Affinity:

The importance of relationship building

While building awareness, you must also encourage consumers to connect with your brand on an emotional level to achieve affinity. Engaging your target demographic by such means as a highly interactive Web site, email newsletters, targeted keyword advertising, search link optimization, link sharing and content tagging through del.icio.us and similar sites create an inclusive attitude that encourages loyalty. When you build affinity, you build a community which shares a common interest: your brand. This goes beyond “buzz,” which is fleeting, to establish an ongoing relationship between your brand and the consumer.

A Web site that immerses visitors in your brand experience is no longer a mere competitive advantage. In today’s information economy, it is a fundamental requirement. The Web search is often the starting place and finishing point for evaluating a company’s products or services, and directly influences purchasing and participation decisions. Your Web site is now typically the first contact your target market has with your business. Whether they become customers depends upon the impression it makes. Think Chipotle.

Chipotle’s Web site, www.Chipotle.com, provides numerous opportunities for visitors to involve themselves in the site and the brand itself. The site recently held a competition for user-created video ads, while an online photo album of Chipotle

enthusiasts (and their pets) wearing an article of branded clothing in front of landmarks ranging from the Eiffel Tower to the southernmost point of Antarctica is a staple.

Other memorable consumer-submitted photos include the wedding party that showed up at a Chipotle location directly from the nuptials – an especially impressive example of brand affinity. Chipotle-themed screensavers, games and music also encourage visitors to both linger at the Web site and incorporate the brand into their life.

Building affinity through your Web site can also involve a direct mail campaign to drive traffic to the site to participate in an online-only contest or promotion, or by offering premium content and privileges to registered users.

One caveat regarding affinity: With the dominance of the Internet, businesses have to work harder to build and maintain goodwill with customers. Even one consumer complaint that’s handled badly will be related online and quickly spread throughout the blogosphere. When you commit to connecting with every consumer, you also commit to treating them at a consistently high level of integrity and customer service.