Creating a brand that people connect with emotionally is the key to customer loyalty according to brand strategy executive Libby Gill and the Inc.com article “7 Essential Ingredients for a Compelling Brand.” People don’t choose their favorite brands based solely on superior products or service – it’s more about the way the brand experience makes them feel. Build a brand that people want to be a part of with using these elements listed by Gill:

Clarity

Clear and persuasive language telling customer’s how they will benefit from your products and services should be present in all your communications in print and online. It should definitely be straightforward, but it must also be unique in order to separate you from the competition. Think beyond the obvious physical results and consider the entire experience and how it should make clients feel.

Exceptional Value

When you look at the big picture, providing a little extra value is almost always worth the cost in terms of branding and differentiation.

Collaboration

Partnering with the right local businesses for cross promotions, events, and charitable causes further reinforces what your brand is all about and will lead to an emotional connection with people who are already attached to the brands you work with.

An Intentional Emotional Connection

Starbucks coffee might be good, but it’s not that good. The success of companies like Starbucks is largely due to their ability to elicit a consistent, intentional emotional connection with every aspect of their business. “You’ve got to really sort of reverse engineer that by understanding ‘Who am I?’ and ‘What are [consumers] looking at me for? What is the value and the emotional connection that I can provide?'” Gill says.

An Eye on the Competition

You’ll want to monitor your direct competition, but you could also lose business to other companies where your customers tend to spend their disposable income. You’ve got to ensure that, if it comes down to it, the emotional connection between the customer and your brand is strong enough that they’ll choose you. There’s also “invisible” competition to consider – what influences are keeping people from trusting your brand enough to commit, and what language or actions can you use to assure them.

Relevance

Don’t let yourself, your team or your business fall out of touch with the latest trends. If you do, you’re leaving the door open for competitors to seize the opportunities you’ve missed.

Confidence

If you’re not confident in what your brand is about, you’ll never incorporate it to the point of drawing people to it at an emotional level. Define the brand, get all the way behind it, and don’t stray from it. Confidence is also applies at the personal level. Nobody’s going to become attached to a company whose employees don’t believe in the products, services and experience they’re selling. Hire confident people that are confident in your brand, products, and services.

Philanthropic Contributions

Integrity is a brand element that nearly everyone is drawn too. Reinforce your integrity by supporting charitable causes that you and your customers care about.

Click here to read the article form Inc.com.