Time to turn your brand into a “lovemark”?

It would not be surprising if you see someone who has just bought a product, for example, the iPhone 15, with its beautiful monolithic titanium shell, wanting to “show off” whether implicitly or openly about the product they just got.

But that will be rarer, with someone who owns a phone, even the latest from Oppo, or Xiaomi. With Samsung, there may be uhum, a few cases.

Oh, this suddenly makes us think, in the relationship between customers and brands, (or further, many other relationships in life) only include “bindings” of benefits, or more, will there be love, respect, trust, affection…? The writer of the news, you have the answer.

(And I am smiling).

Going back in history, nearly 20 years ago, Kelvin Roberts – CEO of advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi was also a pioneer in realizing what would help brands in the problem of attracting customers:

Lovemark!

Yes, when everyone was doing marketing, many people focused more on branding (I write this seriously, not joking when observing that just in the past month, in my small network, there were 10 brands doing repositioning)…

Okay, in this revolution, some people quickly saw the story, more clearly: Shopping, if you pay attention, will always be an emotional, personal event for many people. And in the era of marketing 5.0, basically every personality, every emotion, has been “treated” by businesses to customers.

Frankly, we don’t have much new to bring to our target audience!

Therefore, those who do branding and marketing need to continue to “pour” new “winds” into this business-customer relationship. And if it is not love- lovemark, then what “wind” is more powerful?

Unlike the recognition of trademarks, brands or trustmarks, which are mainly used rationally, lovemarks refer to brands that are loved, recognized and remembered by customers through emotions.

Lovemark, is when you are also a friend, grumpy when having to wait even 5 minutes when the shipper has not arrived, but can also wait for years, patiently, for a product without a single complaint.

When thinking about these stories, and looking back at the activities of your business, the writer wonders, do you dream of people also standing in long lines waiting to buy your products, then excitedly sharing about it?

If the answer is yes, then transforming your brand into a lovemark, I believe, should be your number one priority!

Easier said than done. The next question to ask is, what has your brand prepared to treat users to, with a feast that captivates the senses, or just cold dishes, in a world of too much?

So, what do I need to do to transform from brand to lovemark?

“People may forget what you said, they may forget what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel.”

Maya Angelou

When thinking back to love, is it also the foundation of a sometimes mysterious feeling (there is always something new to discover), a sensory appeal (through sounds, images, tastes…) and an intimacy that helps bond the relationship? From there, it distinguishes a normal relationship, and a love relationship (broader than a couple)?

If in the narrow scope of love is like that, then expanding to the scope between businesses and customers, you will not be surprised, the lovemark of the business, according to Kelvin Roberts, is exactly the sum of these three factors.

Mystery

One of the three main ingredients is "Mystery".

Mystery lies in the stories, the legends from the past, present and future. Mystery brings many extraordinary results because it directly conveys a marketing message that is both accurate and humane to the public, thereby arousing in them a certain curiosity and connection to the brand.

Coca Cola’s Secret Vault

All the best brands, the ones that inspire love and devotion, the ones that make us open our wallets, successfully create similar emotions in people. They believe in what they do. They are not the invention of cynical “marketers.” They are what they say they are. They have a set of values ​​and everyone in their organization, from the CEO down, lives by them.

Sensory Appeal/Seduction

The second ingredient is “Sensory Appeal.”

Any product can capitalize on unique attributes that appeal to the consumer’s senses (hearing, seeing, tasting, touching, etc.).

Nike’s famous TV commercial (‘Last’) is about a marathon. But it focuses not on the person in front, as you might expect, but on the tired woman limping to the end. It clearly illustrates the importance of emotional connections. It evokes a strong emotional response.

It’s the product of a company that has a deep understanding of its target audience. Nike speaks to all of us. Nike isn’t selling us running shoes. Nike is telling people something about themselves. Everyone knows what it’s like to struggle. Everyone knows what it’s like to not be the best but not give up.

Nike’s mission statement is built around a phrase coined by co-founder Bill Bowerman: “If you have a body, you’re an athlete.” Now, that’s something everyone can achieve.

Martin Lindstrom, author of “Buy.ology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy,” argues that the power of the senses not only helps customers remember brands longer, but can also evoke different emotions in their souls.

Accordingly, Martin Lindstrom did a small experiment, by putting 600 women in a room and showing each of them a jade green box, with no logo and nothing inside. However, all the women participating in the survey when seeing the box, their heart rate immediately increased by 20%.

