principle, including both community relations and technical perspectives. Part of being a business is being involved with your community. Customers (especially Millennials) want to see how your brand is contributing to the betterment of your community’s people and environment. Build a relationship with a local nonprofit that relates to your industry or that resonates with your employees. The authenticity of a community relations partnership will humanize your brand, therefore making it more desirable. Another way to utilize acts of service is to continue making updates to your website and social media. This will allow your brand to stay current, on trend, and have minimal (if any) technical errors that could hinder customer interactions.
Physical Touch
In the digital world, it can sometimes be easy to forget about marketing beyond the screen. Thinking outside the box (or computer screen) is important to break through the clutter of messages your audience is bombarded with. Whether that means holding an event, renting a billboard, or forming business partnerships, ensuring your brand is interacting with your audience’s everyday life is critical. Each industry has unique opportunities to create physical experiences for customers, like placing a logo on relevant objects for your audience to use or holding a public event for your audience. Not only will this increase your impressions, but it will diversify your marketing efforts to create a full-circle strategy.
Now you can love your brand!
Each love language is designed to appreciate and empower your audience while building your brand’s credibility and reach. If you work to create and maintain an authentic relationship with your audience, your brand’s credibility and loyalty will inevitably rise. This is the ultimate way to show love to your brand.
Let VUP Media love your brand as much as you do! We are a full-service digital media and interactive solutions agency made up of storytellers, strategists, planners, and artists. Visit our website to learn more about how we can work with your brand.
