Our take on: Your Brand’s Personality and What It Means to Your Customer and Your Company
Who is your brand really and, by extension, who are you as a company?
That’s right, we said who because it’s critical that you create a digital persona for your brand that is one your customers and potential customers can identify with and trust on a human level. Whether you are a B to B or B to C company, you need to project an image that is immediately and consistently identifiable, imparting positive and more importantly familiar feelings with your audience.
It’s Starts with a Definition of Personality
At the very beginning of our relationship with most of our clients, we conduct brand defining activities to help determine how a brand should be viewed out in the digital universe. This is especially true when a company is looking for a boost to their top and bottom lines or if a company suddenly feels a chasm between themselves and their customers.
For example:
Is your anti-virus software company a professor with the skill and knowledge to rescue a laptop from a crippling infection?
Will your children’s clothing line surround youngsters with warmth and comfort like the arms of a welcomed mother's presence?
Can your customers count on your home safety system to be there the first time and every time it is needed, like a good and faithful friend?
Can your donors be sure your non-profit is always fighting the good fight like a warrior out on the battlefield?
Here’s an example of a successful brand personality in action. Major airlines may have nuances to their brand personalities, some exude a fun personality (JetBlue) vs a more "Cool" attitude (Virgin airlines, for example) but one overarching trait is that you must have a brand personality that elicits trust as an airline. This trust is built through the airline's behavior of consistency in their work with their passengers. It means not only flying safely and on time, it also means communicating as the passenger wants and needs. To that end, some major airlines maintain an actual “pit” of social media responders that immediately react to company- or flight-related questions or concerns as they are posted or DM'd. They are able to respond in real time to issues ranging from critical flight and safety concerns to general and casual questions. So customers (or would-be customers) can feel safe, protected and “heard” at all times.
Consistency is Key
Once you have decided on the personality profile for your brand, it’s vital to remain consistent at all times. You need to be sure your messaging remains on-track every time, as you pepper the digital universe with clear and positive portraits of your brand. And your dedication to consistency should (always) extend to your brand performance. Your customers should know that they can count on your brand to behave the exact same way every time they interact with it whether through a live or passive touchpoint.
In the end, it’s all really about trust. Just as in any healthy relationship, your customers need to be certain of who you are and that they can rely on you being there for them as expected.
Up Next: Zeroing in on your brand personality is just one component of a comprehensive process to uncover your Brand Essence. In our post Uncovering Your Brand Essence, see how the process brings the discovery of brand personality together with a number of other important elements to positively impact every area of a company.