Aug 03 in Branding
Written by: Heather Rast
Our favorite people are close to our hearts because of their blend of humor, perspective, intellect, carriage, grace, style, values, and energy. Their wit, intuition, drive, selflessness, curiosity, honesty, and dependability ebb and flow to create an array of dimensional prisims that help define our moments together and the things we experience.
Flawed as we humans are, we show each other both crystal-clear and occluded views. The occlusions are generally accepted because the moments of pure light – the pleasure we give others – is so bright as to cast shadow
over our “meh” moments. We forgive the forgotten $20 bucks due because Joe didn’t mean to forget and to remind him would make him feel bad. He’s got some stuff going on right now, so why add to his problems?
In many ways brands (created and managed by those flawed people) demonstrate similar behavior. They give users good along with not-so-good experiences. But unlike those real-world, person-to-person relationships often forged in ways that create visceral, deeply emotional memories, brands are at a disadvantage. Brands are remote. They’re housed in concrete buildings or gated factories. They always look photo-ready. They’re buffered by complexity and mystique (just what are the 23 flavors in Dr. Pepper?). Brands are not as easily forgivable because well, there’s no bond. Brand personality (the specs in the official guide book) alone doesn’t forge one.
Humanize the brand to give users something to relate to. It’s more than a buzzword. Humanization closes the distance between your entity and my household.
It’s rare that a user can see a brand for the humans within and come to know all the Bobs and Kathys for their vulnerability and genuine personal appeal. If your brand personality doesn’t allow for a culture of customer and employee bonding opportunities, then you’ll be hard-pressed to find forgiveness when mistakes get made (and they will).
So the next time you face low net promoter scores, unfavorable customer feedback, or an uptick in online ire, consider these things:
- Are you creating the conditions for a habitat of happiness within your four walls?
- Are your employees empowered to make the kinds of decisions that immediately reduce or eliminate customer pain?
- Do your rigid procedures tie metaphorical hands, adding to the remote and cold perception of your brand?
- Do company leaders pontificate one thing during team meetings, but take a left turn when the rubber meets the road?
- Are informed, researched, and intelligent employee mistakes punished?
- Do you measure what matters most, or do you count what you can easily identify?
Humans want to be liked. Brands are in business to be liked by humans. Bridge the gap by acting like one.
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