Brand Experience: The Key to Customer Loyalty and Business Growth

A common misconception – especially in highly regulated industries like banking, insurance, asset management and healthcare – is that your brand equals your logo plus your ads and nothing more. It’s true that visual identity and brand voice contribute to overall customer perception of a brand and its value. However, it’s the total brand experience that drives competitive differentiation, builds brand loyalty and, ultimately, delivers value to the business.

As a result, if you’re not helping your organization expand its understanding of brand experience, then you’re missing an opportunity to deepen the bond between your company and your customers as well as strengthen the connection between marketing strategy and business goals.

If a brand is a promise, then a brand experience reflects how the brand delivers on ­that promise. That makes brand experience the sum of every interaction with your brand, across all touchpoints: from the usability of your website to the performance of your product to the attitude of your customer service team – and even touchpoints not within your control, such as comments on social media.

Your brand experience strategy should feel coherent, authentic and aligned with both the customer and the business. Every interaction and touchpoint should make customers feel understood, valued and connected to your brand, ideally converting them into brand advocates.

So, how can brand experience drive better outcomes and deliver more value to your business?

1. Align your brand goals with your business goals.

Brand goals don’t live in a vacuum; they must connect to business goals. Your business goals tell you where to focus your brand experience objectives – like a touchstone, always reminding you of your priorities. These might involve prioritizing certain customer segments, or focusing on specific growth areas or emphasizing values that resonate with your target audience. When your brand strategy is in sync with your business strategy, every interaction with your brand will feel purposeful and consistent.

As a result, you can think of brand experience as a North Star that inspires, unites and guides. Your vision for your brand informs and aligns others in or connected to your organization – from your board and executive leaders to partner teams and vendors.

2. Focus on real, known customer problems.

A superior brand experience brings together what your customers need most and what your brand does best. It puts customer needs, desires and expectations at the center of your brand design and execution. As you map out customer journeys, examine each touchpoint: What do my customers need here? How can I make this brand interaction as successful as possible?

A cohesive and outcome-driven experience guides customers smoothly through their interactions with your brand. It might involve rethinking your advertising to create more clarity or stand out, redesigning your website for better usability, refining your customer service protocols to ensure quick and helpful responses, or segmenting your marketing messages to be more relevant to key audiences. All of that – and much more – comprises brand experience.

3. Put digital at the center of your brand experience.

Particularly in highly regulated industries focusing on B2B businesses with lengthy, complex sales cycles, there is a tendency to treat digital one-dimensionally, e.g., putting up a website with basic information and periodically pushing controlled brand messages. Not surprisingly, that strategy tends to have minimal impact in delivering value – to your customers, your colleagues or your business.

A better approach is to ensure your digital experiences – whether an email strategy, website, social media profiles, or mobile app – are not only anchored in advancing your brand strategy but, more important, are user-focused and designed to help users complete essential tasks.

A thoughtful brand experience strategy makes it easy for customers to find the information they need, complete transactions and engage with your brand on their terms – which means online, even in regulated industries. Personalized marketing, targeted content, customized user journeys and more can all enhance the sense of connection and relevance that customers feel when interacting with your brand.

4. Focus on what matters … and relentlessly refine.

Optimizing your brand experience is an ongoing process of measuring and refining. But measuring what? Start by gathering feedback directly from your customers to identify what’s working and where there are opportunities for improvement. You can gain insights into how customers perceive your brand experience with:

• Data from customer research and surveys

• Analytics from your website, apps and other touch points

• Metrics such as Net Promoter Score (NPS)

Seek out patterns and trends that can inform your brand experience strategy and guide future initiatives, both for marketing and for the broader organization.

Then, based on your data, refine. Whether by tweaking your messaging, refreshing your user interface, or enhancing your customer service protocols, continual improvement will not only meet the needs of the moment for both your brand and your customers, but it will also enable your company to capture new opportunities by being more adaptable and responsive to changing customer needs.

A strong advertising campaign, flashy website, or clever social media feed is no longer enough. The goal – for both your marketing division and for your entire company – is to deliver a brand experience that’s compelling, authentic and deeply connected to your customers’ needs and expectations. By aligning your brand strategy with business goals, solutioning with the customer in mind, turning digital into an advantage and measuring effectiveness precisely, you can create a brand experience that drives sales and builds lasting loyalty.

Don’t leave any customer interaction to chance: Design thoughtfully, execute consistently and always strive to exceed expectations. Do this well and you won’t just have a better brand – you’ll drive better outcomes for your customers and deliver more value for your business.