Emotional Connectivity: The Truth About Engaging Customers

There is connecting with customers, and then there is connecting with customers on an emotional level. ‘Emotional connectivity’ is far more than just the latest branding buzz phrase. It is a term which provides clarity to a truth which marketers and advertisers have known for years, but have perhaps failed to define clearly. That is, that once you engage a customer on a level which triggers their emotions – be that any feelings from happiness to excitement, sadness or hope – you are making an impact.

In this article, we take a close look at emotional connectivity; its central role in branding, brand loyalty and how it can be engendered by intelligent design.

Relationship building

Instead of thinking of your customers as distant names and email addresses, a strategy of emotional connectivity dictates that you build your customer relationships in a much more ‘human’ manner. That is to say, the same things which can bind us together on a social level, can also work in business. So try and factor honesty into every facet of your branding, even if that means appearing to be a company which is less than perfect, without compromising your core values. And have fun! Nobody likes a bore, so playing to customers’ sense of humour can do you no harm at all. You should also show interest, doing all you can to build up a firm sense of what your customers’ individual preferences are. Fun, honest and sincerely interested – doesn’t that sound like a person you’d want to be with? Well, your brand is no different.

Increasing brand loyalty through emotional connectivity

In addition to the core principles above, there are plenty of ways in which we can use emotional connectivity in our branding to increase brand loyalty. Helpful marketing, which seeks to provide content which can be used, re-used and shared for a customer’s benefit, is one way to attract more loyalty, and on an emotional level, increases trust. Then there is the story telling technique, which helps a customer to get to know you as a business. It could be a behind the scenes documentary or case study, the story of how your business was founded, or a piece which spells out your company’s core beliefs – they all encourage emotions of trust and familiarity which can lead to more loyalty. And you shouldn’t underestimate the ability of the discerning customer to separate throwaway content from output which has had a lot of hard work put into it. Surveys which are based on thorough research, videos which have been beautifully edited, and articles which go out of their way to provide insights are all noted and appreciated.

If there is one thing that all these tactics have in common, it is that they provide value to the customer. If you are planning on achieving emotional connectivity with half-hearted content, think again!

Emotional connectivity in design

Emotional connectivity can be carried in your design; be that product packaging, marketing material or presence at events. Honesty can be represented by loud and proud design, with a minimum of small print or misleading features. You can be fun by putting humour at the centre of everything you do; for some services or products, that could mean an end to the ‘corporate look’ and the embracing of branding design guidelines which mean you don’t take yourself quite as seriously as you used to. And when it comes to showing an interest, design can allow you to put your customers on centre stage, making it clear that you have their interests at heart in everything you do, and speaking directly to them using impactful text.

Emotional connectivity isn’t new, and there is a good chance you will already be using it to an extent. But by making the effort to put emotional connectivity at the forefront of your branding, you can begin to forge more customer relationships which stand the test of time.

Looking for ways to inject emotional connectivity into your business’s branding? Speak to the experts at Brand51 on 0117 261 5151, and discover how we can help you make an impact.