If Nike were a person, would you be friends?
It sounds weird, but you know exactly what I’m talking about because Nike has successfully developed a brand personality – you either get on, or you don’t. What about Apple? Would you have them over for dinner? Or invite Coca-Cola to a party?
Businesses use brand personalities to build consumer trust by aligning themselves with personality traits that their target audience values. So let’s break it down for a minute, and take a look at some smaller brands to see how their brand personalities match with their ideal customers.
- Monzo (banking) – Friendly, approachable, organised, sleek
- Oatly (oat milk, unsurprisingly) – Witty, cheeky, fun
- Nespresso (coffee) – Sharp, sophisticated, debonair
- Elsie & Fred (online clothing brand) – Funky, bubbly, vibrant, playful
- Cub & Pudding (kid’s clothes) – Bold, unique, striking
The reason these brand personalities seem so human is because they are – they’re designed to feel like human traits so we can better connect with the brands associated with the personalities we like. It might feel like a minor part of your branding strategy, but actually, a solid brand personality can have a HUGE impact on buying behaviour. In fact, according to the smart minds at Harvard Business School, “95% of purchasing decisions are based on feelings instead of logic,” meaning connecting with your audience (aka befriending them and having nice chats) can have a direct impact on the financial success of your business. Woohoo!
Let’s take a deeper look at how building a strong brand personality can be beneficial for you and your business.
It helps you stand out from the crowd
In the digital age, it’s more and more important to create a personality that cuts through the noise and helps you find your target audience. Even the biggest brands spend years perfecting their brand personality to connect with the people that they know will likely become loyal customers. It might feel like a lot of work now, but it’s so worth it.
It makes your brand more memorable
In an ideal world, you want to be the brand that springs to mind when your target audience is ready to buy – and what’s more memorable than a good friend? As humans, we remember how we feel about a brand more than anything else (like stats, reviews and their logo) so creating a memorable brand personality will help you take first place in your customers’ minds.
It helps you build trust and loyalty
Trust is one of the most essential ingredients in landing a customer, and loyalty is one of the greatest things a brand can gain from nurturing that relationship. If you can create a brand personality that your target customer likes, aligns with, and trusts, you’re onto a winner!
It helps ensure your messaging is clear
A solid brand personality isn’t just great for your customers, it also helps your brand stay focused in terms of messaging. We know clear, consistent messaging is key when it comes to branding, and your brand personality can help guide your communication style to authentically engage with your target audience. If you ever work with freelancers or a VA, for example, your brand personality can help them figure out which emojis to use, and your tone of voice. After all, if you’re speaking to a corporate audience, you’ll want to use a very different tone than if you’re speaking to a room full of new creative grads.
It helps you attract your ideal customers
The bottom line is, we can’t all be friends – but defining your brand personality and using it to lead your brand messaging will attract the people who are interested in what you do. For example, Nike’s assertive yet empowering ‘Just Do It’ slogan works great for their athletic pals but the same slogan wouldn’t work so well for a brand with a more friendly, charitable personality. It comes down to knowing your ideal customers inside out, understanding how they think and feel, and being in-the-know when it comes to the lingo they use.
I know that it can be tricky honing on your brand personality, and you don’t have to go it alone. If you’d like a helping hand in getting under the skin of your ideal customers, and creating a brand they LOVE, drop me a message and let’s chat about how we can work together.