How to Create a Magical Brand Experience People Remember
People won’t always remember what you say, but they will remember how you make them feel. This is the key to creating a magical brand experience people will remember, and here’s why…
90-95% of people’s choices and behaviours are driven by the emotional part of the brain. Meaning how someone feels about your brand will ultimately be the determining factor in their decision to purchase or not, and this will often be subconscious.
A positive feeling will inspire purchase, an even stronger positive feeling will inspire them to come back for more and tell their friends!
In this article we’re going to cover how to create a magical brand experience from start to finish in 6 steps.
What we cover
Digestible information
Beautiful design
Compelling stories
Unforgettable unboxing
Good customer service
Thankful follow up
Bonus: Easy future purchase
Concluding thoughts
Digestible information
TO HELP THEM FEEL AT EASE
Before anything, the base for creating a magical customer experience is creating an easy one. People are hardwired from our evolutionary make-up to not spend too much focus (i.e. brain calories) on that which will not help us survive or thrive. If our brand experience is complicated, it will likely cause confusion and stress, and we will loose that potential customer.
This means how we present our brand must be clear, digestible and only include worth-while information. Everything from our social media captions, website home page, product pages and packaging should present information in an easy to understand way.
We don’t have to use manipulative sales tactics such as intensified pain points, nervous system triggering sales countdowns, and grandiose claims. These just clutter up our brand messaging, detract from our true value, and make people feel like they’re being pressured (resulting in their barriers going up).
Instead we can simply explain in the clearest way (with a dash of creative language) what we’re about, how we can benefit people, and how they can buy.
Beautiful design
TO HELP THEM FEEL ELEVATED
Having a refined brand design that pleases the eye is guaranteed to influence how people feel around your brand. Your design style will change depending on who your ideal customers are, and how you want them to feel.
For example a nature based brand might want to use organic shapes and earthy colours to help their audience feel connected to nature. A high-end coffee brand might use french-style typography and classy photography to create a luxury feel.
Either way, a professional, beautiful brand identity and packaging design will help your customers feel elevated and part of something that is high quality as they experience your brand.
Compelling stories
TO HELP THEM FEEL INTRIGUED
We as humans are so naturally drawn to stories. For thousands of years they’ve been how we make sense of ourselves, the world and abstract concepts.
When we tell people our brand story, we convey our humanness and make space for a deeper and more meaningful connection. Our brand story is how we started, what we stand for, our heartfelt purpose, our values and our unique ways of seeing the world. We can put these in our marketing, website, packaging, founder interviews, advertising and many more audience touch points.
By telling the compelling stories of where you came from, where you are now, and where you are going, you capture people’s interest and create intrigue. You teach them something new and create a sense of self-development. And finally, you invite them to be a part of your story through their purchase, giving them the feeling of being part of something greater than themselves.
Unforgettable unboxing
TO HELP THEM FEEL EXCITED
The unboxing experience is each step your customer goes on as they unbox your product, from the moment it comes through their door, right through to the end of opening it. Let’s make it a memorable one!
Creating an elevated experience shows your customers that you care. It makes them feel special, and they then relate this positive feeling to your brand. This means they are so much more likely to buy from you again, tell others about you, and maybe even post it on their social media!
The unboxing experience also sets the tone for how people feel each time they use the product thereafter. A positive experience in the initial unboxing paves the way for a positive feeling using the product, again leading to customer loyalty and advocacy.
To find out more about this read our article - 7 ways to create a special unboxing experience
Good customer service
TO HELP THEM FEEL TRUST
It might go without saying, but good customer service is essential if you want people to have a good perception of your brand. A negative customer experience can also cause a lot of damage.
Your customer service should be calm, clear, accessible and empathetic. If a customer is annoyed about something, always respond in a timely manner, and in a calm way that empathises with their frustration with an apology. Also show that you understand what their problem is by restating it in a clear way.
From there the customer service should solve the problem with concise and easy to understand language, to make things as easy for the customer as possible.
High quality customer service can go a long way in helping people trust your brand, and repair any damage that might be done with mistakes or misunderstandings.
Thankful follow up
TO HELP THEM FEEL VALUED
A thoughtful thanks goes further than just saying ‘thank you for your business’. Consider why you actually value your customers, and how you can communicate this. Let’s break it down…
Why do you value your customers outside of helping you grow financially? Do they help you achieve your brand vision of less plastic in the oceans? Are you grateful for their trust in the candle business you’ve poured so much thought into? Do you value the community you are building of people who will spread your brand message to empower women? Have a real heart to heart with yourself on this question.
Next, consider how and where you will tell them. Do you want to send it in an email? A little post card through their door? Or perhaps it would it be included as a part of the packaging? Craft the copy in a thoughtful way so they know you appreciate them.
To boost your thankful follow up, you can go even further and show them your appreciation through something tangible. This could be a future discount, a voucher or digital freebie (like a guide).
Bonus: Easy future purchase
TO INVITE THEM BACK
All of that effort you’ve put into creating a magical and memorable brand experience shouldn’t be wasted. Whilst no-one likes to be bombarded with sales emails, a considered approach to inviting customers back makes it easier for them to repurchase, and helps your business grow.
If you are an e-commerce brand, consider creating a subscription service for your product. Then about a week after they’ve received it, you can send them an email detailing how they can get a regular subscription delivery of it.
You could also send an email with a personalised selection of other products they may like that are similar.
Another option is to make it possible for them to buy a gift card, and give it to a friend or family member so that they can try your products too.
If you are a service based business, you could send a follow up email a few months later checking in on your customer and asking if they need any further support.
A thoughtful, non-pushy follow up inviting people for future purchase is a great way to remind them of the amazing experience they had with you, and welcome them to experience it again!
Concluding thoughts
Remember that creating a magical brand experience all starts with the base of a non-cluttered, easy to understand brand message, that doesn’t put pressure on people, or put them in a stress state to try and sell them something. No matter what the personality of your brand, at the core it should be a safe space people can trust, and not be in defence mode with.
From there, we can elevate people’s experience through thoughtful details, messages, finishing touches, and real human connection.
If you’d like to find out more about how we can help you create a brand experience your customers love, we offer business consulting, brand strategy and brand design services to support you. You can find out all about them here!
Kat x