Branding 101: How To Build Customer Loyalty With Brand Voice

Summary

In this engaging video, Alex Cattoni walks viewers through the crucial importance of branding, particularly focusing on brand voice. She elaborates on how a unique brand voice is critical in creating irrational loyalty among customers and offers a comprehensive five-step branding exercise to help businesses define and enhance their brand identity. With examples from major brands like Apple, Trader Joe's, Lululemon, Starbucks, and Ikea, Alex illustrates how successful branding aligns with customers' core values and fears, keeping them coming back despite stiff competition.

Highlights

• Discover how to make fans without splurging on flashy marketing. 🎉💰
• Branding expert Deb Gabor shares insights on creating irrational loyalty. 💡🤝
• Explore brands like Apple and Lululemon who've nailed brand voice alignment. 🍏🧘‍♀️
• Learn to define your USP, mission, and story for a cohesive brand voice. 📢📖
• Tap into customers' emotional connections for lasting brand relationships. ❤️🔗

Key Takeaways

• Branding goes beyond visuals; it's about creating a unique voice. 🎨🗣️
• A strong brand voice can build irrational loyalty, making customers feel like they're cheating if they switch brands. 🛎️💖
• Aligning brand values with customer values is essential for success. 🤝✨
• Five fundamental brand voice components: USP, Mission Statement, Brand Story, Personality, and Values. 📜🌟
• Understanding customers' core fears and desires can create a more compelling brand connection. 🧠🚀

Overview

In the ever-evolving world of marketing, branding stands as a pillar. Alex Cattoni dissects the concept of brand voice, a critical yet often overlooked aspect of branding. By aligning your brand's voice with customers' core values and fears, you can build deep emotional connections and foster irrational loyalty—thus distinguishing yourself from the competition.

The video spotlights successful brands like Apple and Trader Joe's, showing how they've mastered brand voice to create devoted customer bases. Alex emphasizes the importance of brand elements like Unique Selling Proposition (USP), Mission Statement, Brand Story, Personality, and Values, which collectively form a strong brand voice.

