By Elizabeth Boineau

There’s a new book out by the CEO of global communications giant Saatchi and Saatchi Worldwide, Kevin Roberts, that might make you want to send a belated Valentine to your best customers to be sure you’re their one and only. Lovemarks, the Future Beyond Brands, claims that winning brands are the ones that have a following of customers who feel “loyalty beyond reason” and who will do anything to support the brand with which they form an emotional connection and then come to pledge unwavering devotion.

Brand features and/or product attributes (function) and benefits (why it’s better) are now only part of the equation, he purports. Rational thinking is no longer sufficient. Leading brands cause customers to fall in love with them and to do whatever it takes and pay whatever the price to get them.

So how do you make your beloved customers fall head over heels? Entertain, innovate, stimulate and bond, all by connecting with the five senses as much as possible to, in essence, yield a feeling and not just a transaction. He believes we need mystery, sensuality and intimacy inherent in each brand exchange to make them remember, to choose your brand first, and even to pay more for it. “You want lifetime customers, and you want them to have a love affair with you so that even if Wal-Mart is offering cheaper, they will stay with you and will pay a premium,” says Roberts.

One of my favorite brand geniuses, Al Ries, suggests humanizing the brand to cultivate some TLC from our clients and prospects, even though brands, just like humans, have imperfections. When the inevitable flaws do surface, though miniscule we always hope, we have the insulation of this commitment forged between the customer and us. If we’re holding up the brand promise, we’re likely bonded like glue that does not give easily, even when tugged a bit too hard.

Sometimes brand imperfections can endear us even more to a product. We feel a need to protect it in spite of a temporary hardship or setback. Besides, it’s more like “us” when it slips here and there—but always rebounds—in part because we won’t allow it to sink. We’re loyal, remember?

The more human components associated with a brand, the stronger the brand is and becomes, and you can just feel the affection grow. When customers exclaim adoration for your product, there’s no going back.

Delivering consistently against expectations, living up to the brand promise, offering extraordinary service and going the extra mile and a half are some of the ways that companies move higher on the dance card. A person vs. a phone tree, for example, can create a smile rather than a terse click when the automated system fails us mere humans.

The idea is to have customers become evangelists for your brand. Is there anything better than that third-party endorsement and word of mouth advertising to spread the love?

I’m reminded of a treasured client who recently sent a testimonial on behalf of our team, and the subject line read: “Can you feel the love?” The words in the document he sent still have us beaming. It’s the mutual devotion in a successful partnership, in this case between agency and client, or between Tide and Mrs. Cleaver, that makes both worlds a little brighter, better, more successful, and is at the heart of what Roberts is trying to get across to marketers.

Commit to always being your best, do nothing that compromises that, deliver more than what’s expected and offer good value that keeps clients devoted, happy and coming back. Give them something to remember and soon maybe they’ll be professing their love and affection.

Maybe it will have a nice rhythm to it, too: something like: “Roses are red, violets are blue. For making my life sweeter, there’s no brand like you.”

Elizabeth L. Boineau runs E. Boineau & Company, a Charleston-based strategic marketing communications and public relations firm. She can be reached at eboineau@eboineauandco.com.

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