The Power of VIBE
VIBE DEFINED
To a physicist, vibration can be defined as “the oscillating, reciprocating, or other periodic motion of a rigid or elastic body or medium forced from a position or state of equilibrium”. The Urban Dictionary defines “vibe” in more human terms as “A distinctive emotional atmosphere; sensed intuitively.” To a brand, “vibe” is the strong feeling of simpatico and trust caused by an intangible essence of your brand experiences that connects positively with your customers’ deepest needs, desires and fantasies.
I’ve created a mnemonic to help explain exactly what causes a positive vibe with customers: Visionary Innovative Brand Experiences. Those experiences may encompass the design of the product itself or how it is named, marketed, packaged, sold, supported, serviced or replaced. The more the experience aligns with the target market’s needs, desires and fantasies AND is consistent and coherent with the overall brand strategy, the better the VIBE, and the greater the return on investment.
VIBE causes sales, customer loyalty, evangelism and profit.
VIBE results in extraordinary customer behavior. Do you refuse to go anywhere without your iPhone or iPod? Do you buy products that display their logo prominently, such as Louis Vuitton, Nike, Prada, Oakley, Rolex, Adidas, Gucci or BMW? Do you have bumper stickers that proclaim your everlasting loyalty to a particular brand of automobile, running shoe, beer, sports team or charitable cause? Do you buy jewelry from a specific brand just so you can get a little blue bag? Do you have a favorite little mom-and-pop restaurant, cafe, ice cream shop or deli that makes your favorite food like no one else? Do you have a Harley-Davidson tattoo somewhere on your body?
The brands mentioned above all enjoy the amazing benefits of VIBE. Obviously, they sell products more easily, in larger numbers, and at a higher price than their competitors. But they also generate the kind of brand loyalty that turns their customers into invaluable (and unpaid) marketers, influencers, referrers, recommenders, reviewers, mavens, pitchmen and evangelists. As social networking and viral media become increasingly more powerful methods of communication, building this kind of “brand love” can result in astronomical growth in awareness, sales and profit. Learn more in the VIBE blog.
So how do you create VIBE that results in logo tattoos? Very carefully indeed. We will utilize a variety of tools and methods that gather information from a wide variety of sources, most importantly from customers themselves. In twenty years’ experience, I have seen that most companies have a blurry, twisted or outright mistaken view of what their prospective customers actually want. But if we involve customers in several of our process steps, asking them the right questions in the right way, synthesizing their answers thoughtfully, building prototypes and testing them with customers, we can achieve the powerful simpatico of VIBE.
We can discover what motivates your target market to buy. Who is your target market and what are their expectations? Are they looking for value, prestige, style, power, a relationship or something else? Are they trying to satisfy physiological, security, comfort, self-esteem or moral needs? Does your product satisfy a basic need or a luxury desire? What fantasies do your customers entertain with regard to using your product? How will it make their lives better? What is their downside if they DON’T use your product? How do they want to learn, find, buy and use your products? What similar experiences do they love and which do they hate?
The methodologies are straightforward, but the experience, talents and skills necessary to work with the highly combustible raw ingredients of clients, customers, new ideas, sacred cows, innovation, resistance to change, tradition, risk and company politics are rare indeed. My partners and I have been creating VIBE for over twenty years and know the secrets to this unique process. Learn more about the details of the VIBE process.
Does your brand have VIBE? Do your products, packaging, marketing campaigns, storefronts, salespeople, websites or support services generate this kind of unwavering brand loyalty from your customers? If not, I’d love to help you achieve VIBE with your customers wherever possible. Give me a call and let’s get started.