Any customer is also a human being. A lot of companies tend to forget this rather quickly. We as human beings have deep appreciation for acknowledgement. Recognition and appreciation is an ego-booster but more so pure admiration. In the earlier days of marketing customers were swayed with brand equity. Especially true in the case of major brands which occupied substantial amount of real estate in the business marketplace. This was their way of attempting to connect with new and existing customers.[br][br]
Those days are long gone. The unfortunate part is that there are some brands out there currently who attempt to exercise such legacy business practice. Although brand equity should not be a heavily reliant upon business factor for modern companies. The demise of major brands like Blockbuster Video, Circuit City, RadioShack, and Sports Authority was clear indication of the shifting trends and patterns in the business marketplace. Some of these brands have been operating as early as the 1920’s. Their failure to adapt towards the current digital and human-centric business marketplace resulted in their demise.[br][br]
Gaining an Understanding of Human Marketing
Humanizing your brand or therefore invoking human marketing practices will provide a rejuvenating experience to your customers. It is precisely what every modern brand should be striving for as it stands in 2016. Interestingly enough a Google search will not even provide extensive information on such practices though. Yet customer connectivity in business depends heavily upon human-to-human interaction.[br][br]
Do you understand what a humanized brand really does?[br][br]
For most of us every morning we fuel up with a dose of fresh caffeine. We walk into our favorite coffee shop in hope for laying our hands on fuel that will drive us throughout the course of our day. Along with our caffeine fill-up we expect good customer service. Typically that entails of a human being on the other side of the counter or drive-thru window that greets us with a smile. A “Good Morning, Mr. Smith.” or “Have a great day Mr. Smith!” is something that will boast an uplift and sense of joy as we go about our day.[br][br]
Now let’s reverse engineer that situation for a minute. Instead of a human being you are suddenly interfacing with a robot. Those are indeed coming and probably only a matter of time before their takeover. There is absolutely nothing human-centric about a robot serving you a cup of coffee. It completely replaces the human interaction.
Transforming Into A Human Brand
A humanized brand is one that recognizes and embraces certain human characteristics. Accomplishing such transition into a humanized brand though typically comes with a set of challenges though. Everything from operations, customer services, strategy, human resources, and more. It’s important to understand that in order to be classified as a human brand the following human characteristics should be intricate within your business practices.
- Authenticity
- Personality
- Accountability
- Empathy
- Inspiration
- Relationship Building
- Humor
- Quality over quantity
- Storytelling
The above stated are most definitely not all of the human characteristics a brand should uphold. Although they are an insight into how companies should think when it comes to their business and marketing practices.
Want to know more about human marketing? Contact us today for a quick convo about your business.
