As with any relationship, if you aren’t on the same page as your customer, your relationship is bound to end in failure. But unlike other connections, the brand-consumer relationship is extremely one sided—it’s your job to woo your customers, build their trust, and keep the relationship going strong. The best way to do this is by communicating in a relatable way, putting your customers in the spotlight, and treating them as the valued customer that they are.

Communicate in a Relatable Way

With Millennials now making up the majority of consumers, it’s time to tone down the formal language. In any relationship, communication is key, and with the brand-consumer relationship, that means using words and mediums that are familiar with your target market. Here are a few examples of companies that have this down to a tee:

• After the slang term “on fleek” went viral, IHOP hopped aboard the cool train when they simply tweeted, “Pancakes on fleek.” (To save you the Google search, fleek means on point.) To build your brand-consumer relationship, learn what words your audience are using and incorporate them into your messaging.
• Taco Bell’s Twitter page is full of tweets that sound like they were from your best friend, not from a company. For example, they tweeted out a music video with the caption, “Watch this video and try not to get this song stuck in your head.” Social media has gone beyond just a place for customer service; it’s a place to connect.
• It’s no secret that emojis are popular, and two companies have recently used this to their advantage. Chevy issued an emoji press release, in which there were no words, just little pictures. They revealed the word version the next day, leaving all of America making guesses for 24 hours. Dominos has also been making headlines with their emoji delivery service. Send a text with a pizza emoji and get your predetermined Easy Order™ delivered. You can tweet in your order, too.

Put Them in the Spotlight

If you want to sell a product, your costumers have to be able to envision themselves using it, which is why putting them front and center is an excellent way to build your brand-consumer relationship. For example:

• Dove’s Real Beauty campaign was one of the pioneers for putting real people in their ads, showing that anyone can use their products and be gorgeous.
• When Apple released their iPhone 6, they also launched their “Shot on iPhone 6” campaign. They used real photographs taken by real iPhone 6 users and displayed them on billboards, their website, social media, and commercials in order to demonstrate how great their new camera feature was.

Treat Them Well

Finally, you have to treat your customers as VIPs—every single one of them. If you really want to grow your brand-consumer relationship, you need to get to know your customers on a personal level so you can offer individualized experiences. Hotels, restaurants, and resorts are already superstars at this, and now the online world needs to follow. One website that does this amazingly well is Amazon, as their algorithm offers each customer different suggestions based on their browsing and purchasing history.

The brand-consumer relationship is crucial to your success. If you can speak your customers’ language, include them in your marketing, and give them personalized attention, your brand-consumer relationship will increase tenfold. Not sure how to do this? Contact Rebel Interactive Group today.