In business, it’s not always easy to create that brand identity and customer connection that you might want. A business that doesn’t take a proper look at how to engage their audience is always going to suffer a kind of dissonance and disconnect. That can make it hard to draw people in or to create fans out of them. You need to be able to show, not just tell.
Know your story
People identify with other people a lot better. If you’re just providing your image as a business or as a ‘service’, then it creates a distance between you and the other people you’re trying to connect to. Show that your team has a human side. Figure out its story. Why did this business start? What problems is it trying to solve? What passion goes into it? Show human motivation.
Communicate your value right
When you’re looking at your services and products, you don’t want to list what makes them helpful or the right choice. You want to think about the core value that it adds to the life of the customer. How does it change their life? What options does it open to them? What’s the core desire behind the demand for the product you’re trying to sell?
Hit the senses
In telling the story of what you are about and what you offer to the broader life of the customer, you need to choose the right method. Content marketing is all well and good for showing expertise and practical knowledge. But to build an emotional connection, follow the old adage of ‘show, don’t tell’. Using visual mediums like photography and film can make it easier to communicate your value, your story, much quicker. Just make sure you’re in touch with professionals like the Mob Film Company based in Manchester. Use those who know their medium or the amateur quality of your storytelling might override the rest of it.
Use real, positive proof
Positive notions always work better than negative ones in advertising, unless you’re trying to scare people. Not the best strategy for everyone. Instead, think about that value you provide to someone’s life. Demonstrate it in fact. Tell how many people use your services and shout to the roof about positive word of mouth and awards you’ve won. You can even go a step further. Consider offering your services to someone for free if they agree to take part in a case study, the results of which can be one of your most powerful marketing campaigns.
Don’t assume you know it all
Asking your customers what they want isn’t going to get you a lot of useful information. You have to try provide them with that in ways they’re not even aware of. But using your business, ask them what they do and don’t like about it. You might not like the answers at first, but they can help you pinpoint the values you should be taking to heart in future, as well as the values best demonstrated in your marketing message.
Knowing your business and knowing your customers is vital. Then it’s about building that emotional connection, not just what you can provide on an objective basis. You have to get to the heart of the question of why they need you and make that the key.