I just came home from the ice cream shop, and I saw a father out with his kids. It reminded me of my father-daughter dates, complete with a special occasion double-scoop from  Baskin-Robbins. Guess which ice cream shop I visited today? That’s right, Baskin-Robbins. And guess which ice cream shop is my favorite? You got it, Baskin-Robbins. You can build a lifelong customer out of someone with an emotional connection to your product. Here’s a few thoughts on building an emotional connection with your customers.

Define your target audience. Some companies want to mass-market their product, but it’s more effective to have a well-defined target audience. By targeting a subset of the market, you can fully understand what makes them tick. Every product can’t meet the needs of every person, so it’s better to make a quality product that meets a specific need in your target audience.

Make the message emotional. The most convincing pitch touches your heart, which in turn touches your wallet. If you feel emotionally invested in something, you’re more likely to get financially invested. Ask your audience to feel something for your product, and create situations that give them memories. Don’t just focus on the call to purchase, but rather the call to connect. When people start connecting with you outside your product, they are much more likely to make you their long-term choice.

Create the atmosphere. Images are a powerful way to stir up emotion, but you can use all the senses to create a connection. If you can pinpoint the trigger for your target audience, you can create an atmosphere that entices them to buy. Stores at Christmas are a perfect example of creating the atmosphere. They touch your olfactory senses with candles that smell like cinnamon and gingerbread, your eyes with bright bulbs on a beautiful tree, your ears with carols, and your hands with rich textures. It’s hard to stay within budget when you are over-whelmed with thoughts about the perfect Christmas, and you can’t wait to see the joy on someone’s face as they open their gift. The atmosphere helps solidify the emotional connection, which keeps customers coming back again and again.

Be consistent. Above all, you must have a quality product. Trust is hard to build but easy to lose, so you must make sure that your customers know that you provide a quality product at all times. Don’t just solicit an emotional connection via superficial means, but be vulnerable to connect. Engage your customers on a personal level, and allow your company to be invested in the customers. Talk to them, listen to them, understand them. When customers know you’re in it for the long haul, they are much more likely to stay in as well.

My dad and I always had a blast on our father-daughter dates, and they wouldn’t have been complete without a little Baskin-Robbins. Whose memories are incomplete without your product?