Brand experience is an umbrella term that encompasses all interactions, feelings and perceptions a customer would or should associate with a brand. It is not a single touch point or product, but it stretches across the entire customer journey, and every encounter with the brand.
If people think about a brand they love – be it their favourite airline or their favourite skincare brand – they think about the brand experience and values first, regardless of whether their interactions are mostly online or offline.
Although brands often apply the right experience principles in their physical stores, many are not aligning these with their online experience. And what we see quite often at Cognitive Union is that it’s the smaller brands who are offering a brand experience that keeps customers coming back to them over household name.
So what are the top experience principles brands should implement?
Create a memorable customer experience
Over Christmas, I had a memorable experience where I purchased from a small, local brand, Norfolk Natural Living. I wasn’t aware of them until last year, when I stumbled across their store during a day out in Norfolk, which left me with a great impression of their brand. When it came to Christmas, I’d made up my mind that I was going to buy my friends a couple of their products.
The whole experience I had online was just as touching as it was in the physical store. Their online purchase experience from ordering to the delivery (including a personal note and free gift) was completely brand experience aligned.
Despite being exposed to a slew of big-budget Christmas ads and promotions, there was still only one brand I spent all the holidays talking about with friends and family, and online. Having shared my experience on social media, the responses started to flood in: ”I’m obsessed with NNL and they work perfectly for gifts! Have not ordered one thing I don’t love”.
Thus, the spiral of brand endorsement – and loyalty – begins.
In this case, it’s all down to them having a robust brand experience strategy. And yes, they may be a small company, but there is certainly a lot that large brands can learn from them.
Chart the customer journey
As we saw from Colin’s recent experience – when he ordered an item online, picked it up instore, and was told upfront that he couldn’t return in-store (or for free) – brands are still missing the mark when it comes to delivering a seamless experience.
Researching the target audience and thinking about all the touchpoints a brand has with them from pre-purchase to post-purchase – and the messaging they need to deliver at each point – is a time-consuming yet critical process.
A good way to start tackling this is to break down the customer journey into four steps in a physical chart: See, Think, Do, Care.
Then plot your customers’ top moments onto your chart. For instance, “I want a special present for a friend – something with a human touch” or “I want a brand that offers a free delivery and returns policy.”
Understanding your typical customer actions, touchpoints and feelings in this way will help determine your KPIs, business goals and teams involved at each of these key stages.
‘Surprise and delight’ with personalisation
Personalisation is another key element of a strong brand experience. For example, Norfolk Natural Living inevitably had a huge volume of orders over the festive period, yet, included with the items I purchased, was a personal note saying “Hi Lynsey, thank you for purchasing our gifts”, as well as a complimentary hand cream.
Similarly, another smaller brand, outdoor retailer Trekitt, who may well have a smaller promotional budget than the likes of Decathlon, are going above and beyond in terms of personalising the brand experience (for more information, check out this podcast).
That said, some larger brands are beginning to think about the way in which their products are received by their customers. For instance, Victoria Beckham’s products include a (printed) handwritten note from the CEO herself, which directly reflects the company’s brand values and builds anticipation for future purchases.
Be purpose-driven
As a brand, what is your core value? For example, for clothing giant Patagonia, it’s sustainability through and through (and always was, long before achieving B Corp status became a trend). They are probably one of the most out-there brands, as demonstrated in their infamous “Don’t buy this jacket” and subsequent “Worn Wear” marketing campaigns, in which they encouraged customers to recycle, and use their repair service, respectively, rather than buying new.
In summary, if you want to stand out from the crowd, you need to put on your customer’s hat and ask: as they move from the store, to the online basket, to social media, to unboxing the product, how can you delight them every time? How can you make them obsessed with your brand?
Take the time to make your brand experience memorable, seamless, personal and true to your values, and become the one brand that everyone is keen to endorse among friends, family and beyond.
If you’re looking for digital transformation support and training to help you boost your brand experience strategy, we can help. Contact our team today to learn more.