Marketing has always been about creating value … and consumers always bought whatever gave them the most value: i.e., the snickers bar with 20% more nuts.
But in 2022, the idea of value has taken on a multi-dimensional viewpoint and considers not only what brings the most financial and functional value to their lives but also what brands themselves bring to the table.
Businesses and their marketing efforts now need to target social, functional, and emotional benefits while delivering an honest brand that still makes consumers FEEL like they’re doing something right, aka Brand perception.
This is why defining positive brand behavior that strongly aligns with your brand values has become critical in driving success.
What is Brand Behavior?
Brand behavior is defined by all engagement, interactions, and reactions a business has and, more crucially, how others respond back. Brand behavior, in this sense, is a dynamic two-way street that drives a trusting relationship between the two.
Because customers don’t actually experience a brand strategy, brands need to create interactions that come from authentic actions ALIGNED with the brand strategy that tangibly shows that the behavior is true to the brand.
So for every touch point in a B2C relationship, there is an opportunity, through brand behavior, to create authentic brand moments that reinforce brand value, brand perceptions, and brand loyalty.
Brand behavior moments are ultimately what keep the strategy alive.
How Brand Behaviors Build Trust
The goal of consistent, succinct brand behavior is to increase brand trust, brand value, and brand loyalty. This takes a multi-faceted approach:
- Your brand must actually provide functional value that considers the time, money, and effort made to make a purchase
- The overall experience – from the first point of contact to the last.
When customers consider the total brand experience (functional, social + emotional) against the total brand cost (money, time + effort), you’re left with your brand value.
And consumers equate brand value with trust and trust with brand behavior.
Make Brand Behaviors Feel Personal
Part of brand behavior is using every point of contact and communication to really connect with customers, and using personalized messaging makes a huge impact.
Studies show that 80% of consumers are more likely to buy from a brand that provides a tailored experience and a whopping 72% of consumers only engage with personalized messaging.
Personalized messaging works to make your community feel like they’re a part of something, which ultimately makes them more likely to engage. And by tailoring your messaging to intuitively solve a problem, deliver a need, or put something they want right in front of them, your business will connect in a memorable and valuable way.
Overall, studies showed that deeply personalized content saw an 84% improvement in engagement compared to non – So aligning your brand behavior with personal content is where small changes can make HUGE impacts.
How to Drive Results with Brand Behavior
Every business should be curating its brand behavior to align very closely with its brand strategy and brand values. Where these pillars act as the overall strategy, the brand behaviors are the aligned tactics to get there.
For example, your brand strategy may be to increase brand loyalty, and your brand behavior tactics will be designed to strengthen and maintain long-term relationships with customers.
So how do you begin to design your own?
StellaPop has four hot tips on how to nail your brand behaviors and drive results:
Four Tips on Building Brand Behavior
1. Have Integrity:
Make integrity one of the most important undercurrents of your business interactions, messaging, customer service returns policies, etc. This ultimately means keeping your word each-and-every time.
When you tell your customers ‘who you are,’ back that up with aligned actions and intentional, personal communication that serves to build a relationship between you and that customer.
2. Be Transparent
We’re all human, and we all make mistakes, but it’s how you handle your mistakes that will leave a lasting impression.
Be transparent, honest, and upfront with your community, whether you’ve made a mistake, your business is changing, or better yet, you’re celebrating a milestone! It’s important to create an inclusive, transparent relationship that anchors itself in communication.
3. Speak with Authority about Trusted Information
Make sure you showcase your position in the industry, expert knowledge, and leadership with messaging and content.
Show your community your expert status with value-adds and free information that can not only teach them more about what you do but can also highlight why/how you’re doing it better.
4. Internal Workplace Vibes
Inside workplace behaviors matter and they can greatly impact brand trust if the behaviors aren’t aligned with the brand values. Employees should really embody the brand and should speak, act and communicate, both internally and externally, from a position that represents the brand.
And unhappy employees may not be relied on to do it well.
Edit and improve workplace culture whenever possible, making sure employees feel happy, satisfied, and properly rewarded in the workplace. Happy employees are more likely to create the energetics of a happy, trustworthy business and more likely to exude strong, confident, happy brand behaviors on your behalf.
Ready to revitalize your brand? Give the branding experts at StellaPop a ring!