3 very human ways to build brand loyalty. (and how to use them)

If you can master the human touch in marketing, what you stand to gain in client loyalty can propel your business to new heights.

And it only takes a few simple tactics for your customers to pick you over the competition.

That’s because the human desire for connection is timeless.

Let me explain.

I got my first lesson in human-touch marketing as a kid growing up with Cajuns in South Louisiana. Life there was fun, but times were tough.

It was back before the rise of easy credit and the internet. So, you needed cash.

That meant having a side hustle.

One of the biggest side hustles was smokehouses. It seemed like everybody had one. And they made the best smoked sausage I’ve ever eaten.

The sausage was fantastic but almost a commodity. It was everywhere, and there was no real difference in price from vendor to vendor.

Most Cajuns stayed with a particular smokehouse simply because they liked the owner. They would drive by three smokehouses to get to their favorite.

They just wanted someone they could connect with.

The human touch in marketing

If you provide a good product and people feel connected to your brand, they will buy from you, even if it costs a little extra.

That’s not some big revelation, but I still hear ridiculous arguments to the contrary.

But don’t take my word for it. Just look at the stats.

A Harvard Business Review study revealed that fully connected customers were 52% more valuable than customers who labeled themselves “highly satisfied.”

And a Sprout Social study found that of customers who felt a connection to their vendor, 57% would increase their spending with their brand, and 76% would buy from them over a competitor.

Is it just about the numbers?

Nope.

There’s plenty of qualitative evidence to back up those stats. I’m one example.

I still buy my sausage in South Louisiana from one little vendor down there. It’s because I know and trust them.

It’s four hours away, but I don’t give a damn. They have a great product and a human touch.

And no, I’m not the type to travel all over the place for food. I complain whenever I drive 20 minutes to get a good steak.

I’m just like the folks in the opening story from 40 years ago. We all want human connections.

Nothing about that has changed. And nothing ever will.

I could go on and on, but we’ve beaten down the naysayers enough. Let’s just pick ’em up and toss ’em out.

There we go.

Now we can look at a few methods of human touch marketing that can work for you.

Unconventional face-to-face marketing

This method works great for businesses that people don’t fully understand or that have become just sort of ho-hum.

Information tech is one example (at least to me).

IT security isn’t exactly the sexiest business around.

Necessary? Sure.

But does that office staff director know the business’s ins and outs? Probably not. They just know the boogeyman is trying to hack them and hold their data for ransom.  

So, any old IT company will do, right?

Wrong, little buddy.

When my stuff gets hacked, and I’m pooping my pants over it, I want to have a good relationship with the person saving my electronic butt.

I want to know the face behind the IT company.

One local IT entrepreneur I know understands this human need well.

This past Christmas, instead of sending a card to clients, he hand-delivered Christmas cookies to every one of them.

Business Christmas cards get tossed in the trash.

Cookies open doors. Cookies get customers to say things like,

“Oh, yeah, we need to do that security thing you’ve been talking to us about.”

Those cookies sealed the deal on thousands of dollars of new business for our IT owner before the new year came around.

All he did was show he cared.

And it can be done at scale. Just look at the Savannah Bananas.

They are the Harlem Globetrotters of baseball. But it isn’t their antics that make fans feel special.

It’s the $25 tickets that include admission and all-you-can-eat concessions.

It’s the chance to leave your mark on the field by signing the Banana Fan Wall.

And it’s the owner, Jesse Cole, interacting with fans at every game in a yellow tux, complete with a top hat.

Oh, by the way, they don’t do any corporate sponsorship. So, there’s nothing to clutter the fan interaction with the team.

Yep, it’s just you and the boys of summer. Dressed in yellow.

The Bananas make you feel like the show is just for you because they get up close and personal.

And they do it for thousands of people every year. You can, too. Here’s how.

Here’s your face-to-face market overview

First, step back and make sure this is the best avenue. Next, determine how often you want to meet with your clients.

Then you just need something special (like cookies) to get you in the door.

The trick here is to not go to the well too often. You want to connect with your customers, not annoy them.

So, mix it up with other techniques, like the next one.  

Handwritten notes

My grandfather used to paint his house every summer. (I know, right?)

He mail-ordered his paint. Every year the package came with a handwritten letter from the company owner. 

It was a simple thank you and request for feedback.

And it always started with, “Hi, Roy, how are you?”

