Building Brand Intimacy: 10 Ways to Connect Emotionally With Customers

What is brand intimacy?

Brand intimacy is a deep emotional connection between a business and its customers. The marketing model, which focuses on emotions, can influence how customers make purchase decisions and become longtime fans of a particular brand.

Brand intimacy should not be confused with brand loyalty. Brand loyalty is often driven by incentives, rewards or habit, but brand intimacy is based solely on how a customer feels about a brand. It’s also different from brand awareness, which reflects your company’s visibility and reputation — including how familiar your customers are with your business.

Brand intimacy, on the other hand, involves a much deeper connection with your audience.   

“[Brand intimacy is] not just about brand awareness — it’s about making people feel something when they think about your brand,” said Chris Coussons, a digital marketing expert and founder of Visionary Marketing. “The strongest brands aren’t just recognized. They’re trusted, valued and emotionally meaningful to their audience.”

Brand intimacy model

A strong emotional connection is determined by the degree of overall positive feelings a customer has toward a brand and the extent to which they associate it with key attributes. Some common markers of brand intimacy include fulfillment, identity, enhancement, ritual, nostalgia and indulgence.

Here’s what each one entails:

1. Fulfillment: Exceed customer expectations to position your brand as one that overdelivers.
2. Identity: Create an aspirational image that resonates deeply with consumers. Customers identify with the brand and feel it represents who they are.
3. Enhancement: Help customers become better, smarter or more capable through your brand. A strong brand reputation reinforces that connection.
4. Ritual: Make your brand part of your customers’ daily routine. Think of a blog you read every morning. The connection is far more intimate than with one you visit occasionally.
5. Nostalgia: Evoke positive memories of the past, particularly if your brand was part of a customer’s childhood or earlier life stage.
6. Indulgence: Build a relationship around fun and gratifying experiences. Think about the brands you associate with joy or relaxation.

Brand intimacy develops across three stages:

• Sharing: This stage begins when the user and brand first interact and exchange information or experiences. 
• Bonding: At this stage, trust and acceptance are established. An attachment forms, and the relationship becomes more significant and committed. 
• Fusing: In the final stage, the user and brand are closely linked. The brand becomes part of the customer’s identity and a form of self-expression.

Marketing agency MBLM developed a framework that measures brand-level intimacy and assigns each brand a Brand Intimacy Quotient. The process begins by building strong emotional ties and deepens through strategic investment in one or more of the six archetypes.

How to build brand intimacy and emotionally connect with customers

You don’t have to be a large corporation to build an emotional connection with customers. Here are 10 ways small businesses can foster brand intimacy.

1. Know your audience.

To build intimacy in any context, you must first get to know the other party — and they must get to know you. That goes beyond surface-level interactions though.

“In order to establish intimacy, a brand must completely understand its audience,” said Darcy Flanders, founder and chief brand strategist at BaselineGroupNY. “Typically, research would be conducted to learn about their values, likes and dislikes, and, most importantly, pain points and challenges.”

To achieve that, Coussons said, you must ask the right questions: 

• What do they care about? 
• What problems are they trying to solve? 
• What kind of experience do they expect from you?

The answers to those questions will help you create more detailed customer personas that humanize your target audience. That, in turn, will help you cater to them more personally.

2. Practice empathy.

Some of the easiest ways to connect with your customers involve practicing empathy. That can include: 

• Reading body language
• Asking thoughtful questions
• Paying close attention 
• Offering straightforward solutions at any point of contact

If consumers feel you’re not invested enough in solving their problems, however, forming an authentic relationship with them will be impossible.

“You have to get intimate and put yourself in the shoes of the reader of that ad, touch on their pain points, give examples of others who are in the same spot as them and try to build a connection through a story with them,” said Stephen Montagne, founder of NetHustler. “Nurture them all the way to the checkout process and beyond.”

Companies that act tone-deaf can be a significant turnoff to customers seeking an emotional connection with their brands. Instead, brands should demonstrate their human sides. Participating in relief efforts or donating to disaster recovery efforts are just two examples of how to do that.

3. Be authentic.

Today’s consumers expect a brand to connect with them in an intuitively human way. That means finding unobtrusive ways to highlight your uniqueness.

“Be authentic. Be human. Share stories about your brand’s values and mission,” Flanders said. “Authentic stories can evoke emotions and create a personal bond with your target audience.”

Customers typically appreciate authenticity over authoritativeness. “Just be yourself online. Don’t try to sound like some fancy corporate dude in a suit,” said Montagne, who often blogs about his experiences as a digital marketer and business owner. “My blog readers know when I mess up, and I tell them about it. Sometimes, I lose money on my ad campaigns or other side projects. Guess what? I share that too. People dig that real talk.”

4. Identify what drives customers.

Zeroing in on what motivates your target audience helps nurture an emotional connection. Many customers want to feel unique and valued, for example. In that case, marketing efforts should be highly personalized, with associates making themselves readily available to meet clients’ needs.

“The best brands don’t just sell products or services — they create a feeling,” Coussons said. “That could be reliability, excitement, nostalgia or even a sense of belonging.”

5. Connect whenever possible.

When interacting with customers, always put yourself in their shoes. What’s important to them? How can you speak their language? Be willing to connect with customers in person and through platforms like social media.

