Consumers crave an emotional connection with brands, but this is no cakewalk for marketers, and neither is it science. It’s all guesswork, trial, and error. Marketers have little idea of what actually works and what doesn’t. They are more inclined to marketing strategies, websites, online advertising, and social media to communicate with their target audiences.
Gone are the days of analog (classic) marketing. It shaped marketing in the green days, lifestyle habits, behaviors, and social trends. Now, analog marketing is used for nostalgia to connect with the older generation. Marketers and brands recognize the fact that they need analog channels, such as live events and phone conversations, to connect with consumers on a more personal and human level to build stronger relationships. Analog communication channels add the authenticity that’s missing from digital communications.
Huge Difference
Experts believe adding a personal touch to marketing efforts can make a huge difference. Carl Banks,
president of G-III Apparel Group, said analog marketing speaks to consumers. “It touches them, It allows the consumer to be in touch emotionally.” He believes the key lies in traditional marketing. A study found that it’s possible to rigorously measure and strategically target the feelings that drive customers’ behavior. “We call them ‘emotional motivators’. They provide a better gauge of customers’ future value to a firm than any other metric, including brand awareness and customer satisfaction, and can be an important source of growth and profitability.”
From finance to retail, to healthcare and technology, companies are using a detailed understanding of emotional connection to attract and retain their customers. They are making emotional connection part of their broad strategy. Researchers highlighted that identifying and measuring emotional motivators is complicated as customers themselves are not aware of them. The sentiments are different from what customers say are the reasons they make brand choices and from the terms they use to describe their emotional response to particular brands.
Emotional Connections Matter
Personal touch or emotional connections made a comeback during the COVID-19 pandemic when countries implemented lockdowns. Brands doubled down their efforts to reach out to consumers, via personalized marketing and sales – SMS, emails, social media, radio, and television.
Jennifer Dublino, a strategic marketer who is the owner of Pro Creative Marketing Group, believes a personal touch means communicating directly with customers or prospects one-on-one. “It often involves face-to-face meetings, phone calls, thoughtful gifts, or analog communication such as handwritten notes. You can use a personal touch in marketing to create and strengthen relationships with customers and key accounts. It’s crucial to personalize your communications to address the customer’s or prospect’s specific experiences, needs, and history.”
Dublino said a personal touch:
- Puts a face to the business – customers connect more strongly to a person than a faceless company. When a customer or prospect associates an individual with the company they are buying from, more customer loyalty is ensured. It makes an impression.
- Creates strong emotional bonds – it means a lot to a customer or consumer that you care about them by remembering their birthdays or anniversaries etc. This makes it more likely for them to believe you care enough are attentive to their needs and wants, and hold their best interests at heart.
- Gives the brand or business a competitive edge – personal touch or connection definitely elevates the business or makes it stand out from the competitors. It demonstrates that the brand or company really or genuinely wants to work with the customer – and gives value.
- Encourages customer loyalty – it takes the connection to a whole new level of loyalty, forming deeper customer relations that can withstand price increases, delivery interruptions, and other hurdles. The customer will not be swayed.
- Fosters trust – trust is the result of keeping promises. For high-level transactions, partnerships, and large purchases, establishing trust is essential and requires personal interaction. When you use a personal touch in your sales process, it helps prospects identify.
Today’s world is saturated with digital content and artificial intelligence. And this has created a thirst or desire for authenticity and tangibility. Consumers are craving for physical interactions and experiences that generate or evoke genuine emotions. Analog activities like reading a book or magazine, writing letters, or using vinyl records are a bridge to the past. It gives a much-needed break from all the digital noise. A genuine connection, a reprieve from informational overload, and the digital world, an opportunity to engage with oneself, reflect, explore likes and hobbies, and create genuine connections.
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