How to connect deeply with your audience (all about brand resonance)

This post was originally sent as a newsletter in The Cozy Corner. If you’re not subscribed to my email list, you can learn more here.

Hey friends!

In the last email, I introduced you to an important concept called relevance. If you missed that email or haven’t read it yet, you can do so here.

Go back and read it before moving on with this email, because it has a key insight that we are going to build on today!

To refresh your memory, relevance is the idea that customers engage with brands that are important and meaningful to them.

Today, let me introduce the second concept with another real-world example.

You’ve probably heard about the grocery store called Whole Foods.

Whole Foods has a super loyal customer base.

They have targeted an extremely specific segment of the population, and the people who fit the profile are absolute superfans of the grocery store.

Whole Foods is marketed to people who care just as much about where their food comes from as they do about how it tastes.

Whole Foods and their customers have Shared Values.

And it works. People who shop at Whole Foods absolutely love that they can trust what they are buying, and they enjoy supporting a brand who cares about the same things they do.

This is the heartbeat of the next concept I want to introduce to you —

Today we are going to talk about Brand Resonance.

Resonance can be defined as the degree to which a brand is embedded in their consumers’ identity, values, and beliefs.

The main insight to take away today is that customers will connect with a brand if they feel like it aligns with their own values and contributes to their identity.

Whole Foods has made their values a central pillar of their brand experience, and in doing so they have built connections with a large customer base of people who not only share those values, but actually integrate their status as a Whole Foods shopper as part of their identity.

Your brand should create an emotional connection with your customers and make them feel like you just “get” them.

Brand relevance (what we discussed in the last email) is how we ensure our brand remains important and necessary to our customers by meeting their current needs and adapting to changes.

Brand resonance is how we deepen the emotional connection and loyalty our customers feel towards our brand. Resonance is how we build lasting relationships where our customers feel emotionally attached, part of an aligned community, and actively engaged with our brand.

Remember, relevance leads to the thoughts of “how did they know this is exactly what I needed?”

Resonance leads to thoughts of “they share my values, so I know I can trust them to deliver products or services that I’ll love.”

Both of these things require us to be deeply in tune with our audience so that we can accurately understand what they need and who they are, because a huge part of why people buy from and remain loyal to brands is related to identity.

What we buy and who we associate with are direct reflections on who we are. It either reinforces who we already believe we are & who we are perceived as, OR it makes a statement about who we wish to be or how we wish others to see us.

Brand resonance is very closely linked to customer identity because it taps into the deep emotional and psychological aspects of how customers see themselves and their values.

When we attach our brand to values and beliefs, we offer up an opportunity for people to reinforce or make a statement about their identity.

Resonance is the pinnacle of a brand’s connection with their audience, but it cannot be achieved without relevance. In order for a customer to form a relationship with a brand based in identity, values and beliefs, their needs must first be met by the brand through a product that is impactful and meaningful in that customer’s life.

This is such a fascinating topic that I can do such a deep dive on, so if you’d like to learn more about brand resonance and how to make it happen for you, shoot me a reply to let me know!

Here’s the main takeaway to summarize what we’ve talked about in the last two emails:

Solve your customer’s needs where they are right now in a way that is meaningful and resonant for them, and you will begin to attract superfans of your brand.

That’s all for today! Catch you guys next week.

Pulling for you, as always,

Addy