Richard Branson once said, “You don’t need to be ruthless and cut-throat to be successful in business; you need to be nice.” This brings me to the “liking principle” of behavioural psychology, which states that people like others who are similar to them, pay them compliments, and cooperate with them towards mutual aims or goals.
In the business world, this is also known as brand likeability – a brand strategy based on attractiveness, credibility, and expertise.
Take Apple’s physical stores, for example. It’s no coincidence that this high-end, hi-tech store is staffed with reps in jeans and t-shirts instead of traditional suits and ties. Apple leverages the liking principle by presenting themselves as casual and approachable human beings, creating high levels of likeability.
In the context of financial services marketing, building a likeable brand is crucial as customers need to like what they see of your brand in order to trust it with their finances. After all, financial decision-making is a high stakes game.
Building a likeable brand involves identifying your customer persona, understanding how you can help them, and determining the best approach to engage them. Ensuring your tone of voice is spot on, your communications are clear and transparent, and your customer experience supports this.
Our recent Newcastle Building Society campaign exemplifies this strategy. We’ve built a campaign around the proposition of “Your friendly ISA and Investment experts on the high street,” leveraging the brand’s likeability to connect with customers on a deeper level.
Building likeability and just ‘being decent and nice’ is a long-term strategy, creating a reputable, trustworthy, and engaging brand that provides loyalty and value. Have a chat with us if you’d like to hear more on brand strategy.
For more behaviour pyschology tips and nudges, check out our blog on the information gap here.