Founder & Head Coach/CEO, The Funds2Orgs Group.
getty
In life and business, I've found that the cornerstone for interactions and relationships is persuasion. The fact is, most of us want to be relatable to others and persuade them to join us. When brands are persuasive, they can foster a loyal customer base. And one powerful way to persuade consumers is to be relatable. Relatability is the art of connecting with others on a personal level.
How can brands do this? Let's look at a few examples.
• Bean & Bean, a coffee shop brand started by a mother-daughter duo in New York City, fosters customer loyalty from those who want to support women-owned businesses and who share the brand's values—in this case, sourcing fair-trade and organic coffee beans. Bean & Bean has a relatable story centered on values and human connection.
• My own brands cultivate relatability on a more internal scale. Through mentorship and other approaches, we invest a lot in nurturing the next group of leaders from within our companies. This resonates with team members looking for a clear growth path. We also share our impacts—how our mission helps organizations and workers in developing nations and how we're taking steps toward sustainability.
• A brand that has been ensuring relatability and changing with the times is Nike. Through the years, it's made a point of promoting the values, attitudes and ideas its target audience wants to see in the brand. For instance, Nike's "Just Do It" campaign, which started in 1988, remains iconic. When the ex-NFL player Colin Kaepernick kneeled in 2016 during the National Anthem "to protest social injustice and police brutality," Nike remained with him and placed him front and center in its ads and brand.
The Persuasive Power Of Relatability
So, why is relatability so persuasive? The answer is straightforward. People like a sense of community, camaraderie and belonging. When your brand is relatable to your target audience, and when people see what they value in your brand positioning, they don't see you any longer as just any other business.
What’s the easiest way to persuade people to want to do business with you? I think you know the answer. We all have to be ourselves. As a global entrepreneur, I know it's not always easy. However, we can't be all things to all people. Know what you stand for, and represent that as much as possible at every turn.
How To Become A Customer Favorite
Although some of my brands are social enterprises, I also run a marketing company. So, we're always looking to market and position our client brands and those we serve independently of us in relatable and persuasive ways. What are some of the things we do to achieve this? Here's a short list:
• Storytelling: Share stories about the great work you're doing. Social media makes this really easy! Share behind-the-scenes sneak peeks, social good impacts and partner stories. Make sure to be fun and engaging.
• Listen, Listen, Listen: An essential value of a team to be relatable is to listen. Show genuine interest in your customers and listen when they share how they feel about your company. By actively listening, you can gain insights and offer thoughtful responses.
• Express Gratitude: People like to be appreciated. Make it a point to thank your partners and followers often. It seems so easy to do, but many people and brands don't do it. For us, it's a core value.
• Problem Solve: Strive every day to be excellent, but understand that things don't always turn out as expected. Another significant thing is to resolve customer issues swiftly. By resolving issues that arise, you show customers that you care.
• Education Value: You're experts in what you do, but your customers may not be. So, showcase your thought leadership and provide lots of free value. For example, we have plenty of resources, e-books, online guides and video content that we give away to educate and inform. People love it.
These tips in the shortlist above highlight what I consider essential. These are some of the things we believe in, and they help us to be an authentic brand with real people who care about their partners and are having fun and doing good. In the process, we've seen how it's allowed us to grow a large market share in the business because we're always looking to relate to people, and in the process, we persuade them to become part of our community.
Forbes Business Development Council is an invitation-only community for sales and biz dev executives. Do I qualify?
