What makes a Brand irresistible?

Branding

Feb 13

4 dating principles we can apply to branding

closeup of a woman fastening the strap of her high heels

Trick question, because no brand is truly irresistible, no matter what some branding and marketing gurus are trying to tell you. However, it’s definitely possible to make a brand harder to resist.

But how? Let's get into it!

🫦 Look damn good

Imagine you're on a speed date. You have to decide within minutes if you wanna see this person again. Your first impression is visual. How does that person across from you look? Do you find them attractive?

As a brand, you are constantly on speed dates with your potential customers. But usually, you only have a few seconds to make an impression. And just like with people, our first impression of brands is visual. We can process visuals in a matter of milliseconds. We process them about 60,000 times faster than text! So when scrolling on socials, for example, your audience will judge you based on your visuals before reading a single word of your content.

And like with people, tastes differ. I’m not saying you, as a person, have to be a supermodel to find a partner. What is appealing to one person, isn’t appealing to the next person. So when it comes to your brand, you wanna make sure it looks appealing to the right people.

🫦 Show Personality

Keeping with the dating analogy (it’s almost Valentine's Day after all) looking good might be enough if you’re looking for a quick fling. But if you’re looking for something more lasting, just looking good won’t cut it. Your partner has to have an attractive personality too.

With brands, it’s just the same. If your customer is looking for something quick and cheap you can probably get away with just looking good, but especially if your customers are looking to invest in something more lasting and/or something more expensive, they want and deserve a brand personality that’s deeper than surface level. They want to invest their money in something that feels real and genuine.

If your brand feels like a hollow abstract entity, people won’t feel a connection to it. So you gotta make sure that your brand has substance and personality beyond just looking a certain way. How does your brand sound? How does it show up? What does it care about? Think of your brand as a human being and it will feel a lot more genuine to your customers.

female hand holding a red drink in a coupe glass

🫦 Have a backbone

No one likes people who change their opinions when met with the slightest whiff of resistance. We prefer hanging out with people who share our values and who care about the same things we do than with people who don't share our convictions. Our values are an integral part of who we are as people, and knowing the people around you share those with us is a powerful way of creating connections with one another. And again, it works the same way with brands. According to a study done by the Havas Group, 77% of consumers buy brands that share their values.

But it’s not good enough to just claim you stand for something, you have to back that up with actions. Empty promises can be more damaging than not having a stance at all.

🫦 Show people a good time

We all like to be spoiled and pampered from time to time. Breakfast in bed, flowers, an unexpected love note. A little something goes a long way. The same goes for treating your customers (okay, maybe breakfast in bed would be a liiiiittle creepy): a small personalized note in their packaging, a little extra gift that doesn’t cost you much, but that is a delightful surprise to your customers. Make them feel appreciated, and they will appreciate you right back!

Conclusion

Dating and branding have so much in common because ultimately it’s all about connection. Our brains are weird and wonderful, in that the same and/or similar processes happen there whether we interact with brands or other people. That’s why it’s so important to not just have a logo and a nice color palette. Yes, it’s nice to have, just like it’s nice to have a fabulous outfit. But there’s so much more needed to create connections. It's really about making your brand as human as possible.