“I long, as does every human being, to be at home wherever I find myself.”

Maya Angelou

Down to earth, approachable and “one-of-us”.

Girl Next Door Brand Archetype is all about the community.

Girl Next Door doesn’t need to stand out too much, she doesn’t want to. After all, belonging, being a part of the community and connection with others is where she derives most meaning. She thrives building authentic, long-lasting relationships with her customers and clients and prides herself in being approachable, trustworthy and down-to-earth.

If your brand is the Girl Next Door, you want to fit in and be a part of the group. The last thing you want is being alienated or put on some kind of a pedestal, on the spot.

In an ideal world, you’d be liked by everyone. So it can be frustrating for you sometimes to realize the fact that it’s simply impossible. For you, one of the biggest challenges is to find the balance between creating a community, belonging and being liked, and understanding that you can’t appeal to everyone.

To build a powerful brand and capitalize on the best traits you need to focus on your ideal audience and put all your energy into creating a connection with them. Even though it may be tough, drop the notion that you can be liked by everyone.

The Summary

Because true belonging only happens when we present our authentic, imperfect selves to the world, our sense of belonging can never be greater than our level of self-acceptance.

Brené Brown

Your ideal customer

Your ideal audience is people who share similar values: they want to belong and they loathe brands who excessively stand out from the crowd. They prefer familiar rather than weird or strange.

They don’t like to be put on the spot themselves and care a lot about what others in their community think, say, do and buy.

For them, authenticity and true relationships are so important, that if you truly connect with them, they are willing to go an extra mile for you and stay loyal to your brand even if that means ignoring your mistakes or forgiving the discomfort of an imperfect service.

Those are not people who are excessively demanding or confrontational. If they really like you (and they will if they can connect with you and resonate with your story), they will stay loyal to your brand and support you for years to come as long as you stay consistent in your brand positioning.

They are driven by a deep need to be “one of the gang” and form true relationships with others. They are positive, outgoing and social, feeling their best when they are surrounded by people they like, trust and shared values.

Your ideal customers are happy to offer help when needed and care about their communities: whether it’s their neighborhood, their workplace or their school. They respect others even if they don’t like them because they see the bigger picture and understand we are all connected.

They appreciate the simple things in like, are humble and grateful.

Connect with your audience

If you want to connect with your ideal audience, you need to create a trustworthy, reliable and high-quality brand experience. Trust is one of the most important things for your audience, so watch out for anything that would sabotage it. Creating a cohesive, consistent branding experience will help you build that trust, because hey, they expect something and get exactly that, every time.

To build the trust factor remember to be down to earth and show them how much you’re like them and understand what they’re going through. Give them assurance and be open.

Perfection is not something that’s important for your audience. Authenticity is. Be open, share your own challenges and vulnerabilities, but be careful not to be too flashy, as it may put them off.

What your brand experience should be?

Your brand should help people feel like themselves, fit in and connect with each other. Create a down-to-earth, common-sense experience so the Girl Next Door can feel comfortable with it and resonate with it.

To make the most of this archetype, your products or services should help people feel a sense of belonging, be practical, functional and trustworthy without the unnecessary fluff. Ideally, they should be accessible for most people with the pricing in a medium range.

Make your brand experience inviting and friendly.

Brands and people within the Girl Next Door archetype

Brands

IKEA, GAP, Aerie

People

Will Smith,  Drew Barrymore, Anne Hathaway, Jenna Kutcher