You’ve heard the phrase “people buy from people.” It’s one of those lines that gets thrown around a lot, but it sticks for a reason. Because when you zoom out, it’s not just a friendly sentiment, it’s behavioural science informing real-world buying behaviour.
We often think (particularly in the world of B2B marketing), that purchase decisions are based around facts, figures and logic. However; research consistently shows that around 95% of purchasing decisions are emotionally driven.
What this means is that it’s emotional drivers that dictate buyer behaviour, with logic as the follower, not the leader.
This has huge implications for how brands should be showing up.
Our brains sense-check emotional decisions with logic
Traditionally, marketing has been framed around rational decision-making:
- Features
- Benefits
- Inclusions
- Pricing
- “What we can get out of it”
And yes, these factors obviously matter, but it’s NOT what convinces a buyer to hand over their money.
What actually happens is this:
- Emotion drives the initial decision
- Facts and figures are used to justify the decision afterwards
Which means if your marketing leads with: “We’re better than them,” “We’re higher quality,” “Here’s why you should choose us,” you’re missing one of the most pivotal aspects to successful marketing.
The most effective brands feel human
Before someone cares about your benefits, they need to feel something. So how do you trigger emotion?
You don’t do it by shouting louder about how good you are. You do it by being human. Relatable. Real. Grounded in people, not just products.
We’ve found some of the BEST ways to humanise a brand is to:
- Focus on storytelling
- Allow brand affinity to build over time
- Become a familiar face
Why storytelling hits so hard
Our lives are built around storytelling. We’re wired to connect, entertain, and remember through stories.
Storytelling signals honesty, humility, and humanity, which easily generates emotional resonance. It’s an under-leveraged tactic among brands to connect in a commercial capacity through storytelling.
And often, the stories that resonate most aren’t just the polished wins, they’re: challenges, lessons learned, or moments where things didn’t go to plan.
When shared strategically and thoughtfully, even failures build connection.
Allow Brand affinity to be built over time
Every time someone sees your brand, whether on social media, in a store, on a billboard, or elsewhere, you have an opportunity.
Not only to sell, but to connect.
If your brand entertains, educates, or simply feels familiar and aligned, that positive association builds.
Once? Nice. Ten times? Recognition. Fifty times? Trust. A hundred times? You’re front of mind. That’s brand affinity.
This is also why you can’t rely on paid ads alone. Think about your own behaviour: how often do you click on an ad from a brand you’ve never heard of? Rarely. Across most industries, it just doesn’t happen consistently.
People need:
- Awareness: knowing you exist
- Affinity: liking and relating to you
- Trust: feeling safe choosing you
Paid ads can support that journey, but they can’t replace it.
Become a familiar face
Familiarity builds trust (even when you’re not paying attention). The more you encounter a brand, the more familiar it becomes, and the more consumers will carry a bias towards it. In fact 84% of purchase decisions are directly influenced by consumer’s bias towards a particular brand.
Psychological studies even show that brand affinity can even be built even without conscious awareness. Seeing a product on a store shelf, driving past a billboard, or scrolling past a social post, still contributes to brand familiarity in our subconscious minds.
If something feels familiar, our brains automatically perceive it as safer and more credible, even if we can’t explain why. That’s why showing up consistently matters. Not just on social media, but across your entire brand ecosystem.
At the end of the day, trust is the biggest factor in purchasing, but isn’t built in a single campaign or clever tagline. It develops quietly over time, through presence, consistency, and emotional connection.
We know that people don’t just buy what you sell, they buy how you make them feel.
