How to Build a Brand People Fall In Love With

Packaging: You might need to embark on a whole refresh of your packaging, or it could just be minor cosmetic tweaks to improve your brand’s appeal. Think about what appeals to your target audience, and what will stand out to them, and ensure your brand’s personality shines through whatever packaging changes you make. Think about who your brand is and how that can be brought to life through packaging.

Customer Experience: Every touch point in your customer journey is an opportunity to show off your brand’s Attraction. Think through how to offer a unique experience, either through new media channels or an activation to surprise and delight. Your customer experience should stimulate the senses and reinforce their appeal behind your brand’s character, values, and ambitions.

Proposition: What your brand promises to people is important to shine through how your brand looks and feels. Every visual expression of your brand should reflect and underpin your proposition. Your brand’s value, purpose and personality should be integrated visually and tonally throughout the brand identity. Clear, stringent, detailed and consistent guidelines on your brand will ensure you build Attraction over time.

Communication: Associate yourself with aspirational brands or scenarios and borrow from their credentials. This could be through a partnership or perhaps there’s a place that people in your category look up to. Using those cues in your communication will halo onto your brand and will add to your Aspiration! Explore through communication how you can drive the specialness of your brand. This can sometimes be done by making it feel exclusive, or even scarce somewhat. When communicating on pack, make sure your design is aesthetically stimulating and special; people want to feel proud of the brands they buy as brands are often a reflection of their own tastes.

Packaging: Think about how your brand looks at shelf or online - does it stand out from the pack? Is there something about your packaging which draws people in, if not, what can be changed? Think too about ways in which you can delight customers once they have your product at hand - the way it opens and closes, the textures you use, the sounds you use - these can all aid your brand’s Aspiration. Finally, run the in-home shelf test: would people feel proud to display your brand at home? Your packaging needs to feel aspirational enough for people to show off themselves.

Distribution: Start by looking at the depth and breadth of your brand’s distribution. Avoiding retailers which discount heavily is something to consider in terms of eroding the specialness of your brand. The same goes for geographies - perhaps there are certain locations which fit with your brand’s Aspirational appeal over others. Exploring alternative and non-traditional channels will also be key to elevating your brand’s premium appeal. Lastly, location at shelf or online is an important factor and can impact how special your brand feels.tonally throughout the brand identity. Clear, stringent, detailed and consistent guidelines on your brand will ensure you build Attraction over time.

Product Change: Capitalizing on trends and staying ahead of the competition is key to building innovation and sustaining it. Take cues from your target audience and any changes in their mindset to work out what changes you should make - it might have to do with sustainability, and switching up your packaging, or changing an ingredient to align with the trend towards organic. Ensuring your New Product Development (NPD) pipeline has products that are bold, disruptive, eye-catching, and against the grain will see your Innovation soar.

Price: People will feel your brand is Innovative when you are available in multiple formats, in multiple sizes, and across multiple price points. This serves two purposes – strengthening your brand’s Innovation and increasing your mass appeal. When it comes to new product launches (which naturally drive your brand’s momentum), keeping prices stable in the short term is key. Launching something new to market often gets your brand featured on promotional display units, so discounting or changing the price of your product from the onset is not necessary. When your product is new and brings something different to the market people should pay in full for it.

Product Delivery: Forward-looking brands are finding ways to keep buyers in the loop from beginning to end. When an order is processed, to packed, to ready for dispatch, to out with courier for delivery. Innovative and thought-leading brands are at the forefront of modern technology, so if your product is delivered, you need to make sure it’s a frictionless and speedy experience for consumers. Consider ways you can personalize and customize the delivery experience to make that first-touch moment all the more memorable, too.

Price: To meet people’s needs, you need to make sure you have a set of products available at various prices – that way, whoever wants your product is able to get it in some form. Be mindful of whether the benefits of your products are meeting consumers’ needs for the price you are asking. Flexible pricing adjustments allow you to react quickly in moments that matter, making your brand more Empathetic towards any and all circumstances. Consider your brand’s ability to discount for particular segments of people or at particular moments of the year when people need it most.

Customer Success: Although it may seem obvious, it’s important to know your customers intimately - what problems your customers are trying to solve, the occasions they interact with a product or service like yours, and what motivates them to buy. You should be collecting intelligence at every interaction, from customer feedback to patterns of behavior, to determine where you can anticipate needs before they occur. You can make upsells and cross sells part of the consumer journey by identifying natural moments where you customers are looking for more.

