How to win brand loyalty with one word

Do you want to build brand loyalty and stand out from the crowd in a busy marketplace? Well, you need to first answer the question “why?”. “Why does your brand exist?” And no, you’re not allowed to say profit! So, go on, have a little think…

Do you exist because you want to help other businesses grow or is it because you want to be known as an innovator? Being able to answer the question “Why does your brand exist?” is the first step to building brand loyalty.

Loyalty is a human feeling and simply pushing your product is not going to win you any loyal brand advocates, you’ve got to share your values and visions with them. Apple is the perfect example of this, the new Samsung Galaxy S9 is by far the superior phone compared to the iPhone X, yet Apple had people queueing for days to get their hands on their new product. Apple knows that to make people choose them, they must share their vision. Their advertising always shows them as tech innovators & visionaries of their industry, that is their why.

Inspirational speaker, Simon Sinek states that the reason Apple is so successful is that they started with ‘why’ and not ‘what’ and ‘how’. He calls this the Golden Circle. As a company you know what you do, and how you do it, but few know why they do what they do. If you don’t know why you exist, how can you share your core beliefs and values with consumers? Of course, you want to sell your product and make a profit, but that’s just an end result, that’s not why you exist.

Take a look at the below image. Most people start with the easiest answer and work towards the hardest, they work from the outside in. But, successful brands like Apple and other leading, inspirational brands, work from the inside out. They start with the why.

Working from the inside out, is not psychology but biology. The Golden Circle correlates to the three components of the human brain, and the part of the brain that controls feelings such as loyalty and trust, and all decision making. It also deals with emotions and doesn’t listen to language. This part of the brain is called the limbic system. The limbic system is the part of the brain we’re talking to when we start with the why and work our way outwards.

People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it. So, when you start with why you exist as a brand you’re building trust and loyalty, and as you explain the how and the what, you’re giving your consumers the rationale as to why you exist.

This is nothing new, yet it’s so simple to put into practice and could change the way people see and feel about your brand in the future. Give it a go, I dare you!

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