For those eager to refine their brand strategy, Alex offers a five-step exercise to develop a unique brand voice. This guide encourages entrepreneurs to harness storytelling, define their USP, and understand their audience to create an unforgettable brand experience that resonates emotionally and keeps customers engaged.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction to Branding This chapter introduces the concept of branding as a pivotal strategy for creating a dedicated audience without heavy investment in promotions or marketing. It emphasizes that branding is crucial to success, independent of other business factors like business plans or email lists. The chapter sets the tone for a five-step branding exercise aimed at enhancing one's branding approach.
• 00:30 - 01:00: Importance of Brand Voice The chapter highlights the role of a unique brand voice in fostering customer retention.
• 01:00 - 01:30: Defining Brand Voice In this chapter titled 'Defining Brand Voice', the importance of establishing a clear and consistent brand voice is emphasized. The brand voice is described as a crucial element that influences every aspect of business, including sales, marketing, and customer service, as well as the type of content shared with the audience. It plays a key role in energizing customers about the product or service and is highlighted as the primary reason for customer retention. The chapter underscores that a well-defined brand voice is critical in fostering long-term customer loyalty.
• 01:30 - 02:00: Irrational Loyalty Through Branding The chapter 'Irrational Loyalty Through Branding' discusses the concept of creating a deep emotional connection between a brand and its customers. Deb Gabor explains that when branding is executed correctly, it results in 'irrational loyalty,' where customers feel so connected to the brand that buying from competitors would feel like infidelity. This emotional bond is essential as it ensures customer retention, even against competitions offering superior or cheaper products. Successful branding persuades customers to pay a premium, valuing their connection over comparable alternatives.
• 02:00 - 02:30: Five Elements of Brand Voice The chapter focuses on the five critical elements that constitute a strong brand voice, essential for successful branding that fosters irrational loyalty among customers. The speaker emphasizes the importance of a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) as the first crucial element of brand voice. The chapter promises to end with fresh examples of businesses employing effective branding strategies.
• 02:30 - 03:00: Unique Selling Proposition (USP) The chapter discusses the concept of a Unique Selling Proposition (USP), which is a key element that differentiates a brand from its competitors. It should highlight a specific benefit or unique feature that other brands do not offer. The USP answers the question of why someone should choose your brand over others by clearly communicating what you offer, who you serve, and how you accomplish it. Understanding these aspects can effectively position your business or brand as a leader in the industry.
• 03:00 - 04:00: Mission Statement The chapter 'Mission Statement' emphasizes the pivotal role a mission statement plays in forming the core message of a brand or business. It illustrates how a mission statement reflects the brand's intention, purpose, and core values, such as helping customers achieve their goals. The chapter provides an example of the Copy Posse, a company that empowers copywriters and entrepreneurs globally, underscoring the importance of crafting mission statements that inspire, intrigue, and motivate the audience.
• 04:00 - 05:00: Brand Story This chapter delves into the core purpose and mission of a brand, emphasizing the importance of understanding and communicating 'why' a business exists. It highlights the need for a business to distinguish itself from competitors who might offer similar products or services. The chapter suggests viewing this understanding of purpose as a rallying cry that guides the brand and its stakeholders.
• 05:00 - 06:00: Brand Personality This chapter emphasizes the concept of brand personality as a unifying element that aligns people with a common cause, purpose, or belief. Using the Copy Posse as an example, it highlights the combination of authentic storytelling and effective marketing as the key components of impactful copywriting. The focus is on moving away from outdated and insincere online tactics, uniting skilled copywriters to change this narrative and foster a caring, genuine online environment.
• 06:00 - 07:00: Brand Values The chapter 'Brand Values' emphasizes the importance of creating an emotional connection with customers through a compelling brand story. Research shows that 80% of customers are more likely to recommend brands they feel emotionally connected to, and 70% of those customers are willing to spend up to twice as much on brands they are loyal to. A strong and relatable brand story is crucial to building this kind of emotional engagement. HubSpot defines a brand story as the account of events that inspired the creation of a company.
• 07:00 - 08:00: Examples of Effective Branding The chapter titled 'Examples of Effective Branding' delves into the significance of storytelling in establishing a compelling brand narrative. It highlights how a brand's backstory should resonate with audiences in a way similar to superhero origin stories. The narrative should include three critical turning points: the status quo, which represents the existing condition or challenge faced; the challenge itself; and the outcome or resolution. The chapter emphasizes the importance of a strong brand story in a brand's voice and messaging, urging copywriters to excel in crafting such narratives.
• 08:00 - 09:00: Conclusion and Further Resources The chapter titled 'Conclusion and Further Resources' serves as a wrap-up for the book. It discusses the typical structure of a compelling story, focusing on the elements of conflict, discovery, and resolution. The chapter emphasizes the importance of telling your brand's origin story in a way that resonates emotionally with customers. It also introduces the fourth element of a memorable brand voice: personality, highlighting the importance of showcasing real qualities in your brand. The author mentions a link to their own about page for further exploration of their origin story.

