How seriously should a brand take its customer?
There are two fairly distinct approaches when it comes to brands and business. The first is working from the inside out, taking the time to delve into the core of a business and understand it’s essence – why it does what it does, what it stands for, its purpose and role in the world. The second is outside in… what market a brand is playing in, who the target audience is and what they are looking for, and trying to meet that need.
The problem with the latter is, if you are pretending to be something you’re not and trying to appeal to someone when it’s not a natural fit, it’s just not sustainable in the longer term. It means you need to throw more resources and more money at trying to maintain the facade. Cracks will start to appear.
This doesn’t mean that the customer doesn’t matter though. The customer matters a lot.. the RIGHT customer matters a lot. Businesses that take the time to define their strategic brand positioning know exactly who they are, which means they know exactly who they are FOR. The key to finding passionate brand advocates is based in authenticity, and when a brand’s truth is explicitly defined building an emotional bond with customers becomes possible, in fact it becomes easy.
A brand is a relationship, an emotional contract. No different to human relationships really. Familiar with the saying it’s not you it’s me? I just need to figure out who I am first? This is exactly the same.
If you are ready for a serious relationship, make sure you know who you are first.
Written by: Jodie de Vries
Published: October 19, 2016