In this episode, we chat about the importance of surprising and delighting customers to create a memorable brand experience. It includes examples of how small gestures and personalized touches can build loyal customers and encourage word-of-mouth marketing.

The conversation also explores incorporating brand personality into various touchpoints, from packaging to website interactions, to enhance customer relationships and create lasting impressions.

We chat about:

⋗ The concept of “surprising and delighting” customers ⋗ Creating memorable brand experiences ⋗ Jo tells us her personal experience with an amazing pet food company ⋗ Going beyond the product, features, or services ⋗ Innovative branding: easter eggs and personal touches ⋗ Building long-lasting relationships

Listen to the Brand Journey Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcast, or Podbean.

Follow @thebrandjourney on Instagram.

---

TRANSCRIPT:

Donaji: We're back.

Jo: Yes, we are. It has been a while.

Donaji: It's been a busy season.

Jo: Mm hmm. Yeah, but it's really nice to be back and having a conversation around the brand experience again. I feel like I've really missed talking about it in this particular way where it feels new. Connected, casual, and also like helps us be better designers as well. It always gives me something to look forward to and something to try and explore a little bit more outside of the podcast, but also in my own work as well.

Donaji: Yeah, it kind of brings some things to, to mind that, um, I either forget or forget that, you know, that we know it or that we do it, you know, cause sometimes you just kind of go with the flow of things and you don't really pay attention to how your process is or the things that you do that, um, are part of.

Your work. So I think diving into some of these little things, um, are a nice way to bring that back into our awareness. So, um, we're going to be talking about surprising and delighting your customers and why this is important for a brand. Um, how we feel about it. What are some things that we have done or have noticed other brands doing that makes a brand, um, stand out?

And the idea is for us to create a brand experience for our customers, for our clients, and what are some of those things that we can do as business owners, whether you have a personal brand or product or service, a brick and mortar, anything that you can do through your process, your marketing, your customer journey to make your brand more memorable for your customers and clients.

Jo: And I love the focus around it being an experience rather than just a brand that's made up of a visual identity, because that doesn't feel…for me it doesn't feel like it makes the impact that a brand should have at the end of the day. Whereas if we are focusing on your branding to be something that creates an experience that is memorable for someone and impacts them in a way that shifts their perspective or brings a smile to their face.

And essentially gives them that surprise and delight, then you're going to be able to create a much deeper level of connection. And I think that's why it's really important to look at your brand from that perspective. So it's about adding this additional textural layer to your brand and how it behaves in the world and how it connects with your customers.

Um, I have an example of. Oh, sorry.

Donaji: No, I was just gonna add I almost feel like it's really bringing the like the personality of the brand really, um, to life, like how it behaves with its customers. Because that's really what it's about. You know, your brand experience, it's really experiencing your brand and how it feels and sounds and how it acts.

And so I think it's like, when you really think about creating all these little moments or things for your customer journey are part of the personality of your brand. So it's not just doing things that are fun or funny or whatever. It's like, it needs to be part of your brand personality as well.

Jo: Oh, that's really good. Yeah. And I love this because the example that I wanted to share for this segment today is a pet brand that I purchased recently for Nori and Nori's a little bit of a…

Donaji: Nori is your dog. 

Jo: Nori is my, my dog. Yeah.

Donaji: For those of you that don't know,

Jo: Yeah. She's, she's more than just a seaweed roll to me.

Donaji: Super cute. She's a black, a black what?

Jo: She's half dachshund, half border collie. So she's kind of in the shape of a dachshund, but has the fur of a border collie.

Donaji: Super cute. Okay.

Jo: So yeah, she's a funny girl. And recently we made a switch to this new brand of pet food, which is meant to be more healthy for her and better on her digestive system. So it was really like, a functional health benefit in terms of why I decided to choose to make the switch for Nori in the first place.

But I kind of saw these ads for this brand called Lyka for a while before purchasing it. And it's almost like these subscription type services where you sign up for a box and the box gets delivered to your home every month with, um, a selection of different packs of food for Nori. So all of them being like, uh, like different meats that she can kind of enjoy for the month.

And the thing that really surprised me was when we got the box in on the doorstep, it was like, maybe like a few days after I initially ordered it, um, Nori went over to the box straight away. And she usually is really inquisitive when she gets packages. They're not always for her. They're just usually things for me on Amazon.

Um, but she gets very excited to receive something on the doorstep, but she was just going a bit bonkers. And I was like, Oh, she must be able to smell the box or she must be able to smell like what's inside. And so we took it inside and then I noticed like on the box itself, there was like this little cut out hole, like, and it had like the word sniffy hole written around it. It was so cute. So the whole box was branded for the dog's experience of enjoyability or to heighten the dog's enjoyment of the brand. So she was like putting her face near the hole and kind of taking these big whiffs in of all the food that was inside. And I was like, this is so brilliant! Like this is a wonderful example of how packaging your product, even in that whole shipping process, before the user is actually experiencing the product that they're getting so excited to receive the product, right? Like this is before they actually eat before my dog eats or experiences the actual product itself. But even in that moment, it's just like the simple cut out of the mailer box.

