Connecting in a Highly Connected World Using the 4 Pillars of Emotional Integrity

As consumers, we receive over 5,000 marketing messages a day. These messages bombard us through an array of channels. Over time, consumers have become savvy at deciphering which messages to tune out. So how do companies cut through the clutter and connect with their customers?

The answer is simple: emotion. Did you know that emotion pushes the brain to a decision 3,000 times faster than rational thought process? Emotion not only cuts through the clutter, it builds brand loyalty. Therefore, it’s critical that we, as marketers, connect emotionally with our consumers through our various marketing channels.

4 Pillars of Emotional Integrity

Getting a consumer’s attention, and ultimately winning their loyalty, depends upon our ability to demonstrate the four essential pillars of emotional integrity:

1. Authenticity: Demonstrate sincerity in your messages to your customers.

2. Transparency: Be willing to provide all the relevant information they need to decide whether to do business with you.

3. Honest Value: Prove that the product or service you’re offering is worth the price.

4. Genuine Interest: Show them you care what they think by soliciting feedback and keeping the lines of communication open between transactions.

Consider Your Marketing Channels

One emotional element that is vital to creating a positive brand experience is knowing your customers’ preference for which channels they like to receive and send communications. The right integration of the following channels is essential. Here are some examples:

1. Email: Provides excellent ROI (according to the Direct Marketing Association, for every $1 invested, average return is $43). E-mail is also easy to target, test, measure and adjust.

2. Direct Mail: Can be personalized, unique, targeted and effective. According to the Direct Marketing Association, direct mail returns an average of $12.57 for every $1 invested.

3. Social Media: For many consumers, social media is their choice for communicating their emotional needs with companies: the good, the bad and the ugly. For businesses, social media provides the opportunity to put themselves in an emotionally positive light by doing right by people, right on the spot.

How to Get Consumers to Want to Interact With Your Brand

Make your company an emotionally positive presence in the lives of your customers and prospects, and they will welcome interaction with your brand. (It sure beats fighting for their attention!)

• Understand customers by doing your homework

• Communicate with them through their preferred channel

• Get their attention by demonstrating authenticity, transparency, honest value and genuine interest

For more information, take a look at our strategies, process and resources associated with Hallmark marketing programs and Hallmark customer experience programs.