Branding 101: How To Build Customer Loyalty With Brand Voice Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 Wanna know how to create an audience of raving fans without having to spend thousands of dollars on big promotions or fancy marketing strategies? Well, then there is one very important thing that you must get right. And it has nothing to do with your business plan or how long you've been around or how many people are on your email list or even how good your marketing is. I know shocker. But I am talking about one very important thing called branding. And in this video, I'm gonna walk you through a simple five step branding exercise
• 00:30 - 01:00 that can help you create a unique brand voice and keep your customers coming back again and again. Stay tuned. (lively music) Hey, posse what's up? It's Alex and I am very excited for this tutorial because I firmly believe this is something that far too many brands and businesses overlook. Yep, I'm talking about branding and I am not just talking about visual branding, you know, the colors, the fonts, the logos and the imagery of your brand.
• 01:00 - 01:30 There is another part of branding that is so overlooked, but so, so important. Of course I am talking about your brand voice. Your brand voice is very important. It's what ultimately dictates everything you do in your business, from how you approach sales and marketing to how you handle customer service. And even the type of content you post. Your brand voice is what helps your customers get excited about investing in your product or service. And it is the number one reason why a customer comes back again and again and again. Just like my friend and branding expert
• 01:30 - 02:00 Deb Gabor says, "When you get branding right, you create a rational loyalty, a condition where people are so bonded to your brand that they would feel like they were cheating on you, if they were to go buy something else." And that is exactly the type of feeling you want to induce in your customers, that bond, that connection, because that is what will keep them coming back. Even if a competitor comes up with something bigger, better and bolder, that is why they'll pay five times more for your product than they would for some Joe Schmo product that does exactly the same thing. And that is what will help you sell
• 02:00 - 02:30 out your product launches before customers even know what the hell they're buying. Trust me, this has happened to me before and I promise you it all has to do with my brand voice. So there are 5 very crucial elements that make up a strong brand voice. And today I am dishing out some fresh perspective and brand new examples of brands and businesses that are building irrational loyalty through branding done right. Now I save the examples 'til the end. So be sure to stick around and let's get started with brand voice element number one. Your Unique Selling Proposition or USP.
• 02:30 - 03:00 Your USP is a single statement that succinctly embodies the one thing that differentiates your brand from your competitors. It promises a specific benefit or a unique feature that other brands and businesses don't have. This is what makes you stand out and answers the question, why would someone buy from you over the competition? Your USP should very clearly communicate these three things. What you offer, who you serve, and how you do it? Getting clear on these three things will help position your brand or business as the key
• 03:00 - 03:30 to helping your customers achieve their goals. So, as an example, the Copy Posse helps rad copywriters and entrepreneurs around the world ignite their businesses with modern copywriting tips training and strategies that work today. Alright, moving on to brand voice element number two. Your mission statement. Now this is one of the strongest messages you can communicate as a brand or business because it's setting the intention behind your brand. It conveys your purpose or why you are here in a way that intrigues, inspires, and motivates
• 03:30 - 04:00 both your customers and the people within your organization. It's your way of answering the question? Why are you here? Like really? Why are you here? Why do you exist as an entrepreneur, a brand or a business? Because here's the reality. We know that there are other brands and businesses and people who are out there doing, selling and offering something very similar, if not identical to what you're offering. So why then? Why did you choose to go into business? And what is it exactly that you wanna do better or different? Think of this as your rallying cry?
• 04:00 - 04:30 It is the thing that brings everyone together for a common cause, a common purpose or a strong belief. So, as an example, at the Copy Posse we believe that the best copywriting combines the power of authentic brand storytelling with proven direct response marketing principles. And we are so over the scammy and severely outdated tactics we see being used online today. That is why we are rallying the raddest, baddest crew of copywriters around the planet to help us with one mission: dedouchify the internet one word at a time and make caring cool again.
• 04:30 - 05:00 So if you're on board with that mission posse give me a thumbs up below. And here comes number three on my list, brand story. So according to research, 80% of customers are more likely to recommend brands they emotionally connect with. And 70% of those emotionally engaged customers will be willing to spend up to two times or more on brands they are emotionally loyal to. So how can you foster an emotional connection? Well, through a powerful and relatable brand story. HubSpot defines brand story as the recount of the series of events that sparked your company's inception
• 05:00 - 05:30 and expresses how that narrative still drives your mission today. This is where the art of storytelling comes into your brand voice and messaging. And as copywriters, you guys should be absolutely crushing this. Think about it. Most people know the backstory behind their favorite heroes and villains because they are compelling and memorable. And yes, just like a superhero's origin story a strong brand story covers three important turning points. The status quo, this is the old norm or the aggravating situation that eventually led you to number two, the challenge, right?
• 05:30 - 06:00 Basically some form of a problem, conflict or adversity that disrupted the status quo and motivated you to find number three, the discovery. This is the epiphany or the resolution that led you on a personal journey towards ultimately starting your business. And remember you wanna tell this story in a way that your customers can emotionally relate to. So I'll link to my about page below. So you can read more about my origin story. Alright, now onto the fourth element of a memorable brand voice. Number four, personality. Your brand personality is about the real qualities,
