Building A Brand That Resonates With Your Ideal Client

76% of consumers are drawn to brands they feel connected to.

Even the best product can get overshadowed in a crowded market.

In this guide, you will learn to create a brand that speaks to your ideal audience, nudging them to convert and be loyal to your brand. 

How To Build A Brand That Speaks To Your Audience: 7 Steps 

As we go through the steps, identify action points you still haven’t taken and learn how you can apply them.

Step 1: Identify Hidden Patterns In Your Audience's Behaviour

This step involves going beyond the obvious data to find underlying trends in how your audience interacts with your brand. These hidden patterns—like when they tend to make decisions or what subtle triggers prompt them to take action—can give you unique insights to create more targeted and effective brand strategies.

Here’s what you need to do:

• Analyse purchase history using Google Analytics or your eCommerce platform's data. Identify recurring buying patterns like frequent purchases during certain times of the day or month.
• Monitor social media interactions using Hootsuite or Sprout Social. Track which content types your audience engages with most to reveal what resonates on a deeper level.
• Conduct behavioural surveys using SurveyMonkey or Typeform. Ask targeted questions that reveal underlying motivations or habits. For example, you could ask, "What was the main reason you chose our product over others?"
• Segment audience based on behaviour using HubSpot so you can personalise communication.
• Observe competitor audiences. Analyse your competitors’ followers using BuzzSumo to see what content they engage with and identify patterns you can leverage.
• Track cross-platform behaviour using Kissmetrics. Follow how your audience interacts with your brand across different platforms, revealing patterns in multi-channel behaviour.

Step 2: Create An Emotional Anchor

This step focuses on establishing a specific emotion that your brand consistently evokes in your audience, making it a core part of their experience with your brand. If you do this, you create a deeper, more memorable connection that keeps your audience coming back.

Take these action points:

• Identify core emotions using customer feedback, reviews, and social media comments to identify the emotions your audience associates with your brand. Use Brandwatch to analyse sentiment across platforms.
• Craft emotion-driven messaging that consistently evokes the core emotion. For example, if your brand is associated with comfort, emphasise how your products bring ease and relaxation to your content.
• Use storytelling to reinforce the emotion. Highlight this emotion in customer testimonials or case studies to show how your brand has positively impacted someone's life.
• Design visuals that evoke the emotion. Make sure your brand’s visual elements— colours, imagery, and design—align with the emotion you want to anchor. For instance, if your brand aims to evoke excitement, use bold, vibrant colours and dynamic visuals.
• Engage with emotion-focused campaigns. Launch campaigns that specifically target this emotion. For example, create a campaign around a time of year when this emotion is particularly relevant like when promoting warmth and togetherness during the holiday season.
• Test and refine the emotional impact. Use A/B testing to evaluate different emotional appeals in your content, and adjust based on which version resonates more with your audience using Optimizely.

Step 3: Tap Into Subcultures 

This step involves identifying and engaging with specific niche communities that align closely with your brand's values and offers. Connect with these groups to build a loyal following that feels uniquely understood and catered to by your brand.

To do this:

• Research relevant subcultures using social listening tools like Mention or Reddit to identify communities that share common interests or values about your brand.
• Engage authentically in online forums or social media groups where these communities gather. Offer valuable insights or content that aligns with their interests.
• Partner with influencers or thought leaders within these subcultures to create content or products that resonate with the community, like co-branded items or exclusive offers.
• Organise events or webinars that cater specifically to the interests of these communities, such as workshops, live Q&A sessions, or product demos that address their unique needs.
• Develop content that speaks directly to the subculture’s specific language, humour, and values, ensuring it feels authentic and relevant to their interests.
• Provide limited-edition products or early access to services that appeal specifically to the niche community to reinforce their sense of belonging and loyalty to your brand.

Here’s an excellent example from this digital product marketplace. They use a Discord community to unite their sellers and developers. You can leverage a community like this if you are in the online selling of seasonal products and software product development space. 

Step 4: Use Unexpected Collaboration

This step is about partnering with brands or influencers outside of your typical industry or audience to create a unique and surprising blend that captures attention and expands your reach. This way, you can introduce your brand to new audiences in a fresh and memorable way.

Here’s how you can do it:

• Identify unconventional partners. Look for brands or influencers that share complementary values but cater to a different audience. For example, team up with an eco-friendly cleaning products brand if you sell outdoor gear, to highlight sustainability and attract environmentally conscious consumers. Use BuzzSumo or LinkedIn to find potential collaborators.
• Brainstorm creative campaign ideas. Develop a campaign that creatively combines elements from both brands, such as a limited-edition product line, joint event, or cross-promotional content that highlights the strengths of both partners.
• Leverage each partner’s strengths. Make sure that the collaboration showcases what each brand does best, whether it’s your product quality or their creative storytelling, to create a balanced and appealing partnership.
• Launch the collaboration across both partners' platforms—social media, email newsletters, and websites—to maximise visibility and engagement from both audiences.
• Actively interact with comments and feedback from both your existing audience and your collaborator’s followers, show appreciation for the partnership, and strengthen the sense of community.
• After the campaign, analyse the results to see how the collaboration affected brand awareness, engagement, and sales, using tools like Google Analytics or social media insights to refine future collaborations.

