Businesses, Brands & Human Needs

The primary purpose of a business is to make money, right? And shareholders are a business' most important stakeholder, right? And the marketing and sales functions exist to generate additional revenues, right? So, ultimately brands exist to increase sales and profits, right?

Partially right, but it is always important to remember that any business, in fact, any organization truly only exists because it meets one or more human needs. The needs can be functional, emotional, experiential or self-expressive. The organization and its products and services can solve a problem, reduce pain, increase comfort, free up time, lower costs, improve self-esteem, heal an illness, distract, entertain, assist in a difficult task, aid in learning, support a lifestyle or hobby, increase a person's success, impart knowledge, reduce weight, increase beauty or one of a myriad of other things, but they meet human needs. And strong brands do this in unique and emotionally compelling ways.

As marketers we would be wise to always remember that. How does one increase revenues, profits and shareholder value? By consistently meeting human needs. And how do brands do that? By consistently meeting human needs in unique and emotionally compelling ways. Remembering this will make all of the difference in the world. 

How does it make you feel?

Think about how different people make you feel. You might love to get together with one person because you feel understood and validated by her. You might enjoy another person's company because he always makes you laugh. Another person might make you feel inadequate or insignificant. Another person might anger you. You might be completely fed up with another person's self-centeredness or his BS. While someone else might completely entrance you with her amazing stories. You might look forward to seeing someone else because he completely stimulates your intellect. While another person might bore you because he never has anything new or interesting to say.

Brands can have the same effect on people. Because they take on human qualities, they will likely evoke certain emotions. Can you trust the brand? Does the brand tell engaging stories? Is the brand affirming? Does the brand make you feel good about yourself? Or does it make you feel bad about yourself? Does the brand provoke fear or anger? Is the brand charming? Does it make you laugh? Is the brand interesting enough to hold your attention?

Consider the Dove brand. How does it make the average woman feel? Consider GEICO? How does that brand make you feel? Lululemon? How about the Trump brand? The Ritz-Carlton brand? The United Airlines brand? The Harvard brand? The Under Armour brand? Wegmans? You get the idea.

Advertising campaigns and the actual brand experience can go a long way in evoking specific feelings. 

A question the brand manager should always ask is, "How does our brand make you feel?"

Brands and Empathy

Successful marketing professionals are adept at understanding human needs and motivations and playing to those through carefully crafted brand stories, messaging and experiences. We have strong intuition and great analytical skills. We have learned how to appeal to people's hearts and manipulate their emotions.  And we have learned how to use fear to our brand's greatest advantage. 

This may be why I have heard some people call marketers "spin doctors," "practitioners of the dark arts," and "master manipulators."

I would have you pause for a minute and consider another approach. We are good at reading people's emotions. Instead of being very clinical about manipulating people's behaviors, why don't we try to empathize with them, have compassion for them and actually adapt our brands to best meet their needs and even surprise and delight them in ways that they had not anticipated? 

Not only is this a more ethical approach, but it also creates lasting value and stronger emotional connection. 

Jean Giraudoux, a French diplomat, dramatist and novelist (1882-1944) once said, "The secret of success is sincerity. Once you can fake that, you've got it made." I have heard several political strategists quote different versions of this over time. But I am recommending that you do not subscribe to this philosophy. Do not fake it. Truly be authentic and sincere and operate out of integrity. Further, know that every organization exists for one purpose and one purpose alone, to meet human needs, and hopefully not just the needs of its shareholders, but most importantly, the needs of its customers, patients, patrons, members or clients. 

So do this - think about how your brand can truly help its customers. What problems can it solve in their lives? What needs can it meet? How can it make them feel better? How can it make their lives easier? How can it heal them or make them happier? Wouldn't this be a more rewarding approach to your job? Consider it.

Brands and Humans

Brands personify organizations and their products and services. Why is this important? Because only people (or personified brands) can connect emotionally with people.

To do this, brands must stand for something, have a shared set of values with their customers, be aware of their own motivations and possess carefully crafted, nuanced personalities.

Social science has shown that people primarily make decisions based on feelings and emotions. This is why the brand overlay to products and services is so important. Brands make emotional appeals and they connect emotionally with people.

So what do people want? They want to laugh and be entertained. Consider Southwest Airlines. They want to feel safe and secure. Consider Subaru. They want to feel understood and even loved. Consider Hallmark. They want to be pampered. Consider Starbucks. They want to be treated with respect. Consider Ritz-Carlton. They want to be stylish. Consider Armani. They want to display their status. Consider Mercedes-Benz. They want to do something good for the environment. Consider Patagonia. They want to love their dogs. Consider Pedigree.

What else do people want from brands? They want to be able to trust brands. They want brands to be predictable and reliable. They want to be able to count on them.

They want brands to be innovative, aesthetically appealing and easy to use. Consider Apple.

They look for adorable personalities. Consider GEICO’s gecko. And Progressive insurance uses its fictional character Flo.

And people admire brands that are based on the personalities of their leaders. People hold Tesla’s Elon Musk in high regard. Steve Jobs was a bigger than life personality behind the Apple brand, as was Bill Gates behind the Microsoft brand. Richard Branson embodies the Virgin brand.  Consider Ben & Jerry’s Ben and Jerry. And Wendy’s Dave Thomas and KFC’s Colonel Sanders.

Going back further in time, consider Kellogg’s Frosted Flake’s Tony the Tiger or Rice Krispies’ Snap, Crackle and Pop.

I hope by now you are getting the picture that a brand must possess human qualities and interact with people with great humanity.

If you are treating your brand only as a name, logo or identity, your brand is falling far short of its potential. Your brand has to act like a human interacting with humans in ways that motivate them.

Perhaps you should think of your brand going out on a first date with one of its customers. How would you want it to behave? What should it do to be attractive to that customer? What would sweep that customer off of his or her feet? What would lead to love at first sight? What would lead to a second date?

Then think of your brand as a spouse in a long time married couple. What keeps the spark going? What keeps the relationship alive? What helps it grow deeper over the years?

These are the things you should be thinking about for your brand.

I wish you great success in making your brand appeal to humans. After all, to whom else are they supposed to appeal?