• 06:00 - 06:30 expressions and emotions it embodies the most. Yes, you need to give your brand human characteristics. Identifying your brand personality is a lot of fun and it will play a huge role in determining the flow, the tone and the feel of your copywriting and messaging. So is your brand conversational and playful? Loud and assertive? A young millennial who loves to travel? A genius, a billionaire, a Playboy, a philanthropist? What are the defining characteristics that make your brand you? Now, another part of your brand personality
• 06:30 - 07:00 is your phraseology or the common phrases saying, words, sign offs or slang that you tend to use most in your marketing or content and customer communication. So you might have noticed that here at the Copy Posse I tend to say a few things over and over and over again, like benny, that's my word for benefit. The Right Phrase Pays. Ciao for now. Rad, I love that word. I know it's like from the 80s, but I love it. These are all my go-to phrases that I come back to again and again and again. And my audience knows that they're the foundational phrases of my brand.
• 07:00 - 07:30 So they've come to expect them in my messaging. If I were to suddenly stop saying one of those phrases or use a different phrase in its place it would probably throw my audience off and make them think what? That doesn't sound like Alex. Who's writing these emails? So having a few phrases and words that you always use as a brand or business is important because it keeps your messaging consistent and cohesive across all platforms and lets your audience know. Yep, that's the Copy Posse. So when I'm working with clients to create a brand voice guide, I'll create a glossary of their most common phraseology, so that it can be given to everyone who communicates
• 07:30 - 08:00 on behalf of the company, all the way from the, you know traffic team, to the customer support team. Alright, now our final must have brand voice component is number five, values. So your brand values represent what your brand stands for, which is also what you, the person or team behind the business stand for. These are the guiding principles that shape every single aspect of your business, from your message to your customer experience, to the buying journey to your refund policies, everything, right? Once you've got a good idea of your USP, mission statement and brand story,
• 08:00 - 08:30 it's time to strip all of that down to your core values. Now, if this is something that you're really struggling to identify or you're going to those generic words that you just hear all the time, remember you can always refer back to your customer avatar or your ideal customer. And that's because as a brand you want your values to mirror your customers' values. Alright, now, are you ready to see some brands that have nailed their branding and built up a massive fan base of irrational loyal customers based almost exclusively on their core values and then also speaking
• 08:30 - 09:00 to their customers' greatest fears? I know I am. So the first example on my list is Apple. Probably the ultimate example of irrational loyalty. Most of us Apple fanatics know damn well that there are probably better versions, I know, I can't believe I'm saying this, of many of Apple's products, but that doesn't mean that we're ever going to make switch to Android or Google or I don't even know who else makes phones or laptops. Apple has nailed their branding down so well. And the reason it works is because they have meshed their branding directly with their audience's core value and greatest fear,
• 09:00 - 09:30 their core value, innovation. Their greatest fear to be inauthentic or mediocre. Alright, let's move on to Trader Joe's. So let's be honest. If you're in the health grocery store business it's kind of hard to compete with Whole Foods that is unless your Trader Joe's. The people who love Trader Joe's love trader Joe's and they won't shop anywhere else. Whole Foods included. And that's because Trader Joe's nails their branding. They are fun, whimsical, gourmet, and cost-effective. Their number one core value, pleasure.
• 09:30 - 10:00 Their greatest fear being bored or boring others. Alright, now let's move on to one of my favorite brands, Lululemon. So who would pay a hundred dollars for a pair of yoga pants? Thousands of people around the world would as long as they're Lululemons. So this brand definitely has an irrationally loyal customer base, again, because they're branding and messaging directly aligns with their customer's core values and greatest fears. That core value, intimacy. But not intimacy in the way that you might think. Their fear is being alone, being unwanted, unloved or a wallflower.
• 10:00 - 10:30 Yep, look it up. Next on the list is Starbucks. Now love 'em or hate them, you have to admit they have a great irrationally loyal following. Starbucks is arguably one of the most successful and popular coffee chains in the entire world. And that is because they don't just serve coffee. They serve you an entire brand experience that is rooted in their core value, freedom. Their customer's biggest fear is getting trapped, conformity and inner emptiness. I mean, think about it. You go in a Starbucks, you can order a extra hot,
• 10:30 - 11:00 extra foam grande soy latte with three pumps of vanilla syrup, if you want it. And they're gonna write that down on that cup and you are gonna get your absolute favorite drink because you value freedom. And the last example on my list Ikea, everyone's favorite one stop furniture shop. Well, maybe if you're in college. I don't really shop much there anymore, but I have to admit, I really love Ikea. Ikea is notoriously known for its complicated instructions and frustrating time consuming installations,
• 11:00 - 11:30 but that doesn't stop their fans from flocking to them for every piece of simple and affordable furniture they need. Why? Because their branding speaks directly to what their customers crave the most. Their core value, belonging. They just wanna have a nice place like everybody else, right? And their greatest fear is to be left out or to stand out from the crowd. Alright, there, you have it. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial on brand voice. And if you wanna learn more about brand voice I highly recommend you check out Deb Gabor's book, "Branding is Sex." And if you wanna learn more about creating brand messaging that's centered around your customer's core values,
• 11:30 - 12:00 desires, drives and fears, then check out my own Own the Inbox challenge where we dive deep into customer archetypes, buying psychology and email marketing. You can learn more about that at the link below. I will see you next week with a brand new video until then I'm Alex, ciao for now. Alright, guys, if you enjoyed that video make sure to check out the next one from me right here. And you can click right here to get a free gift. Do not make branding an afterthought in your marketing. In this video, I am sharing five absolutely crucial elements
• 12:00 - 12:30 of your brand that you must get right before you write.