And already for the owner, it's like, oh, I can see that they've designed this with my dog in mind. And who as a pet owner doesn't want to feel like someone values your pet as much as you do. Right.

Donaji: Yeah.

Jo: That was like a huge emotional booster for me.

Donaji: Awww

Jo: And then when she opened it, there was, it was so cute. It was like the best way of marketing a product's experience.

And I think the other thing that was really beautiful about it was it came with like this little introductory guide that ended up being so normally if you get these kind of delivery subscriptions, you get maybe like some information about the products. It's all very factual, right? Like what the ingredients are, why it's good for you, blah, blah, blah.

But it was like an activity map that had this information, but it was kind of scattered almost like…

Donaji: Oh how cute!

Jo: Kind of path, for the dog to sort of go on like a little bit of a journey And it was like every day they would do something fun with you or like They would get a hug or like a cuddle or something like that.

It was like, yeah, it was just really cute. It's like things you can tick off with your dog and you fill your dog's name in on the little activity map. Um, but it was just another level of like, oh, this is more than just. About the product you notice like even in that experience There wasn't anything just focusing on the features of the product being the ingredients which is why people were purchasing it but the emotion of it was we wanted to feel exciting and enjoyable for your dog to experience this brand.

Donaji: I love that. That is so, that is so smart. But also like, like you said, doing something for, it's kind of like a product for children, you know, it's really for the parents, for their kids. It's easier marketing, you know. To the parents. And so for the brand and the product to make you, the buyer feel a specific way and so excited about, you know, being a dog owner and like bringing joy and happiness to your pet.

I love when brands have like, like they go above and beyond just. Delivering the thing is like how is it packaged or like what are some extra things? Maybe it's like, um educational material Maybe it's like multifunctional something or it's like environmentally friendly products or sorry, uh packaging Things like that.

I love that. That's a really good way to not feel too terrible about buying something Especially online right when it gets shipped and there's like footprint behind all of that all of those decisions. Yeah.

Jo: Yeah. Yeah. And this was also one of the things that I felt really great about when I was reading through the information was they said how the print, like they, they talked about the print that they use, like the ink that they used. Um, so from memory, I think they used, either vegetable inks or sometimes you can use like soy based inks as well.

Yeah, so I was like, oh, it's even to that level that they've considered it and it's been printed on recycled paper. Um, they have, they also packaged it in a way where sometimes if you get things in the mail, there's like a protective sleeve that goes over everything to make sure that it doesn't like get damaged during the transit process, but this came with, I think it was like wool.

It was like Australian wool. So it was just like off cuts of wool. Um, and it was in a bag and they were saying you can actually use this, like tuck it into your dog's bedding

Donaji: Oh my god, no way!

Jo: Extra comfort. So you can reuse that. Otherwise it is compostable. And I was like, okay, I love that they've thought about the values of the person that's purchasing it, as well as your dog, right? Like, it was just this full experience. So, it surprised and delighted me to no end. And as a result, it made me sign up for, like, more subscription boxes.

Donaji: And you're telling all of us about it.

Jo: Yeah, yeah, exactly. And it kept me on as a customer. So that's the power I think of delighting and surprising your customer with something that they didn't expect.

And it takes the brand experience so much further than the product features.

Donaji: Yeah, completely to another level. Um, and like we talked about, you know, this, the entire reason why this is important is to make a brand memorable and it builds loyal customers. Just like what you said, it just makes you sign up for more. And then word of mouth, which is so powerful, um, for any business.

Actually, for a lot of, specifically, service based businesses, like, that's how they get most of their business, through word of mouth, um, small businesses even, even more particularly. Um, so I think going above and beyond, like, what your customers and clients, um, expect is a great way. To surprise and delight your customers.

So this could be through, um, the entire buying experience from when they first get to learn about who you are as a brand to them visiting your website or to them making a purchase, getting the product or the service. I had a, uh, somebody, um, that was a coach of mine instead of a gift. She sent me an email saying that she had donated to a specific charity.

Jo: Awww, that’s so sweet.

Donaji: Under my name, which was, that was a really nice, uh, thing to do as a service base for one of my clients. I did, there's a button on their website. There's a little icon that you click on. And it's like this really fun page that is kind of hidden. There's no name to it. It's just that little icon. And then when people go to it, It's just a landing page that just introduces the, you know, my clients and like, it's really fun.

And yeah, it's, it's really cute. And so they said that that page gets the biggest hit on their website.

Jo: Wow That is so cool. I love that you buried these little Easter eggs into the

Donaji: We call it the Easter egg page.

Jo: Oh my gosh, and that really inspires me because I was like, oh, I wonder what I could do on my website that is like that, you know, that has like something that surprises and delights. Cause I feel like, yeah, I guess I haven't really thought about my own website experience in terms of surprising and delighting people.

So yeah,

Donaji: Yeah. I mean, me either. I mean,

Jo: We like doing it for our clients.

Donaji: I know, I know. Well, for them it was different because it was all about bringing playfulness into their brand. So it really made sense, um, for them specifically. But, yeah, I mean, just think of like what this is all about is really about how you treat your customers and, and, adding your touch of personality into your brand through the little things that you do Um, they don't have to be expensive things.

