“How can I make my brand more distinct and memorable in the minds of prospects?” A lot of entrepreneurs and salespeople have asked themselves this question at least once in their careers. It is super important that one’s brand products or services get noticed. After all, it is only those products or services that potential customers can remember that they can patronize. Think of the last time you went to one of the grocery stores in your area. You made it your favorite place for local shopping probably because of the good impression and uniqueness of the store – from the warm smile and attention of the receptionist to the variety and cheaper prices of the goods sold there, and to the quick bill processing service of the cashier at the counter.
Psychologists tell us that it’s not the past that influences our future decisions but our memory of the past. Psychologists call this the peak-end rule whereby people generally tend to remember the concluding episodes of an experience and the most (or least) pleasant parts of it. That is interesting, right? But how do you show that your brand voice is different from that of your competitors? Implementing the useful information from this Hobo.video article can set up your company’s brand for tremendous success.
What Does A Brand Mean?
Investopedia describes a brand as
‘a distinguishing symbol, logo, name, slogan words that are indicative only for a particular product or service’.
The way a product or its manufacturing company is perceived by people who have patronized it can be referred to as a brand. Since a brand is more like an identity or cultural vibe that companies or individuals tied to a range of goods or services, every brand out there has a voice. Yes, your brand voice must speak out figuratively to prospects to buy from you. Be it qualified prospects or unqualified leads, your message must get to their hearts. And stay memorable so that they are better inclined to purchase from your company’s brand at any time.
The Peak-End Rule and How it Works
In 1993, Daniel Kahneman and his work colleague Donald Redelmeier ran a clinical trial among real colonoscopy patients. Colonoscopy is a process of examining the colon by inserting a device that contains a camera into the anus and through the rectum. This procedure is marked by pain and general discomfort especially if the device mistakenly brushes along the walls of the colon. In this trial, Dr. Kahneman had two randomly selected groups of colonoscopy patients.
The first (test) group A had a doctor or surgeon who held the device at a still position (less exploratory activity). Even though the standard procedure was intentionally done in 15 minutes extra time, patients reported about 10% less pain.
Amplify Your Brand,
One Influence at a Time.
The second (control) has the standard colonoscopy procedure done on them. The patients rated high levels of pain, especially at the most intense moments during the examination and toward its ending part.
Image source: Ken Hendricks
Image source: Daftcode Blog
This experiment has created the principle of Peak-End psychological moments seen in human behavior. Prudent entrepreneurs and salespeople are applying the peak-end rule to make their brand memorable and their reputation as positive as possible. They know that the final moments from colonoscopies do not alter the memories of pain; but our decisions of whether or not to come back. Here are the tips we at Hobo Video have repeatedly used to apply the rule in our branding, advertisement, and marketing.
1. Focus On A Human Touch
Your brand voice or marking message should not just create a uniform experience. Instead, it should directly focus on one or two outstanding moments that must make up your customer’s first impression. It applies regardless of if your customer’s first point of contact is the doorstep of your office, the corridor to your restaurant, or your official website or sales page.
Furthermore, you need to construct an Empathy map to figure out your customer’s fears, frustrations, obstacles, and also their desires, wants, and pleasures. Since your content reflects your company’s brand image, it should reflect the above emotional touch and sound like a human being wrote it.
2. Be Consistent Over Time And Over Platforms
Once your brand voice is free of the “please buy from me, I’m desperate” sort of advertising notion, you need to continue in the path explained above.
It’s already hard enough to stand out and even harder if you’re trying to say too many things or be everything to everyone simultaneously. Decide on becoming known for one thing and give your customer something to latch on to.
3. Think Big and Rise Beyond the Norm
Apple consistently ranks highest among the list of the topmost loved or most trusted brands. Why is that the case? Because the team at Apple Inc absolutely strives for innovative results above their contemporaries. This is true, especially during their early years. They apply the Peak-End rule in knowing that it’s not the past that influences our future decisions but our memory of the past. The experience of using an Apple electronic product is memorable and unique to the brand and there is no imitation.
Depending on your branding strategy, one could still borrow ideas from other big brands on what works and what doesn’t work for different offerings and situations. But the same strategy of thinking big and rising beyond the norm could be applied to leave a lasting impression on the minds of your prospects.
4. Design To Tell A Story
All writing of all sorts must include well-designed infographics, high-resolution pictures and videos, logos, and product design. The design features add up whether or not your brand will be memorable or not. Make sure your identity comes through in all the different facets of your brand. Including visual design with a captivating copy is the best way to craft a message they won’t forget in the ‘peak-end fashion’.
5. Always Isolate A Single Moment In The Customer Experience And Illuminate It
Although this point has been mentioned in the first tip, it is the most ideal application of the peak-end rule.
Let’s try and test if we at Hobo Video are right about this: at the end of reading this blog article, bring out 10 minutes of your time tomorrow and try to remember what you read about. We bet you that the part that will stick in your mind will be the peak moment of interest; probably the colonoscopy illustration, the phrase “peak-end rule” or how Apple creates unique user experiences.
Think of which situation is better: Nobody knowing your brand exists? Or everybody disliking your brand? The latter is arguably preferable to the former. “Arguably” because some people do not realize that having people dislike your brand means that they even know it exists and has tried it out to be able to give you such feedback. Having nobody know that your brand exists is the worst-case scenario for any business owner as this is the most common way in which a business can crash due to lack of sales and marketing. Hobo.Video has taken you on the frontier concept for making a brand more memorable – the peak-end rule.
Go Give It A Try!
As we said in the intro, the worst-case scenario isn’t being neutral, it’s being forgettable. It’s not being someone’s second or third choice; It’s them not even considering you. Like not knowing that there exists a grocery store a few blocks away from your home. We have shared our number one rule in making products of a brand stand out from the competition. Give people a reason to remember you. Create irresistible offers that click on human emotion. Be consistent over time and over different digital platforms. Pay attention to the design elements on your marketing media and the structural features of your product line. And most important, always remember to create a signature moment in the process of the user experience. With these tips, we say “go and give it a try!”
RELATED POSTS
- How brand affects the purchase decisions of consumers
- Why brand authenticity is imperative
- 4 Ways To Overcome Growth Paradoxes As A Brand
Kunal