This word was probably pretty high on your to-do list when you started throwing around business ideas. You needed to build an eCommerce brand in order to market your products, design your website, and have something to put on your packaging. 

But did you stop to think about how to make your customers fall in love with your brand?

Because it turns out to build an eCommerce brand you need more than just pretty colours and a killer logo – we need to go deeper.

According to the latest research, what your brand looks like matters less than how your customers feel about it. Harvard professor Gerald Zaltman reveals in his new book that 95% of our purchasing decisions are subconscious, with up to 75% of decisions coming down to emotions.

We either feel an emotional pull towards a brand, or we don’t. And the best brands take advantage of this. It’s why you associate beans with Heinz, and a plump loaf of bread with a boy riding down a cobbled street on a bicycle! #Hovisforthewin.

Put simply – if your customers are in love with your eCommerce brand, then they’ll buy more things from you.

All very well and good, but telling you to make customers fall in love with your brand is not the most helpful advice all by itself. And we’re all about bringing you tips and tricks to boost your eCommerce brand. So, drumroll please…

Here are the 8 things you can do to inspire Valentines Cards from your new loyal customers!

1: Outline your values

Living a large part of our lives online has meant that we’re all becoming much more comfortable with sharing what we care about. We’ll happily throw our opinions on current affairs, celebrity pronouncements, and Apple’s latest iPhone modifications out into the ether.

And we expect brands to do the same. This report by Edelman discovered that ⅔ of consumers decide where to shop based on the political and social standpoints of a brand.

People want to find brands that share their values, and they want to form a deep connection with those brands. Whatever your feelings about Nike, when they tapped into American footballer Colin Kaepernick’s Black Lives Matter campaign, their sales went up 30%.

The takeaway: don’t hitch your wagon to every passing trend, but if you have views – share them with your audience. Make them easy to find on your website and social media. Give your customers something to connect with – and they’ll love you more.

2: Define your mission and purpose

In a similar vein, telling people why you do what you do gives them another reason to stop scrolling Amazon and spend their money with you instead. Ok, but what if you didn’t start your eCommerce business to change the world one notepad at a time?

Maybe you do what you do because you stumbled upon a great product and figured you could make some money selling it.

Whatever you sell, you believe it can make the lives of your customers better.

And that mission and purpose is just as laudable as standing in front of a group of bulldozers protecting an ancient tree. Don’t be shy with your big why, and your customers will jump on board.

What makes a good About us page – and what to include 

3: Call out your customers

Defining your target audience, buyer persona, customer avatar (or whatever you call your perfect customer) isn’t just for your own strategy conversations.

Your ideal customer wants to know that you’re talking to THEM! It shouldn’t be a secret who your brand is aimed at, and who you’re talking to. And you shouldn’t be scared to repel those you’re not aiming your products at.

So, fill your website copy and product descriptions with mentions of your customers. Talk about how your products will fit into their lives, and how you want to help them with their specific needs.

All this will make them feel part of something, and they’ll love you even more!

4: Be consistent

Once you have your mission, values, and ideal customer, you need to stick to them. That’s not to say that your brand can’t evolve over time, but consistency builds trust. And trust is key to building connections.

We no longer take brands at face value. We look behind adverts, across all platforms, and want transparency and integrity from those we buy from. If you talk a lot about sustainability on social media, but your packaging isn’t recyclable, then your customers will feel a disconnect.

If your brand values include kindness and inclusivity, but your website isn’t optimised for the visually impaired, then your audience will have questions.

So, be who you are, everywhere. People pay attention!

5: Educate your audience

We know that you started your eCommerce business to sell things to people and make money. All businesses need to sell to survive – and we’re all about surviving and thriving. But if you want a brand that your customers love, then you need to do more than just sell to them. You need to serve them too. One way you can do this is through your content.

Use your blog articles, your social media posts, and your emails to bring your customers helpful advice, interesting information, and inspiring news. Focus on areas linked to your brand, or other topics you know your avatar is interested in.

For example, if you sell wall planners for busy families, then you might pull together a collection of quick and healthy midweek suppers to save them time after the school run.

The more you give, the more your audience will feel listened to. And the more they’ll love you!

6: Be clear about what differentiates you

eCommerce is busy, and it can be hard to stand out in a busy marketplace. The brands that make an impact are those who have spent time working out their USP – Unique Selling Proposition.

If you want your customers to be clear about who you are and what you‘re for, then you need to spend some time working it out. Research the market, look at your competition, and pull out the things you do differently. And then shout about it! Loudly and often!

7: Identify your brand voice and personality

Your brand voice is the way you communicate all the things we’ve already talked about. How you talk (write, post, etc.) makes such a difference in how you connect with your audience. Working out how your brand talks means you can be consistent.

And consistency builds connection.

It’s hard for people to fall in love with a brand when they don’t know what’s coming next. We all want consistency in our relationships and, as people build connections with brands, they want consistency here too.

So, work out the way you talk, the words you use (and never use!), the in jokes you pepper your emails with, and the topics you love talking about – and lean into them.

Your audience will thank you you for the lack of conversational whiplash!

8: Build a brand story

People love stories. We always have. As far back as humans go we’ve told stories – through dance, song, speech, and the written word. Stories are how we make sense of the world.

When we hear a good story, we want to be part of it. So, give your customers an amazing story, and they’ll stick with you. Don’t think you’ve got a good enough story to tell? Well, we can help – it’s kind of our thing.

Find out more about how we can turn your story into a compelling legend that pulls in your customers and boosts your brand.

All 8 of these building blocks will give you a brand with substance that your customers will connect with. You’ll have something to talk about, and a way to ensure consistent conversations. Build loyalty and love…

…NOW you can worry about the pretty bit!`