Customer Service: By listening, understanding, and actioning customer requests and queries, you have the opportunity to demonstrate Empathy and turn moments of friction into positive interactions with your customers. When fielding customer service requests or questions, make sure the tone of voice makes people feel “heard.” You should consistently deliver what the customer wants, the way they want it delivered. And don’t forget to add a personalized follow-up after a customer conversation or service interaction to show you listened and care about them!

Communication: Communication is key when delivering your brand’s promise and how it aims to fulfill that promise. To build performance credentials, you need to ensure that your brand’s delivery aligns with what you have promised and communicated. Avoid using hyperbolic, over-claims or making promises your brand cannot keep. Driving your brand’s performance through communication is all about delivering on your core promise through seductive and persuasive messaging.

Product Change: Sometimes improvements to Performance can be done through changing your product. Product alterations or enhancements can help ensure your brand delivers on its core promise. As times change and new technologies become available, it’s important to keep your product current so it continues delivering at a high calibre.

Product Delivery: Product delivery plays an important role in your brand’s Performance and can enhance the success of delivering your brand’s promise. Creating a frictionless delivery can impact how the Performance of your brand is perceived. Get it wrong, and your product is already starting off on the back foot. Consider how your brand can keep its promise throughout the delivery process via email or mobile notifications and updates on delivery timings.

Target Audience: By segmenting your target audience, you can build an understanding of their needs and wants, remaining Relevant across the types of media, promotions, and creative directed towards them. First up: be where they are. Use the right channels to land your product with your target audience. Don’t only segment by demographic information like age and location – get inside the minds of your target audience and speak to their interests and values. Remaining Relevant is also key to driving repeat purchase, so bear in mind the growth potential within the specific segment you choose.

Customer Service: Increase brand relevance by ensuring that your customers not only understand your product and service but can maximize the value they get from it. Help them navigate your brand so you can fast-track their value discovery and actively demonstrate how you meet their needs. Your customer content should showcase all the ways your product can be used, especially if you can highlight your existing customers. Lastly, be sure your Customer Services team is well-trained to bring up additional benefits and use cases to drive value.

Merchandising: Merchandising campaigns are a great way to build Relevance, especially if you collaborate with an individual or group who your target audience feels is relevant. An easy way to effectively integrate your product or service into your target customers’ everyday lives could be through displays or sampling at outdoor events like festivals, concerts and sporting events. You could also collaborate with another brand in your target sphere and build relevance through association. This works especially well if both brands can offer something unique and special to the other.

Communication: Communications allow you to illuminate just how perfectly you fit into people’s lives. To start, you need to have a clearly articulated purpose that unifies all of your brand’s activities, from social to PR to design and beyond. You should understand what people are looking for from a brand in your category and clearly communicate where the space is for you to fill. In a more concrete way, make sure it’s clear to consumers the circumstances which your brand is perfect for (i.e. how to use it). Share what you can give them that other brands can’t!

Proposition: It’s essential that your proposition demonstrates a clear, relevant need in the lives of your consumers and that you use clear, accessible language to communicate it. You should be able to use your purpose everywhere in your brand. Over time, it will naturally become clearer to your customers what your brand is, so make sure it’s flexible enough to easily guide New Product Development (NPD), communications, and recruitment.

Distribution: Increasing your Clarity through distribution involves making sure the placement of your brand is in the most appropriate category and is found alongside similar brands with aligned purposes. Think critically about your placement – if your product crosses categories, choose the one that best fits your purpose. Association can also help drive Clarity, so you can choose to be placed near similar, more well-known brands. When it comes to online, specifically, make sure your product is recommended in extensions like “goes well with” and “people also purchased” to drive home the role your brand plays in people’s lives.

Product Change: When trying to differentiate yourself it’s important to identify what sets you apart from other players in the same category. Changing your product can sometimes help drive Differentiation, but you first need to determine what aspects will position your brand in a unique way. Understanding the trends within the category is important when trying to find new ways your product can be used and adapted to make a difference.

Target Audience: Understanding the wants and needs of your target audience is an essential part of differentiating your brand. It is important to understand where your competitors are delivering, and identify opportunities where needs are unmet. By understanding that, your brand can determine whether there is space for Differentiation and whether there are new audiences to target based on category trends.

