Establishing meaningful relationships with members is essential to building a well-respected, successful organization. It is imperative for an organization to show each member that they are important and that their support is valuable. Organizations should also strive to connect with members on a deeper level in order to understand their beliefs and values and to exemplify such values within their brand. By sharing common values and appealing to the preferences of members, organizations can obtain more membership loyalty and successfully acquire brand affinity.
What is Brand Affinity?
Brand affinity is the notion of building a rapport or “connection” with your members. Brand affinity can also help organizations measure and determine how each member will act or respond to messages/announcements or new products. Brand affinity goes beyond brand loyalty in that it involves members having an emotional connection to your organization.
Let’s say you have an organization that hosts charity races and sells charity bracelets. If you have a member that attends your charity races no matter the charity, purchases your bracelets, and is vocal about your organization, you have established brand affinity with that member.
Rather than having casual support for an organization, brand affinity helps organizations retain consistent support from members who see the organization as a lifestyle choice or something of utmost importance. Brand affinity can be attained, but it cannot be achieved so easily. Acquiring brand affinity must come naturally as you find ways to appeal to each individual. As such, there are methods you can use to build brand affinity. A few of those methods are listed below:
Targeted mailing/emailing campaigns
From obtaining new members to keeping existing members, direct mail and email are two of the most common methods of communication with members. By creating targeted mailing lists, you can better craft your mail pieces or customize your emails in order to effectively appeal to members on an individual level.
Rather than sending every member the same catalog, for example, you can place specific members in targeted mailing lists based on their preferences, and send them catalogs in accordance with those preferences. Sending targeted content to members can show them that their specific interests are valued by your organization, thus building brand affinity.
Customer service/support
Having a professional and supportive staff in your organization to assist each member adequately can also help build brand affinity. If an individual receives nothing but positive experiences from your brand, they will easily associate your brand with professionalism, which can encourage them to keep supporting your organization. Simply aligning your organization with a professional call center to answer your members’ inquiries and respond to their feedback can build brand affinity.
Social Media Engagement / Marketing
With social media being so prevalent in today’s society, organizations can use social media to their advantage and easily connect with their members. Use social media to see what people are saying about your organization and use their feedback to make amendments if necessary.
Organizations can also use social media to communicate directly and instantly with individuals (which cannot be done via direct mail and email). You can use social media to stay engaged with members, announce new products, events, or donor opportunities, and provide online support and customer service, all which can help increase brand affinity.
Valtim Can Help You Achieve Brand Affinity
Brand affinity is an individual’s brand preference within a product category. Unlike brand equity, brand affinity is measured on an individualized basis instead of collectively. Thus the collective affinity of your members/donors contributes to the overall brand equity. It is influenced by an individual’s past experiences with the brand and overall preference over alternative offerings. As such, to compete in a crowded market place, your organization needs to develop personalized approaches to nurturing the brand affinity with your consumers.
Let Valtim help by creating and implementing multi-channel communication strategies that help improve relationships with your followers.