The finishing touch: the sense of touch is another powerful way to reinforce in the minds of your customers, employees and community residents exactly what your bank's brand stands for.

• Author: Stephens, Jeff
• Position: Multisensory Marketing

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Anyone who's been around a group of marketers discussing "look and feel" knows that the conversation is, really just about aesthetics. If there s any discussion of "feel" at all, it revolves around answering the question, "How does that 'look' make you feel?" And there's no denying that is a valid and important question.

But today's innovative marketers are looking more and more at the other literal meaning of the word "feel." In other words, "What does our brand feel like ... to the touch?" That's because these pioneers are consciously tapping into multisensory marketing strategies that build brand equity into tile sense of touch.

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The power of touch

A brand's feel is the literal sensory experience someone has when he or she physically comes into contact with a brand. Touch is among the most powerful senses for marketers to tap into--almost all people develop a common point of reference for the way things feel to the touch. We all know, for instance, that sandpaper feels rough. Fire feels hot. Metal feels hard. Marketers who understand clearly what their brand stands for and what attributes define that brand, can tap into the sense of touch as another powerful way to solidify in the minds of customers, employees and the community, exactly what the bank stands for.

Take Kansas City, Kan.-based Brotherhood Bank, for example. When the bank's Web site states that "handshakes, smiles and warm greetings are liberally distributed at all our facilities," they really mean it ... and prove it. All milers at Brotherhood Bank are encouraged to greet all approaching customers with a sincere handshake. However, with the level of companionship the tellers have with their regular customers, the handshakes usually become a well-received hug. "Our bank's brand was built on touch," says Brotherhood Bank's Marketing Director Steve Hale. "Our milers have excellent relationships with our customers and community, and a genuine, professional handshake further cultivates that relationship."

Touch the campaign

Using the sense of touch not only works in overall brand-building, but also works very well in specific campaigns and promotions. Promotions that leverage more senses than just sight are far more experiential in nature--and are therefore far more engaging and memorable--and ultimately more effective. Utilizing the sense of touch in promotions allows people to physically interact with the bank's message.

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