Proposition: Taking a deep look at your brand, identify where the heartland of your specialness is. What makes you who you are? While you explore that, consider whether your proposition is in fact unique: to your brand and the category. If it is, fantastic – but if it isn’t, there might be some work to do. Understanding what people need from the category and which needs are being met by the competition will reveal potential open-goal opportunities for your brand within unmet spaces.

Communication: Communication is a key mechanism through which brands can articulate the causes and priorities that matter most to them. The key is to establish a brand personality that consumers can relate to. A thoughtful and deliberate social media strategy, which pulls on real-life causes happening around the brand and its consumers, can be effective in creating a meaningful connection.

Promotion: Turning your promotions – especially if they’re seasonal or linked to major events – into campaigns for your brand, will help drive connection. Consider using imagery and talent in trade magazines or on promotional display units that people can relate to. When advertising in store, speak like a human across all of your materials, without jargon or unnecessary frills, to make your brand appear down-to-earth and easier to connect with.

Proposition: Your proposition is your brand drawing its line in the sand. And an opportunity to practice what it preaches. It is the most scalable way for you to relate to your customers and to take a stance which people would connect with. If your consumers care about sustainability, show them it matters to you too through your behaviors. For example, by not taxing the environment when your product is disposed or by structuring your product in a manner which minimises wastage.

Packaging: Your packaging should be made of high-quality elements and should demonstrate thought, without having any part of it feel wasteful. Using 100% recyclable materials or promoting the sustainability of your packaging is a great way to increase Integrity. You can also use your packaging to promote the societal or social impact your brand is having on the world.

Customer Experience: When looking to demonstrate Integrity in your Customer Experience, it’s important to make sure the way your Sales and Marketing functions are positioning your product and service matches what your customers actually experience. Listen to your customer feedback to identify any areas you may be falling behind in Integrity. And consider how your internal business culture is impacting – positively or negatively – your customer experience. The happier the employees, the better the customer experience!

Proposition: Make sure that the promise your brand makes to people is one that it can live and deliver. Are there areas you can present your brand as more honest than your competitors? Lean into them in a clear, concise way so people know you have the right intentions. Also, make sure any CSR initiatives serve to reinforce your position, rather than lead it.

Communication: The more that people feel they can understand how your company works, how you treat people and why you make decisions, the more they will ‘get’ your brand. Your communications will feel transparent the more you embrace an open, access-all-areas way of talking that feels authentic and honest. Don’t be shy: tell people about all of the good things you do, no matter where they are from in the business. When in doubt, focus on the most interesting and easily communicable parts of the business that are most accessible to people.

Product Delivery: Transparency in product delivery involves creating content about how your products are sourced as well as how shipping and handling fees are calculated and managed. Be open and upfront about your environmental impact, and if you make any big changes, consider telling people about it. It’s also important to look at your website or other eCommerce sites to determine whether your shipping and handling fees are obvious and have no hidden costs or add-ons!

Proposition: Your proposition lays out the core DNA of your brand. Consider how much your business can truly commit to being open, and in which areas, like your supply chain, your ingredients or your service. Take a step back and look at your category as a whole – are there any reasons why consumers don’t trust it? You could consider how you might build trust by tackling those issues head on. Once you’ve landed on your proposition, express it in an open, truthful way so people don’t think you’ve got anything to hide.

Target Audience: Improving your brand’s Popularity can sometimes be done by altering your target audience and the way you communicate with them. Your brand first needs to clarify whether appealing to the masses will be most effective in generating a buzz, or whether you should be picking off particular segments with very targeted media and messaging. Influencer marketing and brand partnerships can also help drive Popularity.

Customer Experience: Understanding the customer journey can help to identify various brand advocates and how their voices can be used to generate momentum. But you should differentiate between loyal customers and brand advocates as loyalty won’t always translate into endorsement. Your Customer Experience should encourage these brand advocates to easily share and interact with your content so that they can help towards building Popularity.

Distribution: Distribution plays a big role in building your brand’s Popularity. It’s important to identify which platforms and locations are going to generate the most impactful exposure, whether it be online stores, mass retailers or big grocery stores. Once location has been determined, the next step is to ensure maximum exposure to your audience through optimal shelf space and positioning. Generally, the more Popular a brand, the more space it commands at shelf.

