THE ART AND SCIENCE OF BRAND-CONSUMER CONNECTION

You may have noticed the words underscoring our new logo: Connecting brands and consumers.  After much soul-searching as to what it is we do for ALL of our clients, we landed on brand-consumer connection, a methodology we call Connexology.

You see, when the digital revolution transformed communication and gave everyone a voice, it put the entire world at everyone’s fingertips. It also made it exponentially more difficult for people to make meaningful connections that endure beyond a transaction. At Oxford, we’ve spent the last decade developing some powerful ways to mend this gap.

Unless you’ve resigned yourself to exist as a commodity, you want to attract consumers for reasons beyond price or convenience.  Consumers are attracted to brands that share their values. For a $2 item, that might be as simple as a belief in quality, a choice of colors, or “Made in the USA.”  For a $2,000 product or service, consumers are likely to expect more. They want to know why your brand is in business. What do you stand for? What’s your story?  They want your brand to value the things that they value. These can be big things like family, security or rescuing animals. Whatever your stake in the ground, make it real. Be prepared to fight for it. Make an emotional connection around what matters to your customer and you’ll make more than a sale; you’ll win a loyal fan for life.  What’s that worth to you?

Next installment: How do we go about making a successful brand-consumer connection?