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Jay BachmayerApril, 4, 20235 min read

The Beauty of Human Brands: Connecting with Your Consumers.

When looking at a business we're familiar with, it can be easy to think that the products and services are where we should focus. After all, it's about making sure people know what they offer, right? But the fact that we can focus on the products and services means that the brand is already a foregone conclusion.

The thing is: brands don't exist in a vacuum. Brands are more central to our lives than many of us initially realize. In 2014, a study published in the Procedia of Social and Behavioral Sciences showed that: [There is] "strong evidence that customers rely on brands with a desirable brand identity to express their own identity and they tend to prefer brands that are convergent with their identity as the primary mean of expressing a unique image about their personal lifestyle. [There is also] solid evidence that brands can be used as valid tools for status signaling in everyday circumstances."

Translation: we make emotional connections with brands, and we choose the ones that we feel reflect both who we are and who we want to be. The attractive external features will help attract customers, but it’s what’s on the inside – your brand’s inner beauty, so to speak, where you’ll really make an impact.

 

INVESTING BEYOND GOODS AND SERVICES

Any brand's journey goes from awareness to interest to experience to emotion. Most financial brands are missing the emotional side of it. That's the differentiator. They'll usually stop with experience – if they even get there.

If we want people to continually make an emotional connection with a brand, give the benefit of the doubt and trust an Fl with their money, it's a matter of speaking to them on the level of their identity and lifestyle – their hopes and dreams – not products and services.

It's a choice that financial marketers have to actively make, not only from a philosophical standpoint, but also from a survival mindset – not to mention one of growth.

 

A STRONG BRAND'S IMPACT ON YOUR LONG-TERM HEALTH

The accounts that make up the majority of most financial institutions' balance sheets are not likely held by younger individuals. However, it's the relationships built with younger members that will carry an institution forward. That means more than just shifting the audience that's being targeted. It means shifting the thinking around who you are.

A 2020 SWPR study put it this way: "For the 55+ demographic, only 21% say they prefer buying items that show off their political and cultural beliefs. For audiences in the millennial demographic, it's crucial for brand managers to demonstrate that they align on social issues. For these young consumers, 83% want companies to align with their values and 76% want CEOs to speak out on issues they care about. About two-thirds (65%) of millennials say they have boycotted a brand that took the opposing stance on an issue, and 62% favor products that show off their political and social beliefs."

The reality is, for topics as emotionally fraught as money, trust is a huge factor, and while "brand" feels like a big word, it's really just the sum of how you present yourself, what you offer, and what you do. Goods and services exist in the real world, brands exist in the mind. Every company has a brand, whether they're thinking about it or not. The only difference is how much they manage the touchpoints. All things being equal, companies with strong brands win. There's always going to be someone who’s got a feature that is “less” or “more” or “faster.” Brand is what creates the differentiation.

If you’re struggling to find your brand’s emotional core – that strong, emotional centerpiece, it might be time to perform a brand audit.

 

BRAND AUDIT: THAT "WHAT NOW?" MOMENT

A brand audit is a checkup that evaluates your brand’s position in the marketplace, its strengths, its weaknesses, and how to make it stronger. After your audit, you might find that you want to make a change - could be small or big, and that generates a certain level of energy. It's exciting! It's new! It's a rallying point!

After it’s announced, however, and once those changes are put into action, it can be easy to feel at a loss. You may be asking, “now what?” What comes after the big brand reveal?

Brand changes – or at least the moment they go "live" – are just a moment in time. Any relationship, though, is about emotional impact and a multitude of touchpoints. Those things take a long time to get right. Any change to the brand is a commitment and an investment.

As with any investment, it's important to protect the investment by sticking to the strategy. That strategy doesn't have to be all about dollars – even an inexpensive execution can be incredibly successful if it's driven by a strategy that represents who you are more accurately.

Additionally, that strategy may not pay off right away. After all, how often do long-lasting marriages happen after the first date? A strategy looks at the long-term, and that has to be based on your why.

 

PUTTING YOUR "WHY" TO WORK

 Applying a brand is about more than applying a new color or a new logo, or about putting mission, vision, and values cards in every employee's cubicle or wallet. Knowing your "why" doesn't do much at all if the why doesn't get put to work. More often than not, a mission statement, brand statement, why statement - whatever you happen to call it – gets brought out and shown off when you ask about the organization but isn't really integrated into everyday actions.

If someone asks you what the thought behind your latest promotional message was, would your "why" even come into it? If the answer starts with the balance sheet, then it may be time to reconsider the brand strategy. A balance sheet is a "what". It enables your "why." The question is - what does your balance sheet enable?

Beyond that, most of the touch points that account holders, potential new clients, and the community have with your organization won't be with your perfectly curated marketing. Those touchpoints are going to happen with ads, but also with frontline team members, employees, and their friends who happen to have a relationship with your organization. If any of those individuals can't articulate your brand clearly, the why beyond "to make money," then your brand strategy isn't working. It needs to feel true, feel honest, and be something anyone can articulate.

All this can seem a bit overwhelming at first, but don’t worry, that’s why Epicosity is here. We specialize in helping financial institutions create and sustain lasting relationships with their clients, guided by passion and research and getting to the bottom of the “what’s and “why’s” of your latest and greatest brand move.

Contact Brand Ambassador Nikki Doherty today and let her help you take the next step in embracing your brand’s inner beauty.

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Jay Bachmayer

Jay specializes in Finance marketing strategies. He works hand in hand with bank and credit union marketing teams to set goals, launch campaigns, and analyze results. With years of digital, content, and general marketing experience, Jay dedicates himself to connecting modern marketing strategies to financial institutions.

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