Member-only story
5 Tips for Effective Emotional Branding
Key takeaways:
Associate your brand with positive feelings for optimal engagement
Create material that’s emotionally compelling for better sharing
Deliver a story around your brand
Shift focus from traditional sales thinking
Use emotional hot buttons for best results
What we’re now calling emotional branding isn’t new. Dale Carnegie developed famous courses in self-improvement, salesmanship, corporate training, public speaking, and interpersonal skills, and in case you’re inclined to sneer at the self-help philosophy, consider that this stuff works. And sells. How To Win Friends and Influence People has sold over 30 million copies since its first printing in 1936. And what is it that worked so well? Carnegie advised businesspeople to appeal to their customers’ emotions.
Yet even with the explosion of inbound marketing, the typical salesperson is still armed with facts and figures and stock responses to questions and objections. Salespeople are generally well prepared to sell a product or service. But the truth is, products and services aren’t what you’re selling anymore. You’re selling a way to improve someone’s life, and to do that effectively, you have to make them feel — not just think — that you’re the right answer to their problem.
