Engage the Eye: Do Your Customers See the Difference?
You may say your brand is unique, but can your customers see the difference?
Sticky Brands are visibly brands. You can see the difference. They stand out like an orange tree in an evergreen forest.
You can see it in their website. You can see it in their products. You can see it in their employees, and the way they present themselves. Every customer touchpoint reinforces the visual experience of the brand.
And this is so important today, because your customers judge your brand with their eyes.
Our eyes influence our decisions
You are more prone to agree with an attractive person than an unattractive person.
In the late seventies Dr. Shelly Chaiken, a researcher and expert in persuasion, proved how people are persuaded by attractive people.
Dr. Chaiken ran a fascinating experiment. She recruited a group of students at the University of Massachusetts to persuade their fellow students to petition the university to ban the sale of meat products on campus.
As you can imagine, banning the sale of meat in the seventies was a pretty audacious request. Vegetarianism was not widely accepted, or even acknowledged, at the time.
What's fascinating about the study is not the request, but the approach. The students recruited into the study were divided into two groups: presenters of high physical appeal, and presenters of low physical appeal. The hots and the not-so-hots.
The study clearly demonstrated the power of attraction.
The students who received the message from an attractive presenter were more inclined to agree that meat shouldn't be sold on campus. The students who heard it from the unattractive presenter? Not so much.
Attractive brands are better brands
We are constantly bombarded with visual stimuli.
In our technology-driven society we rely on our sense of sight above all our other senses. Our sense of taste, touch, and smell do not play a major role in most business-to-business purchases, because we cannot rely on those senses.
As a result, we naturally gravitate towards companies that deliver a better visual experience. We assume a more visually attractive product or brand must be a better brand.
Make your brand visibly different for customers
Creating an attractive brand has never been more important.
We are glued to our smartphones, tablets, and computers. We find information on Google and get directed to websites. In 10 seconds or less you will make a snap judgment on a website based on its visual appeal.
Look at every touchpoint your customers move through when experiencing your business and brand. Then assess your brand's visual appeal. Are you engaging your customers' eyes? Is your brand visibly different?
