Smart businesses are transcend
Emotions.
One of the most powerful attributes a company can possess is the ability to evoke emotion from its consumers and connect with them on an empathetic level. Building emotional connections and portraying your organization as a relatable entity that understands the human condition will set you apart from the crowd.
The most identifiable companies that play in this game of hearts are some of the all-stars like Nike and Red Bull, which attach a lifestyle with their product. Both brands appeal to the adventurous and competitive nature within all of us.
You don’t have to have a big marketing budget to make a big impact. Small businesses can benefit greatly by engaging with the buyers’ emotions and creating a brand that strikes a universal chord within all of us.
The population can’t make buying decisions without emotions, and local Nashville butchery Porter Road Butchers are aware of this. With quality meat that undergoes a long and expensive process, PRB puts in all the grueling effort and money from their own wallet to ensure that they are producing only the best and healthiest meat for their customers, and people recognize this.
With two locations in east and west Nashville, people excitedly pay a few extra dollars to shop at PRB as opposed to larger franchises because they know they are getting meat from a company that cares about quality and customer well-being.
Here are a few steps to help build customer affection:
1: Define your purpose—Forget the technical specs of your product or service for a second, and think of why you exist. Stand for something. You have the chance to create your brand’s DNA, so take advantage of it.
2: Define your benefits—Take some time to identify the tangible benefits you provide to your customers. How does your company make someone’s life easier? Why would they be worse off without you?
3: WANT to be inspiring—It’s one thing to advertise that you care about the people you sell to or serve, but what’s really important is to actually be inspired — inspired to put in the effort to make a difference, in whatever way that may be. As honestly and as close to your DNA as possible, care for something.
Be respectable, understanding, and exude an effortless sense of care for something or someone, and the possibilities for your business—big or small—will be endless.
You could also argue that companies in low-margin businesses — think grocery stores and fast-food chains — tend to have the least amount of money to spend making employees happy, and would therefore be least likely to show up on lists of great workplaces, much less great stocks.