It should come as no surprise that one of the most effective ways of marketing a brand is to humanise it. Here’s how it can be done.
Machines were meant to make our lives easier, and in many ways they do.
We can get money from the bank without having to go into the branch; shop and have parcels delivered without speaking to a human; use public transport without first waiting at the ticket window.
Yet, we are humans and we do need (and crave) human connection.
So, it should come as no surprise that one of the most effective ways of marketing a brand has turned out to be humanising it.
What does it mean to ‘humanise’ your marketing?
Humanising your brand means showing the world that your company is made up of people, creating products and services for people. It sounds like a no-brainer but think about your recent marketing activity.
How much of the focus was on the product or the business? How much was on the people delivering it or those purchasing it?
Why is humanising your brand so important?
Basically, customers like people a whole lot more than they like companies. They trust people more than big brands, and they are more likely to purchase from a personal recommendation than a glossy commercial.
Similarly, marketing is all about relationships: developing them, nurturing them, converting them to sales.
Humanising your brand helps you build trust and relationships, and all your marketing efforts should be devised with the objective of building that connection.
How to humanise your brand
1. Look at your core values and company culture
If you want to incorporate a human touch in your marketing activity, you want to first be clear about your company’s core values and make sure your company culture is one you want to promote.
Your management should breathe the company’s values into every aspect of their work and decision-making, and empower staff to live those values in their own work and behaviour.
Showcasing your staff includes celebrating achievements and rewarding innovation; it’s telling the world that your staff care about the services they provide and the customers they are providing for.
Importantly, it illustrates that your brand isn’t just about making profits.
2. Personalise your brand’s tone of voice
A common mistake we see is brands that believe that promoting themselves as serious professionals means taking away the human voice.
The truth is, adding a human voice doesn’t detract from professionalism, it shows that there are humans performing the professionalism.
The easiest way to start humanising your brand is to speak to your customers as a person, using similar language. Avoid jargon, acronyms, or the desire to impress using very big words and convoluted sentences.
3. Speak your customer’s language
Now consider how that personification might speak to your customer.
Think about what customers would like to know about the people producing their products or delivering their service.
For instance, the voice of an accounting firm might be knowledgeable and confident, yet reassuring and kind, while the voice of a brand that produces activewear might be energetic and a little bit sassy.
4. Infuse humour into your brand
Humour is something that brands traditionally steered clear of, falsely thinking it makes them look silly or unprofessional, but here’s a fun fact about humans: we like other humans who make us smile.
Humour delights and inspires and creates a connection between brands and customers.
Importantly, humour is shared on social media, which can really increase reach and lead generation, and we see this a lot with responses to customer feedback or reviews on social media platforms.
5. Focus on helping, not selling
We know that all marketing efforts should answer these three questions:
- What is your customer’s issue or problem?
- How can you resolve it?
- Why is your company the best to resolve it?
Yet, too often, brands focus on the latter two – what they sell and why they are so awesome.
Humanising brands means shifting the focus to the first point. It’s telling them that you see their issue and that you want to help. It’s focusing on how your product or service will benefit them, not you.
6. Engage with your audience
Humans talk in conversations, you know those things where one person says something, the other responds to them, the first person responds to that.
Humanising your brand involves commenting on posts and responding to reviews; it’s sharing the social media content created by customers that features your product. It’s live chat on websites and social media accounts; live stream videos.
It’s answering customer queries by email promptly; making sure your stores are staffed adequately by attentive, customer-focused staff.
Speak to the marketing experts
When it comes to infusing a human touch in your marketing, it takes, well, humans!
Assemblo is a full-service marketing agency based in Melbourne, comprising a team of friendly people who know a thing or two about turning brands from impersonal businesses into those that people welcome into their lives.
To find out how we can help your business, give us a call on (03) 9079 2555 or send us a note via the contact form below.