Jean-Claude Saade walks through the crucial entry points to brand connection
Brands which really want to connect with customers on a deep and meaningful level have to identify common grounds and areas of similarity and synergy with consumer. This has to be genuine and transparent based on the real values of the brand, its vision, what it stands for and what it offers. Common ground will be the soil where positive relationships between brands and consumers can grow and prosper.
Brands with clear identity, purpose and character and most importantly with an attractive human face can mesh positive and enriching relationships with their respective groups of consumers. They can enter the hearts and minds and be part of their daily lives by opening one of the seven doors of consumer connection. Those are: shared values, roots, fights, interests/benefits, lifestyle, hobbies and preferences.
We have identified these seven areas as the potential common grounds that can bridge relationships and build connections between people, and between people and brands.
These areas are the seven doors through which to enter consumers' lives.
Shared Values
People who share the same values - peace, equality, liberty for example, tend to come together and stay united in the name of these values. Values are one of the strongest bonding factors for people in general and between people and brands that share and cherish the same values.
Values such as world peace, equality between people and liberty would rally people, organisations, brands and companies which believe in them and base their lives and activities around them.
When a brand adheres to one clear rally call, it becomes part of the brand DNA. Everything that the brand says or does, therefore, would invite consumers who share this same value to adopt it and remain loyal.
The relationship between a brand and consumers makes perfect sense when this brand is offering the products and services that best answer the needs and wants of this particular group of people.
Shared Roots
Roots religion, ethnicity, language, culture, citizenship, education, profession, geography - are very important influences for people in general and groups of consumers in particular.
The secret about 'shared roots' is their ability to facilitate natural and easy bonding and bypass the long process of building familiarity.
People connect more naturally with brands that share the same culture, geography or religion.
This makes mutual understanding, cooperation and connection flow easier and grow stronger and faster.
Consider, for example, emigrants or expatriates from the same country when they meet in their adoptive countries. There is a higher chance that they will naturally connect and stick together and eventually form their own quarters.
In a very similar way, consider a traveler in a foreign country who comes across a restaurant serving his national dishes. He or she will be naturally attracted to go and eat there and probably return often. This is a bonding that won't break unless the brand, ie that restaurant, does something really bad.
Shared Fights
Similarly to shared values - politics, environment, wildlife - shared fights and causes rally people and connect them with organisation's brands and businesses that support the same cause.
Greenpeace is a good example. It connects with and supports businesses and brands that are taking tangible measures to preserve the environment.
Environmentalists will bond easier with car makers which are developing and selling hybrid or electrical cars. In a parallel scenario, people who are fighting to reduce their countries' dependency on petroleum will be more interested in buying flexible-fuel vehicles and would be prepared to pay more for a vehicle that relies less on petroleum-based fuel.
We can see that two different shared fights can lead to very similar consumer behaviour seen from the outside.
Important purchase decisions like price will be evaluated in a whole new dimension that cannot be explained by traditional marketing models; like the predisposition to pay a higher price for a brand that shares the same fights.
Another example could be the case of some Muslims who lost the sympathy with American brands, but did not want to alter their lifestyle and therefore switched to Mecca-Cola.
Shared Interests/Benefits
Shared interests and benefits being wealth, power or notoriety can also unite people. People need to put collective efforts to achieve more wealth or to gain power. Certain brands can share the same interest of these groups and even help them in realising their common objectives and consequently benefit from their support.
Special interests and benefits can lead people to form certain groups that can be physically present or could be internet-based communities who are interested in sharing ideas, knowledge and experiences.
Brands which share the same interests, or which can help in realising the interests and benefits of these groups, can establish a solid and continuous connection with them. People who want to stay connected with family and friends online will show very strong connections with the MSN and skype brands and may accept offers and opportunities to do business with these brands or eventually with third parties introduced by these brands.
People who want to stay in touch with the latest stock market updated through their mobiles will strongly rely on handset manufacturers and service providers. The door for more business and connection will be also open.
Shared lifestyle
Similar lifestyle patterns - fashion, housing, restaurant, vacations - would create natural synergies among people and between people and brands. People who share a certain lifestyle with a certain socio-economic grouping would easily identify with each other and present very similar patterns in terms of behaviour and consumption.
Successful brands would become symbols of a certain lifestyles. Apple is a lifestyle brand; BMW is too; Harley Davidson, Starbucks, Nike, Boss, Adidas and many others. They are lifestyle status symbols which go far beyond the functionality service they are selling.
People have always used their relationship with iconic brands to project certain lifestyle messages - owning a Mercedes-Benz or a BMW would send different messages about the owner and his lifestyle even within the same price range.
When Apple offers the combination of iPod, iTunes and PowerBooks with the possibilities of buying, downloading, synchronising and experiencing music, it is shaping a certain lifestyle.
Shared hobbies
Shared hobbies - sports, arts, music, travel - also bring people closer and connect them to brands that share those same hobbies or contribute to a better experience of them.
Quick Silver and Billabong have been invented from within wave surfing. The essence of these brands is anchored in surfing culture and their key reason-to-be is making surfing more enjoyable. Regardless if these brands have become over-extended nowadays, actual and aspiring surfers will continue to connect strongly with them.
Music lovers, especially youth, would naturally connect more with brands such as Nokia. Although, music on mobile phone is additional to its mobility, the connection with the brand that nurtures this hobby will become stronger and endure.
Shared preferences
People who share the same preferences - food, drink, cars, fashion - will naturally present elements of synergy and sympathy. Those who like Italian food, Swiss chocolate, jeans or German cars would find a common ground for bonding and dialogue based around their shared preferences.
Shared preferences can also encourage the formation of certain consumer groups who can favour certain brands or models and promote them directly or indirectly.
For example, adopters of Bio food can relate to and support brands that are producing and selling Bio products and for which they will pay a premium.
Others who share the love for a certain car make or car model can come together in clubs and associations, and have their websites and annual gatherings.
The door to emotional connection
Today, brands of all types, sizes and categories are facing one big challenge to build a strong emotional connection with consumers. Without that personal relationship their names will erode and businesses will suffer.
Like in any human relationship, this emotional connection needs a door to enter, a common ground and a genuine interest in the other person; the consumer in this case.
It is worth mentioning here that this art of human connection is not related to the size or the type of the company. It is more about the brand's point-of-view and approach.
The secret to open the seven doors is simple but difficult at the same time. You need to show the real human face of your brand, do the right things and offer the best to improve consumer's lives. When you do things from the heart, emotional connection will happen.
Jean-Claude Saade at jcsaade@hotmail.com
© Gulf Marketing Review 2007
