What so different about the modern consumer? Their most crucial characteristics are that they’re inundated with choices and weary of the endless parade of products and their competition. And now, they’re also moving away from brand loyalty, one of the most sought-after goals in marketing.
Today, 78% of consumers aren’t loyal to a particular brand, forcing companies and marketing agencies to rethink their strategy just to scramble for their attention.
So, with odds like these, how do we build brand awareness for the more canny, informed audience? Should brand loyalty even be the end goal of your brand building strategy? Dr. Doron Malka’s latest book, BRANDcebo, offers a game-changing solution: a dramatic shift-change in building a brand that goes beyond the traditional model of awareness>perception>interest>brand loyalty.
Instead, this innovative strategy uses the power of Priming>Expectation>Desire to establish an enduring, long-lasting connection with the consumer. And to help you turn this insight into a brand-building practice, we’ve broken down this model in 4 basic steps.
1. Instead of awareness, use the power of priming
Move beyond familiarity and spreading awareness of your brand. You can attain a new level of engagement by crafting the right frame of mind for when consumers think of your brand.
Here are a few ways you can “prime” your audience:
- Engage the audience’s emotions—think of capturing hearts, not minds
- Go beyond what your audience needs from your brand—cater to their passions instead
- Be an expert on what your audience desires, and know how to address that need
- Earn your audience’s trust, establish your brand’s credibility
2. Rather than perception, build expectation
Every brand wants a positive reputation, but don’t just settle for an appealing image. Create real expectation and genuine anticipation for your product’s superior performance by creating a clear sense of what your product is capable of.
Here’s how to build clear expectation:
- Inspire your audience with new aspirations to reach for
- Utilize the success stories and statistics
- Move away from the abstract—make your promises concrete
- Don’t rely on just hype. Establish trust by making sure your product can back your promises up
3. Not just interest, develop desire
Shoot for something more powerful than mere interest—cultivate desire by tapping into every person’s inherent need to grow emotionally, financially, socially, etc. When your brand becomes the key to a consumer’s self-actualization and identity, you pave the way for a deeper connection.
Here’s how to instill desire in your brand:
- Know what your audience’s most closely-held aspirations are
- Where is your audience headed? Make sure they know you can help them reach their goals
- Your brand promises should be aspirational and desirable
- Align the story and values of your brand with the beliefs of the consumer
- Let the audience know that you’re a brand they can express themselves through
4. More than loyalty, establish dependability
With the combination of priming, expectation, and desire, you can help your brand achieve something so much more powerful than brand loyalty: dependability. Dependability is a more honest, mutually beneficial connection to the consumer. It’s a way to build your brand as a relationship that allows the audience to get closer to their dreams, and better yet, encourages brand-builders like you to truly deliver on a great product.
At a time when brand loyalty’s becoming something harder to achieve, Dr. Doron Malka has crafted a new insight that’s tailor-made for the modern consumer. And instead of adding to the noise of traditional marketing, this new approach can help you create something meaningful, lasting, and something that’ll better the lives of your audience. This could be difference between just another product your consumer passes over, and a beloved service they’ll turn to for the rest of their lives.