Step 5: Infuse Storytelling With Micro-Moments

This step focuses on incorporating small, relatable moments from your audience's everyday life into your brand storytelling. This makes your brand feel more personal and connected to your audience's real experiences.

Here’s what you need to do:

• Identify everyday moments. Look for simple, daily experiences your audience can relate to, like enjoying a morning coffee or commuting to work, and weave these into your brand stories.
• Create content around these moments. Develop social media posts, videos, or blog articles that highlight these micro-moments, making your brand feel like a natural part of your audience's day.
• Choose images and videos that depict these relatable moments, make sure they resonate with your audience on a personal level.
• Use user-generated content. Encourage your audience to share their own micro-moments involving your brand, and feature this content in your campaigns to build a sense of community.
• Tell stories that reflect daily challenges. Craft narratives that address common challenges or joys your audience experiences daily, showing how your brand fits into and enhances those moments.
• Use A/B testing or social media insights to see which micro-moments your audience connects with best, and refine your storytelling approach based on the results.

Step 6: Personalise The Brand Experience On A Deep Level

This is where you tailor your brand experience to fit not just basic demographics but the specific moods, preferences, and life stages of your audience. 

Here is what you need to do:

• Use HubSpot or Salesforce to segment your audience based on buying behaviour, preferred communication channels, or even the time of day they engage with your brand.
• Create content that speaks directly to where your audience is in life—whether they're starting a new job, moving into a new home, or entering parenthood—making your brand feel more relevant.
• Use AI-driven tools like Persado to adjust your messaging based on the emotional tone that resonates best with each audience segment of your audience.
• Implement recommendation engines like those from Shopify or WooCommerce that suggest products based on individual browsing history and preferences to make the shopping experience better.
• Design personalised user journeys on your website or app that adapt in real-time to each visitor’s actions, preferences, and needs, using Optimizely or Dynamic Yield.
• Test and refine your personalisation strategies by analysing customer feedback and behaviour, and make sure that your efforts remain relevant and effective over time.

Step 7: Align Your Brand Experience With Their Daily Lives

Build your brand to be a natural and valued part of their everyday life to strengthen their brand loyalty and create lasting connections.

Here’s what you need to do:

• Map out your audience's daily routine using Smaply or Lucidchart. Understand their daily activities and pinpoint where your brand can naturally fit in.
• Create content for key daily moments like morning rituals, lunch breaks, or evening wind-downs so your brand becomes a consistent part of their routine.
• Offer time-sensitive deals or notifications using Klaviyo or PushEngage. Send personalised offers or reminders at times when your audience is most likely to engage, such as a lunchtime discount notification.
• Develop products that fit into everyday life like portable snacks for busy professionals or quick-read newsletters for morning commutes.
• Use geofencing tools like Foursquare or Bluedot to deliver location-specific promotions or content when your audience is in a relevant area like a nearby store or event.
• Monitor and adapt to changing routines using tools like Google Analytics or customer feedback, and adjust your marketing strategies to stay aligned with their lives.

4 Proven Ways To Build A Brand That Resonates 

As you go through the strategies, consider where and how you incorporate them in the steps discussed earlier. 

1. Reward Their Loyalty With Your Brand

Loyal customers spend 67% more on a brand than new ones. To keep them returning, you need to:

• Create a highly engaging loyalty program like a gamification system that offers points or rewards for repeat purchases.

• Send your long-term customers special deals or discounts.
• Send them personalised and interactive thank-you notes.
• Let them test your pilot products.
• Give them VIP access to your customer support.

2. Always Be There To Help Them Out

83% of customers say they like to stay with a brand when their customer service is helpful.

To do this: 

• Provide them with multiple support channels 24/7–phones, emails, and live chats.
• Train your customer service team to be warm and result-oriented.
• Add clear and helpful FAQs on your website for those who prefer to proactively find ways to solve their problems and those who want to do it independently.
• Follow up with customers to make sure their issues are resolved to their satisfaction.

Always make the process easier for them. Here’s an excellent example from this outsourcing platform. To make it easier for their clients to find the talent they need. They do not just simply offer them a gallery of people to hire. They ask potential clients for their preferences, vet qualified applicants, and arrange for free interviews so the client can now just make a final pick. 

3. Build Relationship With Your Customers In Social Media

Brands that connect and interact with their customers tend to buy from them by 20-40%.