Montagne constantly finds ways to stay in touch with his audience — even through nontraditional channels such as Reddit. He also has casual conversations without trying to turn every interaction into a transaction. That mindset is key to building real brand intimacy.

“I still try to reply to every email I get and give free advice to young marketers or small businesses looking to get a start online,” Montagne said. “The thing is that I’m not just broadcasting stuff at them 24/7 like most marketers do and asking them to buy this and that.”

6. Tell stories.

If you look at the six archetypes identified in the MBLM study, you’ll find that solid brand storytelling is essential. A timepiece brand, for example, could use storytelling to build strong traditions around its products. No matter the size of the brand, storytelling plays a pivotal role in building brand intimacy.

Coussons emphasized the importance of storytelling in forging emotional connections with customers. “People connect with stories, not sales pitches,” he said. “The more you can humanize your brand — whether that’s through sharing behind-the-scenes content, customer stories or a strong brand mission — the more people will relate to it.”

Of course, storytelling requires honest and transparent communication, which can feel uncomfortable at times. Consumers, however, tend to appreciate that kind of vulnerability. Rather than forcing a square peg into a round hole, carve your brand’s path through authentic dialogue and storytelling.

“Consumers can spot inauthenticity a mile away, so if you’re trying too hard or jumping on trends that don’t fit your brand, it’s not going to land,” Coussons said.

7. Maintain client relationships with a CRM system.

The more customers you acquire, the harder it becomes to connect with each one personally. It’s nearly impossible to manually track every customer detail, so investing in a dedicated customer relationship management (CRM) platform can help you stay connected.

The best CRM software can automatically track customer data, interactions and shopping habits. It allows you to segment your audience, send targeted offers, monitor social media interactions and use reporting tools to identify VIP customers.

8. Nurture leads.

It’s essential to build relationships and engage your current customers, but it’s also important to nurture leads. Quality leads should receive personalized communication and automated drip emails based on their customer journey and lead scoring. Incorporating targeted efforts for qualified leads can help you turn potential customers into repeat customers.

9. Connect with your community.

More businesses than ever are setting up online stores. Engaging with your local community can yield enormous benefits, however, particularly if you have a brick-and-mortar presence. 

Whether you partner with neighboring businesses, join a local business organization or offer your expertise, connecting with your community can often generate revenue with less effort than traditional advertising campaigns require.

10. Offer customer service through multiple channels.

Providing excellent customer service is a crucial element of building brand intimacy, because it shows customers they are valued and heard.

Customers expect support via multiple channels, including phone, email, live chat, text and social media. Extensive FAQs and knowledge bases online can also be handy ways for customers to help themselves. 

With all the options customers have, delivering superior service is essential. Consumers who experience excellent support are more likely to become repeat customers.

Companies with the most brand intimacy

Building brand intimacy takes effort. It can’t be faked and must be nurtured to be effective. The following brands have been exceptionally successful at building brand intimacy.

Disney

Disney is known worldwide for its iconic characters, enchanting stories and immersive theme parks. The characters appeal to people of all ages and cultures. 

Disney weaves its beloved characters through movie theater experiences, Disney+ home streaming, interactive rides and shows across its global entertainment parks, and merchandise lines — all of which help solidify brand identity and deepen consumer engagement.

The company’s acquisitions of Marvel Entertainment, Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox have increased its customer base. Disney can provide a consistent, personalized experience across all touchpoints, leading to long-term customer loyalty.

Apple

Apple is seen as indispensable to its vast, diverse customer base. From laptop powerhouses at work to FaceTime with friends and family, Apple products keep people around the world productive and connected.

Because products like the Apple Watch and AirPods remain in physical contact with users throughout the day, customers are constantly aware they’re using an Apple product — which helps build strong emotional bonds with the brand.

Apple products are aesthetically pleasing and generally live up to the hype. They’ve also become a status symbol, driving premium pricing and inspiring a devoted following.

Sony

Sony’s brand identity is built on four core values: innovation, quality, design and reliability. The company is known for its consistency and for creating products that enhance customers’ lives at work and at play.

With innovation as its top strategy, Sony keeps customers excited about new product releases — often sparking emotional connections even before products hit the market. The brand also strengthens its ties with consumers by staying socially and environmentally conscious and collaborating with artists, designers and other brands to maximize engagement.

YouTube

With over 8.33 hours of video content uploaded every second, YouTube offers a genre of videos for nearly every consumer’s taste. 

From watching TV shows and news to connecting with others through work or hobbies, the platform provides easy, free ways to subscribe to channels and engage with content by commenting instantly on your favorite videos. YouTube promotes accessibility and inclusion by making entertainment and information available from anywhere.

Building lasting brand intimacy 

Brand intimacy is invaluable for your business, because the authentic connections you cultivate will naturally market your brand for you. In the long run, your relationships with your customers will pay off — quite literally.

When customers feel an intimate connection to your brand, they are naturally more loyal and engaged. That leads to repeat business and an improved brand reputation. 

“In a world where consumers have endless choices, brand intimacy is what makes them choose you again and again,” Coussons said.

Sammi Caramela contributed to this article.