Packaging: Value for Money can be improved by making changes to packaging which make the product more attractive and feel more premium. Play on sensorial cues to make people feel that your product is worth more. Another way is to use packaging as a means of bringing the benefits and claims of a product to the fore. Make sure people see that you are special, that you are different, and make them want you. Emphasize all of your high points to make people feel that they would pay above the odds to have you.

Price: Price can be used to grow your Value for Money by balancing the cost-benefit for consumers. This should be done by ensuring the equation of what they pay versus what they get is always in their favor. By creating a strong and Seductive brand that draws consumers in, they are more likely to feel the value. Your price should be adjusted based on how indispensable consumers believe you are. Sometimes a slight decrease can help improve the Value for Money, or in some cases you may be able to increase your price while still maintaining it.

Promotion: Promotion can be used to drive Value for Money by lowering the price per unit in order to drive sales. This is an opportunity to capture consumers that were restricted by the cost, or potentially didn’t immediately have that cost-benefit equation in their favor. Making a good impression during promotional periods is important in gaining trial and future loyal consumers. Promoting your brand too often is a common mis-step, however, as this can sometimes have the opposite effect on your brand’s strength and lead to consumers only purchasing when you’re on discount. Plan your promotions carefully throughout the year to ensure you are still worth it when at full price.

Product Delivery: Increase Consistency by focusing specifically on the cadence in which your product is delivered, the quality of its arrival, or even through unchanging delivery fees. When your consumers shop online, they want assurance that your products will arrive quickly and efficiently. Ordering should always be easy – your products should never be difficult to obtain or fulfill. When it comes to product delivery, the costs need to be predictably reliable, meaning no hidden fees at checkout!

Customer Success: Customer Success can help you build your brand’s Consistency by developing a health scoring system for your customers. This involves elements like overall product usage, usage of your product’s stickiest features, customer service requests, and growth of the account over time. Start by outlining the scoring system and defining health shifts that signify important changes in customer relationships. Next, you can design the interventions you’d want to take in each circumstance. The best health scores are predictive, so you can swiftly respond appropriately when important health shifts arise.

Customer Experience: In the context of the Customer Experience, Consistency is about making sure that all touchpoints build and reinforce what customers know to be true about your brand. This includes the visual elements of your brand, but also consider your tone of voice, key messages, channels, people, and format. Beware that internal organizational changes could leave your customer experience disjointed, so make sure your teams are aligned. This is also true for key brand initiatives, so it’s best to keep a close watch on things like new product launches or brand refreshes.

Customer Service: Make sure your brand consistently makes your customers’ lives more simple. Avoid opaque cancellation processes and be quick to refund customers to offer them a seamless experience. Customers are much more likely to talk about a bad exchange with customer service than a positive one. This can be damaging. Sending emails/notifications with expected waiting times on challenging queries can help manage customer expectations and prevent negative perceptions. For simpler queries, a well-publicised and thoughtful FAQ section in your webpage can minimise in-bound queries and speed up overall query processing times.

Customer Experience: Nowadays customers want to engage with brands through the medium they are most comfortable in. For many customers, their preferred medium varies multiple times every day. Ensure your brand offers customers a way to access your products both digitally and physically. On top of ensuring they receive a consistent experience across all channels, ensure your digital interfaces are easy to navigate and browse. Where complexity cannot be avoided, embed tips and ‘information’ buttons that guide your customers.

Communication: Often the most effective way to get consumers to know your brand is to draw attention to the key benefits your product brings. This can be done in a few ways. One is Point of Sale messaging. It can be particularly effective at drawing attention to your product when your customer is already in a buying mindset. Another is running an effective promo campaign centered around your product’s benefits in a media outlet which is popular with your customer base. Lastly, influencer marketing can be an expensive, but effective way to show your product in action and the benefits it generates.

Customer Success: Products that are clearly anchored to outcomes that matter to customers are better able to build a rapport with people. This involves conducting customer research to explore what your customers are trying to achieve by buying your product: is it to impress somebody or is it to make their lives less stressful? These customer outcomes have to be separated from the outcomes you, as a brand, wish to achieve. Once this is clear, build your Familiarity by simply framing your product features in a way that aligns with your customers’ outcomes.

Promotion: Free trials and samples can be the easiest way to drive usage and widespread Familiarity of your product. It also lowers the barriers to consumption by people who would otherwise not feel comfortable enough to try your product initially. Promotion can be helpful to build a deeper level understanding of your brand and to reverse any misconceptions of your product’s benefits and values.