Learn from YogiTea as a Branded Experience!

In the marketplace it is all about branding. About being distinctive. Like Seth Godin says in his book Purple Cow "The key to success is to find a way to stand out-to be the purple cow in a field of monochrome Holsteins". So how to be a Purple Cow and deliver a Branded Experience? I love the example of YogiTea which is a Purple Cow in the land of tea brands.

Let's dive into what a "Branded Experience" is. There are 3 types of Experiences (Rosaria Cirillo):

# De-branded: memorable but unpleasant; not delivering on brand promise, customer remembers them strongly and saves the experience in their emotional memory region.

# Non-branded: customers won't remember them because they don't pass our "Attention gateway" and don't get saved in our memory, and if they do, they will not link it to the brand.

# Branded: memorable and pleasant, delivers on brand promise and satisfies critical needs. These experiences pass the attention gateway, they are stored in our emotional memory region and they make the company become the de facto reference in that product category.

From a customer experience opinion, organizations should focus on delivering Branded Experiences. So, make it all about being memorable, enjoyable, delivering on the brand promise and satisfying critical needs.

What makes YogiTea a great Branded Experience? 3 elements stand out:

1. Niche

YogiTea is a special tea based on unique Ayurvedic tea recipes. They have 44 different teas, based on the three doshas. The tea I drink and like the most is Bright Mood. The essence of the tea is "Everything is Good". Every specific tea has an appealing name and a meaning. These teas are drunk by many Yoga practitioners in the world. This is a growth market. More and more people acknowledge the positive effects of practicing yoga and so this niche market is a great place to be.

2. Brand values

Their Brand Promise is not 100% clear but when looking at the YogiTea story, they promote individual wellbeing. "Feel good, be good and do good" is what they are about. I always feel good when drinking their teas. They are good with the ingredients and how they handle their business partners. They do well from a CSR perspective and provide support and funding for people in need across the globe. When reading their website they are very specific on Brand Values and they are distinctive! Impressive how they translate these in a practical manner in their business and products.

3. Packaging

YogiTea has great tea as their product, but what I love most is their packaging. This is where they make a BIG difference. Everything is about promoting my wellbeing. A real branded experience in this little box with 17 teabags. The packaging shows an easy Yoga Posture and have a look at the barcode: that is also a Yogi! To make the experience even better, every cup of tea delivers a branded experience! The tea label shares an inspirational quote; mine was "You are unlimited". These quotes always show a smile on my face.

Focusing on a real niche market, being clear and straight about their Brand Values and being distinctive in packaging makes YogiTea one of the best practices in branded experiences. This doesn't happen by accident, but every time I buy a box of YogiTea, they deliver. They wow me and make me happy.

*****

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress.

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations.

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results.