DOs and DON'Ts for building an emotional bond between customer and brand
The functional aspects
DON'T: Don't make assumptions - however well-founded - about the demographic characteristics of your customers. Sacrifice the time and resources to find out who your customers are and why they chose you in the first place. Then focus on what they want, not what your employees think they want.DO: Develop and maintain high quality standards for every area of your business. From products to services to experience, define how you will achieve maximum quality and constantly strive for it.DON'T: Don't be so fixated on the big picture that you lose sight of the details. Avoid letting service failures become the norm by focusing on doing the little things right all the time.DO: Offer engaging content to get customers interested in your brand. Write a personal story of your brand and share it through various social media channels.
The emotional side
DON'T: Don't rely solely on advertisements, as these are met with distrust by almost 70 percent of customers. Instead, publish positive reviews of your brand on social media and use influencers, i.e. influential personalities, to increase awareness of your products and services.DO: Find out what is important to your customers and give them a good reason to come back. Companies with strong customer loyalty rely on a shared identity such as a sense of adventure or prosperity, for example Patagonia or BMW.DON'T: Don't limit your decision-making processes to a select few. Allow your employees to contribute as they see fit - through their support, company resources or other complementary components. Restricting your employees in this respect degrades them to robots who often apologize but are unable to solve problems.DO: Apply the "Affective Commitment" strategy to your employees - they are often the best brand ambassadors. Take effective measures to communicate your appreciation to your employees and express your appreciation at every opportunity.
Consistent messages and services at every touch point
DON'T: Don't try to shorten the path to "affective commitment". Resist the temptation to simplify every single step. Efficiency is a great thing, but it shouldn't come at the expense of your brand. It takes time and effort to build an emotional connection with customers.DO: Establish your brand promise, make it public and deliver on it. One of the best ways to create a strong emotional connection with customers is to meet and exceed customer expectations every time and everywhere.DON'T: Don't deviate too much from your principles. Once you have developed and mutually agreed on a plan, trust it and follow it through. This also applies to investments in communication and design, with which you present a consistent positive experience to the customer.DO: Apologize when circumstances demand it. Whether it's a global PR fiasco or a personal mistake, express your regrets. Apologize, fix the cause (or do more than that if possible) and then present your solution.
Closing the communication gaps with the customer
DON'T: Don't overdo it with customer communication. Consumers are often put off by overly brash companies that send too many emails and make uninteresting offers.DO: Contact your customers via their preferred channels - whether it's SMS, email or social media. Reach out to them when they are most interested. Build relationships by identifying people who use your hashtags on social media and introduce them through your communication channels.DON'T: Don't treat all customers the same. Every business should prioritize loyal, high-revenue customers who have the greatest potential lifetime value. Reward and recognize loyalty whenever possible.DO: Use every opportunity to actively engage customers. When a customer contacts you through any channel, they must get a response: via the web, social media, phone, telegram, letter, stagecoach... whatever resolves the query.
Co-creation: hand in hand with the customer
DON'T: Don't get your ideas from random customers. Identify active, enthusiastic fans who love your company and its products and involve them in the development of new products and services.DO: Pay particular attention to feedback from enthusiastic, committed customers, even if it is different from what you would like. Enthusiasm forms the basis for an emotional bond with your brand. DON'T: Don't limit customer involvement to the development of new products. Great financial benefits also arise when you identify new market opportunities and markets together with the customer.DO: Pursue a consistent policy of transparency. Speaking honestly about limitations and difficulties can increase trust in a brand and create greater understanding on the part of the customer.The corporate philosophy as a foundationDON'T: Don't forget to define the overriding principles of your company. For long-term success, a company needs such a foundation.DO: Establish a company ethos that is perceived from the outside; the emotional connection to a company is created through its philosophy and culture and not through products and services.DON'T: Do not allow this ethos to be regularly violated, as this is at the expense of emotional customer loyalty. DO: Use tools and concepts such as the Johari Window as often as necessary to encourage a return to the core values of your organization.
Building long-term relationships
Not every company dreams of having babies named after its brands or its name appearing in conspiracy theories. However, an omnipresent presence in the media, enthusiastic customers as brand ambassadors and long queues in the stores appeal to every company management. In order to emotionally bind the customer to a brand, a relationship must be established that goes beyond the paid delivery of products and services. It is not easy to successfully manage the functional and emotional aspects of a business. Providing a consistent service at all touch points and building a good relationship with the customer is a challenge. However, companies that focus on these points have a good chance of establishing the desired emotional relationship with their customers.*Luke Williams is Head of Customer Experience (CX) at Qualtrics, award-winning market researcher and co-author of the New York Times bestsellers "The Wallet Allocation Rule" and "Why Loyalty Matters." A trained statistician and methodologist, he has made a name for himself as a thought leader in the areas of customer experience, customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, customer ROI, strategy and analysis. He is also a member of the Market Research Association (MRA) and the Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA). Luke Williams graduated from Durham University in England with a Masters in Research Methodology.