They don't have to be big things um, it's just a matter of like you said bringing a smile to their face them feeling like they get to know you a little bit through all these little touches and it can be something as simple as like anticipating their questions or their needs and sending them information before they even ask.

Yeah. So I think like going the extra mile that can really start to build trust, um, credibility, excitement, you know, hopefully that creates more, um, of a drive for them to purchase to, to make a sale, uh, or to make a purchase, I should say. And then, you know, them to become loyal customers. And then they tell people like, that's the goal.

Jo: Yeah. And I love just to dovetail back on what you were saying around, like bringing this out as if it's your personality of your brand comes to life. And the example that you were saying, like around your clients. Personality brand personality naturally is playful. So therefore it's around, how do we make these other parts of the website also reflect that not just in the images or in the design or like the layout or like the fonts or the colors, but how can we sneak these little elements of unexpected playfulness into the brand?

That that's a really good way to think about it in terms of how does it line back up with. Our personalities and our brand and how does it deliver on that experience?

Donaji: Yeah, your values, what you said, like all of that is part of it too, you know. Um, I was thinking of one other example. I really love when people really customize their 404 error page on their website.

Jo: Oooh yes! That is a good point.

Donaji: 404 is like, when you go to a page and it doesn't exist, and it usually says, 404 error, uh, sorry, you must've, you know, this page no longer exists, or something like that. And it's like, generic. I've seen some really fun 404 pages. And I think that's a really, another really easter egg, sort of, Um, opportunity to bring that personality. So they bring in like their personality through their language, through the copy that they write. and it's usually like fun and exciting, you know, and it makes you laugh or, you know, so that's another tiny little example of what you can do.

Jo: I guess there's lots. Of different opportunities, especially on websites and interactions and the animations that you could add in that can surprise and delight people. Um, another one that I've seen is like when people press the submit button on like a form, especially if they're wanting to book in with you or they, I don't know, submit something, um, with their information on it.

And the majority of the time, what you'll see is it was just see like a confirmation. It's like, thank you for submitting this or your submission is successful. But if it actually redirects people to a different page or there's like confetti or something like that, that gets thrown in the end. That's another example of something that's unexpected and sort of goes against what people normally expect to see on a website.

Donaji: Do you have examples of things that you do to surprise and delight your clients? Yeah.

Jo: Once people filled that out, it takes them to like a different page where it, thanks them for booking the call and provides a little bit more information. So I was thinking about that in terms of like, what would people want to see after they've booked a call to meet with you?

Right. If it's redirected to another part of your site, which kind of comforts them and gives them a better feeling around, okay, this is what we're going to do next. This is how the call is going to go. Here's some other helpful resources. It just kind of, okay. completes that process. So I wouldn't say it's necessarily a super surprising Easter egg, but I think it definitely adds to the experience.

The one thing I did want to add to it was probably just like a short little video of me saying thank you.

Donaji: Yeah, that's what I was thinking.

Jo: I want to add to it.

Donaji: Yeah, I was thinking about that too. Yeah, I, I love all of that. The one thing that I do that I really like to do is like a welcome, uh, little treat for them. I really love featuring my clients on my newsletter. I think that's, something that they are always grateful and surprised by, uh, of me sharing their work and about them.

Not just the work that I did for them, but just like the work that they do as well, whether on Instagram or newsletter and things like that. So I think it goes back to like being supportive and encouraging, um, and sort of like that community building aspect of what I like to do. So thinking of like really the ecosystem of your business.

of your brand and business and how there's many different ways for people to come in contact with your brand whether it's through social media, through newsletter, any sort of content that you put out there, your website, your process, um, the way that people find you and the, um. Things that they do, whether it's filling out a form or any of those things before they work with you, during they work with you and after they work with you.

And even afterwards, like think of how some of these brands, this is typical for like bigger brands, how they remember your birthday and then they send you a discount code. You can do that for clients, remember their birthday. Or, like, some milestone that you think it's important in sending them, like, a little card or a gift or something like that.

So, I don't think it needs to be so overly expensive or anything. I think as long as it's personalized, that, that makes it feel much more, um, meaningful and memorable.

Jo: So much of I think marketing or the marketing strategy is around driving sales or creating a funnel of some sort. A big part of it is strategically to drive sales, which is should, but I love this. Aspect of the brand experience, mainly because it is around genuinely connecting and creating a deeper relationship with your customer or your client.

And I love what Donaji does in talking about your clients and the work that they've done. Like you really, showcase your clients and the community that you're building in such a beautiful way every time I see that i'm like I have got to do more of that

Donaji: Thanks, Jo.

Jo: It is so inspiring to see because I definitely see the effort and the energy that you put into that, and because it is such a big part of your values, it really shows as well. So yeah, I think what you were saying, like, it needs to feel aligned with your values at the end of the day, all really good examples.Donaji: Jo. Um, well, we hope that this was helpful or that you have all these little ideas sparking for your business of how you can make your brand more memorable through surprising and delighting your customers. Yeah, I hope you enjoyed it.