By and large, people buy goods and services for two reasons. One, to get rid of a problem they have and don’t want. Or two, to create a result they want but don’t have. By doing so, they believe it will improve their lives in some way, shape or form. And since any decision affecting your life is largely an emotional one, marketers, advertisers and/or sellers need to appeal to prospective customers on an emotional level.

Traditionally, the retail value equation was predicated on offering the best features at the lowest price. But because features can be, and usually are, copied shortly after introduction, cutthroat pricing dictated consumer behavior. When you take into account the evolution of the global competitive landscape and the shift in consumer priorities, you realize a new equation is mandatory. That much is evident from the rise of startups and the decline of retail giants whose business models were either unsustainable or are unable to compete in an ever-changing marketplace. The new equation should take into account quality and customer service, where expense takes a back seat to appeal, and arrives at a competitive price. It might not be the lowest price, but it needs to feel appropriate to the customer. Because in their most basic form, brands are extensions of belief systems. Their promise is a succinct expression that states what customers can come to expect when interacting with brands whether that be online or at the store. How can you ramp up your brand attraction? By dressing it up and maximizing its appeal. That doesn’t mean stop improving your product, customer service and/or the overall experience. That process is never ending. What it means is that you get to cast the light on your business in the most favorable way. Here are a few considerations to make when playing to your strengths.

Presence creates potential. How your marketing collateral and website look will determine how the public perceives you and your business and can decide how successful future marketing campaigns will do. Design is an essential part of any marketing campaign, and a necessity to compete in a media driven world, and it’s one of the easiest ways to separate your business from the competition. It’s the difference in a 40% bounce rate on your landing page and one that hovers around 10,000%. That’s actually not possible but rest assured that you are being judged at every single touch point by the very people you’re targeting.

Genuine interaction is key to building deeper relationships, but spamming out quasi-useless information won’t help you on this front. I included this in our entry on New Year Resolutions, but it’s worth repeating. More important than tweeting a frazillion times a day is having something compelling to say. One of the many upsides to social media is that it’s another platform for your prospects to touch base with you and vice versa. Thoughtful engagement will catalyze the development in a relationship that might otherwise take months or years to form.

Exude positivity in your messaging tempered with real-world insight. If your collateral contains brazen claims with little or no information, your prospects are likely to grow suspicious. Conversely, if you sound like a wet towel when it comes to your own business, those very same prospects might assume that you’re offering an inferior product. It’s a necessity that you and your brand instill confidence, all while building awareness and encouraging engagement. Being real and down-to-earth can help you build trust with your prospects who are likely to be skeptical.

Your reputation is the lifeblood of your brand so make sure your brand stays true to what you’re offering while producing great results. A group of brand champions can enhance a brand’s image in the same way a group of unhappy customers can tarnish it. If you don’t already know, you’ll soon find that brand development is an ongoing process that iterates over and over again. The goal is to eventually move past attraction and engage with fans, followers and prospects, so that they become customers. From there, you can make the shift from acquisition to retention. Knowing your consumers and what’s important to them as well as being able to align that with your advertising efforts is the key to creating value for them and for your company.

Photo credit: Melificent.com