And Martin Lindstrom and his colleagues noted something quite interesting, that is, because jade green - the color that makes women think of engagement, weddings and children, so when they see the jade green box, they immediately think of an engagement ring from a famous jewelry brand.

Beloved brands always know how to ask themselves, "What does our brand smell, taste, look like, sound like and feel like?" These are not easy questions, but the best brands know how to ask themselves, then find the answer.

“When you tell a story that moves me, you give me the gift of human attention — something that connects me to you, touches my heart, and makes me feel more alive.”

Annette Simmons, storytelling expert

Attachment

Humans are driven by emotions, not reason. Emotions lead to action, reason leads to conclusions”

Donald Caloe- Neuroscientist

And the final factor is “Intimacy” which comes from frequent encounters, empathy, commitment, enthusiasm, and loyalty.

According to a survey called Marketing Planning Guide 2022 by Mobile Marketing Services Company 3Cinteractive (USA), up to 70% of consumers want to sign up for brand loyalty programs, want to be attached and have a recognition for the time and money they spend shopping and supporting the brand.

Being trustworthy by keeping promises is also the way brands like Domino's Pizza (commit to deliver within 30 minutes, if late, give customers a free pizza), like FedEx (commit to deliver to customers the next night) ... have tried to do to build customer trust.

The great man in the marketing world, Seth Godin, once shared: "Loving a brand is easier when it loves you back."

It can be seen that love is the strongest thing in the world, not bought, not sold, not forced. Only by giving love can we receive it. In that sense, brands also need the love of customers. Because once it becomes a lovemark, the brand can receive loyalty and protection from consumers, creating a deep emotional connection with consumers, bringing sustainable and long-term value and its own appropriate position in the competition, not an ordinary brand.

But beyond love, what else?

While customers can love a product without reason, a business’s success in building that love is certainly not accidental.

Clearly, the path to building a “heart-touching” brand, from “brand” to “lovemark”, is not simple. Emotions are not everything. If “love” is the highest level of emotion, then the highest level of reason is “respect”. In other words, the highest level of an emotional brand (a lovemark) must be the sum of Love & Respect.

Kevin Duncan describes this concept in more traditional marketing terms, noting that there are “two axes”, one of which runs from low to high respect, and the other from low to high love.

For a brand to rise to the “lovemark” category, it must be high on both axes at the same time. Duncan thus sums up the concept in one sentence: “Creating loyalty beyond reason requires emotional connections that create the highest level of love and respect for your brand.”

And even though it is a Lovemark, is it still necessary to have a Benefit-mark?

I believe, there will be people who object to this point of view: So why is my brand full of love and respect for customers, as well as vice versa, but I can’t sell? And it is the love and respect that this relationship fosters that is putting pressure on me!

The writer wants to ask a question: But the minimum in business, is still the benefit, the value brought to customers, do you have it?

Lovemark, is only effective when the obvious thing that customers are looking for, is the benefit, the solution to their problem, has been solved. Lovemark helps you go one step further, and deeper in the journey to stay in the customer's mind, but cannot replace other factors.

Zappos, the world's largest online shoe store, operates with the motto: "Delivering Happiness", and that makes customers always full of emotions when interacting with the brand. But don't forget, Zappos' operating principle is still: "Free shipping. Both way".

According to the writer, it is not the feeling of "happiness" that makes Zappos successful. Zappos's formula for success is based on the slogan. That slogan is a commitment and reassurance to customers. What is the biggest problem that online shoppers have? That is poor quality products, not satisfactory, different from the image on the website and when ordering, there is a fee. Zappos was smart to offer a solution. "Free shipping. Two-way" makes customers trust. If they don't like the shoes, customers can return them and have them shipped both when receiving and when returning.

That rational thinking is the foundation of Zappos' success, not the emotion of "delivering happiness". "Delivering happiness" helps emphasize and attract customers to stay with Zappos, maintain love and respect so that this business-user relationship is more sustainable. That's it.

As a business person, I believe you understand and appreciate this better than me.

The basic principle of any marketing campaign: Increase brand awareness and convert awareness into purchase action.

If you create to add lovemarks – love marks for the brand as Kevin Roberts mentioned, that is ideal. However, if the emotions do not convert into buying actions, it is difficult to say that it is a successful marketing campaign.

In marketing, as the harsh but never wrong saying of the “King of Advertising” David Ogilvy said:

“If you can’t sell, there is no creativity“. David Ogilvy

So, let’s get to work, turn your brand into a lovemark, bring value and love to customers, receive rewards from them and continue to maintain this sustainable relationship, okay!

PS: Have you “poured” more love into your brand?