Was that paint better than what could be bought at the local hardware store? Nah. The letter was the differentiator.

You can do the same. And if your business is small, you should.

Why? Because the open rate on handwritten, stamped envelopes is 99 flippin’ percent.

You have to admit knowing your mail will get opened, read, and remembered is a pretty powerful marketing tool.

So, how do you do it?

Just sit down and write, buddy. Oh, you wanted something more specific.

Well, just take a tip from the earlier story. If you have a new customer who makes a big order, drop a two-line thank you note with the order.

If you know it’s a customer’s birthday, send them a handwritten note. You will stand out.

Got a customer you haven’t seen in a while? Drop a handwritten note with a discount in it. Let them know it’s a shameless bribe for them to visit ’cause you miss ’em.  

There are a million ideas you can come up with. Just make it an appointment, like checking your email.

But you can’t scale handwritten notes!

Not with that attitude, pal. Here’s a study that might change your mind.

An online South Korean beauty company ran a test with over 1,200 customers. Some received a photocopied handwritten note.

Future spending from those customers more than doubled those that received no note.

So, yes, it can be done at scale. And it can be effective.

Will it generate the same excellent $38 to $1 ROI of email marketing? I couldn’t find any studies that said it would.

But with the cost of a stamp being less than some cost per click on ads, it might be better than a CPC ad campaign.

Speaking of the internet, let’s look at another way to do some homespun digital marketing.

You guessed it….

Social media

I know, I know. I just wrote a big, hairy blog post on the shifting sands of social media.

But it’s still an excellent tool for putting a human spin on your marketing. You just have to know the keys to unlock the code.

The first key is to use story. One of the best at it is Stephanie Stuckey.

Stephanie has used the Great American Roadtrip to gain serious traction on LinkedIn. Her stories from the road often play into how she’s rebuilding the Stuckey’s empire started by her grandfather.

As of this writing, her efforts have yielded over 112,000 followers.

And organic posts on her account regularly gain over 3,000 reactions and hundreds of positive comments.

Let’s break down how she does it.

As I mentioned, she starts with her story and ties it to road trips to appeal to her audience. For example, check out this line from a recent blog post.

“My grandfather knew this when he founded a roadside chain that celebrated the freedom of exploring America by car. Stuckey’s at its peak was a welcoming oasis to motorists from California to Georgia.

As I work to revive my family’s business, I stay grounded in our roots as a brand that loves what it means to be an American and the freedom of traveling the open road.”

She never lets us forget where she came from or where she wants to go.

Then she invites us to join her like in this line.

“I’ll be exploring Route 66 this week and sharing the stories of the places I visit along the way, the mom & pop trading posts, the diners where the coffee is always hot, and the dive bars that serve PBR on tap.

Let me know if you have any favorite places along the Mother Road from New Mexico to Arizona…word of mouth recommendations are the best! See you on the road!”

The next key is to be open and genuine. Stephanie Stuckey never tries to act like she has it all together.

Instead, shares all the trials and tribulations that come with entrepreneurship, teaching us lessons along the way.

Stuckey keeps it honest, but she never gets down. She keeps hope alive.  

“It’s been a labor of love, but it’s also been a lot of work. Comebacks aren’t like you see in the movies with a one-two punch, and you’re back on top again. They’re a slow daily grind. We’re not 100% there yet, but we’re on our way.”

And the final key? Consistency. She posts regularly, like an old friend who takes the time to send a letter once a week.

Hmm….I sense a connection to an earlier tool.

But how much money is she making off of these posts?

“Ted! ” I hear you shout. “How can you be so callous? She’s pouring her heart out!”

I know. It’s probably not about marketing.

But it’s still marketing.

Besides, she’s savvy about marketing and would be proud that I asked that question. (I hope…)

Anyway, the answer is I have no freakin’ idea. I don’t know how you even measure something like this in dollars.

If you know, put it in the comments below.

I can tell you the metrics and feedback point to ridiculously high ROI on brand recognition and loyalty. 

Whatever it is, it isn’t bad for a completely free platform and a few minutes of your time a few times each week.

The End of the Bloviation

There you have it. Three great ways to supercharge your connection to customers without breaking the bank.

I hope the ideas and examples in this blog post are helpful. If they did, let me know. If they didn’t, let me know why not.

And as always, if you have any great insights on this stuff, let me know in the comments below.

I’m always learnin’!