Decades ago, businesses could operate on a transaction-by-transaction basis. Consumers shopped for products, made the purchase, and then parted ways with a brand until they needed something else. But times have changed. Startups that want to reach their full potential today need to create brand experiences that are more than just what happens at the point of sale or even during the shopping stage of a customer journey.
To thrive today, you need to understand how to maintain a permanent presence in your customers’ lives. That means building a relationship that is not limited to moments when customers actively consider a purchase. You want to build your brand positioning from the ground up to offer a positive experience that creates long-term customer relationships.
Brand experience refers to customers’ overall perception and feeling when interacting with your brand across different touchpoints. It includes the emotional response a customer has from direct or indirect exposure to anything from your brand:
Both brand and customer experience shape how people perceive your company. However, brand experience focuses on people’s overall perception of your business. Customer experience, on the other hand, focuses on the impressions buyers develop when interacting with your brand when purchasing and using your product and services. Here’s a quick summary of the key differences between the two.
Creating positive brand experiences allows you to establish stronger emotional connections with your prospects and customers, which can increase brand loyalty and awareness. Forbes reports that emotional connection creates preference over competitors. In fact, in a survey of over 19,000 US and UK customers, emotional attachment was found to be the biggest driver of business value, accounting for 43% of a company’s overall value.
Beyond emotional connection, brand experience has other benefits:
No matter how good your product or service is, your startup will fall short of its potential if you don’t provide a positive experience.
Start by defining your brand’s values, personality, and mission to create a foundation for your brand experience strategy. Use a brand archetype to frame your identity, voice, and emotional connection with your target audience. Next, you’ll need to understand your target audience’s desires to tailor your brand experience to their needs.
After establishing your brand values and target market, map out every touchpoint where customers interact with you. Design the experience for each touchpoint to align with your brand. You can run a brand audit to assess strengths, weaknesses, and areas of improvement in your brand touchpoints. Based on your audit findings, you can build a visual identity, optimize brand voice, and simplify customer interactions to shape the overall perception of your brand.
Gather customer insight to understand their experiences and expectations using surveys, online reviews, social media listening, and direct interactions. Look for patterns in customer sentiments to identify areas that need improvement. You can also track market trends and explore innovative ways to improve the customer experience and ensure your brand experience stays relevant and engaging as customers’ expectations evolve.
An effective brand experience requires continuous evaluation. To assess the effectiveness of your strategies, set key performance indicators such as customer satisfaction scores, net promoter scores, brand sentiment analysis, and engagement metrics. Then, use analytic tools to track these metrics to identify gaps and adjust your strategy.
Apple has a devoted customer base shaped by its consistent brand experience. From sleek product design to intuitive software and a highly engaging in-store experience, every touchpoint works together to create a cohesive brand experience that highlights style, innovation, minimalism, and functionality. Its products are premium and user-friendly — qualities Apple fans value the most. Apple’s brand experience has made even its product announcements major events — something that helps Apple stay on top of consumers’ minds, whether they’re in the market to buy or not.
Starbucks discovered that personalization and community-building drive a lasting brand experience. So, the company features personalization programs, such as writing names on cups, to create a sense of familiarity and connection. The company also integrates sustainability efforts, which make customers feel like they are part of a large purpose.
The right brand experience builds long-term customer relationships. At Pixel Pocket, we’ll offer you the expertise to create a seamless, engaging, and memorable brand presence to elevate your brand experience. Our experts will help you build a brand identity, design user-centered visuals that adapt to different platforms, and ensure your branding efforts align with your business values and customers’ expectations. Book a call today to discuss how Pixel Pocket design methodologies can help you create an emotional connection with customers.
The four types of branding experience focus on how customers interact with and perceive your brand:
You can measure brand experience by tracking key metrics that reflect how customers perceive and interact with your business. For instance, you can gather direct feedback, do sentiment analysis, track customer engagement, or measure repeat purchase rates.
