It’s Okay to Achieve Contentment

TalentZoo.com | Beyond Madison Avenue | Flack Me | Digital Pivot

Archives | Categories

By: Janet Kalandranis

It’s easy to do the same thing. It’s also easy to do the same thing with a little update. But it’s much harder and much more appreciated for brands to go outside their comfort zone. Not all the way out, not in an unexpected matter; but instead something that shows the brand is alive. It’s important for customers to feel intrigued and for brands to test the boundaries. If not, brands would become stagnant and continuous success would eventually decline.

Many times brands think that something new has to be the “next big thing.” This is definitely not the case and even puts the task at hand out of reach. Customers are not looking for a big step or a complete overhaul of the brand with every change; they want to be pleasantly surprised or even content. Yes, content. Doing something for a brand doesn’t mean that customers have to be overly in shock over the change. They actually may not even realize or recognize the update. But the important thing is that customers are still watching the brand, interacting with it, and ultimately staying engaged.

Crate & Barrel has been busy this year. Not overly out there and no big-time news features, but there have been a series of new steps that have kept customers in a happy spot or even content. It’s hard to keep customers engaged with a brand when they may not be in the market for new kitchen and house items, but the brand added some extra features; something new to keep customers coming back. How about an invite to a local event or the ability to customize invites and print (all for free!)? It’s these little add-ons that aren’t exactly game-changing, but leave the customers engaged and connected to the brand even when they aren’t in the market for a new set of dishes.

Brands need to make a stretch and understand where they fit within the world of their customers. It’s not necessary for every idea to be on the top of cnn.com, but it is important for brands to reach; to see where they can find little wins with their customers and ultimately become a brand that keeps them quite content.