Brands tapping into the psyche of customers
We humans are social creatures. This is why we find COVID-19 so hard to endure. Apart from the fear of infection leading to possible death for the more vulnerable, our tribal urge is so intense that we cannot stay in isolation for long. We want to belong either to the community or to something. It is these basic human traits, which brands all over the world, have successfully exploited to attract brand loyalty. They do this by developing authentic emotional connections that bypass the brain and go direct to the heart – arousing powerful feelings about self-image, aspirations and a sense of belonging.
Asked “Do you consider yourself a rational consumer?” eight out of ten persons would probably answer “Yes”. Unfortunately that is not the reality. We are all plugged into a consumer society: a society in which a large part of people’s sense of identity and meaning is found through the purchase and use of consumer goods and services. Consequently, what we humans do and how we do it, often overrides reasonable thoughts despite the best of our intentions.
During one of his presentations, Tom Peters, when broaching the subject of human behaviour, admitted that notwithstanding his high level of education (2 Masters Degrees and a Ph.D), and possessing a logical thought process, he often allowed his intellectual capacity be overruled by his emotional actions. He cited the example, of going to buy salt and where he couldn’t bring himself to buy the plain white label store brand; instead, picking up the blue labeled Morton brand, which cost more. Regardless of the package it comes in. Salt is salt…right? Right!
Don’t we all behave the same way when we book a hotel room? Quality, well furnished hotel rooms are no longer the exclusive preserve of branded properties. They are to be found in single-entity hotels as well. However, the skillful exploitation of our emotions by brand hotels becomes the paradigm which dictates customer behaviour.
A customer who books a room from a brand hotel, is made to believe that he/she buys more than a room for the night, where the perceived quality provided by the hotel (brand trust), which the customer deems as acceptable in his or her world (value), reflects the contrived basis of the relationship between the ‘brand’ and the customer’s ‘emotion’. People buy brands because they identify the purchase as an extension of themselves.
Branding has assumed an increasingly important role in the hospitality industry. As each day passes, we see the large global hotel brands grow larger. Invading the market place with strategic market segmented ‘tier’ brands; they suffocate the stand alone hotels – which will remain no more than “brands of one”.
Branding goes beyond sticking a logo on building signage and collateral. The best brands tap into the psyche of customers to stimulate the highest level of interactivity.
Ilzaf Keefahs is a freelance writer who enjoys focusing on hospitality related matters that he is passionate about, and likes to share his views with hoteliers and customers alike. He delves into the heart of hospitality to figure out both customer service and consumer trends that impact the industry.
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