Getting more happy customers is key to making your business grow and thrive. Why?

Happy customers return, bring their friends and family along, and distribute free advertising via social media and word of mouth.

Companies that coerce and appeal to fears rather than improve happiness to get buyers can create a negative customer connection with their brand, not to mention it can result in an increase in both bad reviews and returns.

Plus, according to neuroscience research, we’re more likely to act (and so buy) when we’re happy and rewarded than when we fear negative consequences.

So which brands make their customers happier or provide them with meaning… and how the heck do they do it?

Dove try and deliver long-lasting positive change through their message – “power and beauty come from within.”

Through their copy, Dove’s aim is to make “beauty a source of confidence, not anxiety,” as they look to “transform daily cleansing into an act of care.”

I know I’m more likely to become loyal to brands that make me happier or increase meaning, which is why the Disney brand is soooo strong.

For instance, one day, after my soon-to-be five-year-old asked, “Can I go to Disneyworld?” a gazillion times and more, my husband and I investigated booking a trip for his birthday.

I’d never been before. I’d also never spoken to him about it.  But he’d been told by friends and family who were already devoted customers… so I went straight to their website.

As I read out loud…

“Join Us For The World’s Most Magical Celebration…”

My son’s eyes lit up. He repeated the word MAG-I-CAL… a word I noticed that Disney sprinkled throughout their copy.

Immediately, we were hooked into the world of Disney through words that evoked positive emotion and pleasure.

Some people love planning vacations. I’m personally not the biggest fan. Honestly, all of the research and booking feels like boring admin to me. zzz.

But Disneyworld has made the proposition of planning feel, dare I say it….exciting. 

“Planning Has Never Been This Magical”

Even something I hated, like holiday planning, was starting to feel more fun.

As we got deeper down the buying process, I was getting more interested, and I hadn’t even experienced the magic of the actual park yet…

Next on the website, an engaging, limited offer.

We were shown video after video, watching joyful families entering the theme park, appealing to meaningful family values of creating life-long memories together and immersing us in the experience of what it would be like to go. 

“Discover enchanting adventures throughout Walt Disney World Resort.“

Enchanting adventures? Swoon. I was more than interested.  I imagined my kid’s excited face on these adventures, and I was hooked. We all were.

So we booked, we went, and had a blast. Plus, we were fortunate to take him a second time.

We haven’t become loyalty program members yet…but I wouldn’t be surprised if an email sprinkled with Disney Pixie Dust magic gets us joining in the future. 

Especially if it continues to: build on the Disney experience, leave me with more positive emotions, and give my life more meaning through its ability to provide us with epic family memories.

So the big question is… how can we as founders and business owners learn from these brands and get more happy customers through brand messaging?

One way is brand messaging infused with Positive Psychology.

We can draw on the latest Positive Psychology research (an exploding field of science I’m obsessed with), which focuses on how we enhance happiness and well-being. We should ask ourselves…

1. How can we deliver something in relation to our product or service that evokes positive emotion and feels immediately rewarding?
2. How can we help our customers savor the pleasure and experience over time?
3. How does our product or service make a long-lasting positive impact on customers’ lives?
4. How can our brand (and its products) help people make their lives more meaningful?

Want to create that magic for your brand? Remember to sprinkle in positive psychology infused messaging that:

• Evokes positive emotion overall, and even pleasure
• Immerses the audience in the experience and not just what they’ll see – Sounds? Smells? Tastes? Touch? Describe it all.
• Brings to life values the audience resonates with and that gives their life more meaning

Chat soon,

Dee Crick x