Fifth Essential for a Powerful Brand: Emotionally Connect with your Client

“At the end of the day people won’t remember what you said or did, they’ll remember how you made them feel.”  No less a philosopher than Maya Angelou made that wise observation about one of life’s truisms. And nowhere is that wisdom more true than in a profession dedicated to giving people a boost in appearance, confidence and self-esteem.

To truly resonate with your target market, you’ve got to forge a strong emotional connection…a kind of intimate bond that inspires customer loyalty and defines an influential personal brand. Your patients/clients aren’t interested in hard-sell copy or intricate medical jargon. Instead, they want to know what benefit your services will give them in an up-close-and-personal way. 

The best way to establish a “like-know-trust” relationship with clients (both current and potential) is with messaging feels real, relatable and sincere. This is one time when “just the facts” won’t cut it.  Instead, focus on feelings: How do you want people to feel when they experience your brand? Tell stories, inspire confidence, tug at the heartstrings.  

Here are four ways to ensure your brand makes this kind of vibrant emotional connection:

•    Use firsthand testimonials. Whether online, in print or in person, word-of-mouth is always a powerful persuasion tool (think Yelp)--and featuring real-life happy patients only enhances your credibility. But don’t just focus on the mechanics of physical procedures. Instead, highlight the “inner change”--“I haven’t felt this confident in ten years!” 
•    Show before-and-after photos. It’s a time-honored technique because it works, and it works even better when each shot is accompanied by an inspiring patient story. Sure, readers can see great visuals of micro-needling results, but an ethereal narrative about the true depth of change the patient felt will be much more compelling.
•    Devise a way for your clientele to connect with each other. A membership program is a way of creating a ‘tribe within a tribe’--an elite group of loyal clients who enjoy key perks. You might offer loyalty rewards, special member-only events, even a message board for clients to chat with one another.
•    Create videos. A three-minute online segment can be just like conversation, a way for you to establish a personal rapport even before clients meet you.

It’s a competitive landscape, and if clients/patients don’t feel a special loyalty to you alone, they’re likely to seek out whoever gives them the lowest price.  But if you build their trust and forge an emotional connection, they’ll follow you anywhere!