To do this: 

• Post shareable content daily or at least 3x/week so they keep remembering you.
• Reply to comments and messages from your customers in less than 24 hours.
• Involve your followers with your brand’s campaigns, product development phases, launches, contests, or polls. 
• Share behind-the-scenes content about your brand.

Here’s my favourite example from this hiring platform. They make their content highly shareable by doing POVs and asking questions from their target audience that others can relate to. 

4. Incorporating SEO into Your Digital Marketing Strategy

Digital marketing plays a vital role in building a brand that connects with your ideal clients. A key component of any effective digital marketing strategy is search engine optimisation (SEO), which ensures your website ranks high on the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages). 

Hiring an SEO agency can help streamline this process, ensuring that your website is optimised with targeted keywords, quality content, and improved site speed, making it easier for potential clients to find your brand online. 

Regularly tracking your website’s rankings also helps refine your strategy and maintain a strong digital presence, essential for resonating with the right audience.

To do this:

1. Conduct an SEO Audit: Start by hiring an SEO agency to perform an audit of your website. They will assess your current rankings, website structure, and performance.

2. Identify Target Keywords: Work with the agency to research and identify the most relevant keywords your ideal clients are searching for. This will guide the content and optimisation of your website.

3. Optimise Website Content: Let the SEO agency update your site with optimised content, including targeted keywords, meta descriptions, and engaging blog posts that address your audience's needs.

4. Improve Technical SEO: Have the SEO agency focus on improving site speed, mobile-friendliness, and the overall user experience (UX) to enhance your site’s rankings on SERPs.

5. Track and Adjust: Continuously monitor your website’s rankings with the help of the SEO agency. Use their insights to adjust your strategy and keep improving your digital presence over time.

5 Challenges in Building a Customer-Centric Brand & How To Deal With Them 

Building a customer-oriented brand comes with its own set of challenges. Consider these common challenges and see how you can avoid or fix them when it happens. 

I. Finding a Balance In Managing Your Customer’s Expectations

It’s easy for businesses to promise more than they can deliver so keep their expectations realistic.

Let’s assume a shoe brand that says that their shoes never break makes false promises. Instead of this, they could overdeliver by going smart. How? They can announce that their boots can run 750 km, which would actually show signs of wear after 900 km. 

Key Points:

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• Do not get customers trapped in false hopes or expectations of the product. Set a clear expectation of what your service or product is capable of.
• Give your customers a little extra like a free delivery on a specific amount of order or a free gift offer (BUY 1 GET 1 FREE).
• Deliver as soon as possible before the promised timeline.
• Offer a better warranty than your rivals.
• Make refunds easy.

II. Finding the Right Mix Of Personalisation & Data Protection 

Personalisation increases customer engagement, but 80% of consumers also care about data privacy. So, you need to be transparent by telling them what data you’re collecting about them:

Key Points:

• Only collect specific data that you need to personalise your services.
• Tell your customers how you will use their information and protect it.
• Allow customers to control their privacy settings. For instance, allow them to accept or reject their cookies.
• Let them visit you anonymously.
• Use the latest security systems to protect your customers’ information.

III. Keeping Your Message The Same Everywhere 

Strengthening your personal brand identity can increase your revenue by 23%. It gives your customers a sense that you’re disciplined and organised. 

Key Points:

• Use a clear and uniform brand voice that reflects your values.
• Use the same tone and messaging across social media, emails, and ads.
• Train your team to understand and use the brand voice correctly.
• Review your messaging at least every month or quarter to make sure it’s consistent.

IV. Adjusting Your Business To Fit Your Customer’s Changing Habits 

Customer habits keep changing with trends, so to keep them returning to your store, adjust your brand study based on your target audience’ pulse.

Key Points: 

• Always check what your customers like or dislike.
• Use customer feedback to make adjustments to your products or services.
• Add more products based on your customer's needs.
• Offer flexible options like online shopping or curbside pickup.
• Stay informed about industry changes and adapt quickly.
• Always think about what edge you can set from what your competitors offer. 

V. Overdoing with your Brand Messages 

Too many notifications are annoying and frustrating—it's like knocking at a door they don't want to keep open. 2 out of 3 consumers say they ignore brand messages because they find it disturbing. 

Key Points: 

• Only send meaningful emails and social media posts.
• Give customers the option to choose how often they hear from you.
• Instead of overwhelming customers with your messages, focus on improving quality and rewarding loyalty.

Conclusion

Building a brand that stands out can seem like an impossible task at first given all the competition already in the market. Focus on what you can do NOW, start small, one step at a time. Learn how each stem works and how you can apply them. 

Ask yourself this question every day: Which area are my competitors not satisfying their customers enough? How do I want to experience this service better? On one of those days, you will find your ‘Eureka’ moment.