I’ll admit, I’m your typical millennial. Sure—there are plenty of things that I get off Amazon for the convenience + price factor. But there are also plenty of things I pay a premium for. And the single most important thing that made me decide these products/services were worth a little extra cash?

The branding, of course!

While there are many things about these companies that are great that go beyond just their brand + branding, the reason I found them valuable enough to invest in in the first place was because of my first impression with them (or first several impressions, in reality), including the way they came across and the message they sent. 

Read on for 3 companies that I’ve paid a premium for (+ trust me when I say there are a lot more where these came from!). 

My gym: Equinox

As some of you may know, Equinox is a luxury gym located in many of the big cities—NYC, LA, and Boston to name a few. Before I joined Equinox, my experience with the gym was paying $10/month to say I belonged to a not-very-clean Planet Fitness that I only stepped foot in once all year. I’ve also always loved boutique fitness classes like spinning or boxing, but those get pricey (upwards of $40/class here in NYC!) and I was struggling to justify the price for what I was getting. 

Enter Equinox. When it comes to their branding, even if it sounds incredibly cheesy to type it out, they market themselves as a “temple of well-being” and their tagline is, “it’s not fitness, it’s life.” They emphasize that being a member is a lifestyle, and tap into their ideal clients sense of belonging. The visual branding is black & white, clean, and bold, and the interior design of their locations is modern and spotless. It’s a new take on the traditional idea of a gym—instead of it being drab, smelly, with showers you don’t want to risk using, Equinox is fresh, bright, clean, and smells like the cold eucalyptus towels they offer you after a tough workout.

See where I’m going with this? While my current experience being a member is something I value, the reason I decided in the first place to take a bet and sign a yearlong contract was because of how they came across in those first few impressions. 

My plants: Bloomscape 

Ok, I’ll admit it, almost all my plants are dead. I’m slowly swapping them out with fake ones because while I’d like to blame my frequent travels on my inability to take care of them, I’m actually just not a great plant mom. 

That said, I happily forked over $150 for a Ficus Altissima plant that I could’ve gotten for way less at a local plant shop. Why? Because I immediately saw Bloomscape as an option I could trust—from shipping it to me (it’s not easy to buy a large plant + get it back to your apartment in NYC), to giving me the right education and resources to care for it. (I’d like to report that this is one of my only living plants, several years later!). 

Their website presence, which is where I purchased from, is super well designed with lots of green, a fun bubbly font, and transparency into their process. It also has filters such as “low maintenance plants” and “pet friendly plants.” From the fun font to the way they organize these categories, Bloomscape feels approachable to someone like me who is totally intimidated by plants, and doesn’t want to splurge on something that might just die a week later. 

Once I received the package I was even more smitten—it was so perfectly and beautifully packaged, making it relatively easy to carry up our 5 floor walk-up and unpack in our tiny kitchen. So while the initial experience seeing their junk mail (yes I’m calling it junk mail, even if it worked), their social media presence, and their website got me off the fence, receiving the package and setting up my new plant also made it so that they are now the go-to place I go if I want to buy a housewarming gift for a friend. 

My haircare: Prose 

Last but not least—Prose. You might’ve read my recent blog post on how Prose got me to spend $98 on haircare (specifically, shampoo, conditioner, and a hair mask). And the reason why they got me to do this with such excitement and confidence was the personalized experience they offered on their website. From the moment I landed on their homepage and all the way through the quiz I took to get my personalized hair care recommendations I was drawn in because they had a way of making me feel like they were creating something just for me and my hair (news flash: they were!). 

And I’ll say, similar to the previous two examples, now that I’ve experienced the product and have been using it for the past few months, I believe the quality of the product is as valuable as I was willing to pay because I’ve seen such a difference in my hair. So not only is the initial brand impression important, but carrying that through to your packaging, customer service experience, and overall product/service quality is just as important. 

Overall, I can’t emphasize the importance of branding—and your first brand impression—enough.

A good brand experience should attract your dream clients/customers, build immediate trust, and help get people off the fence who might be thinking, “Is it worth it?” or “Is this a good investment for me right now?” 

Ready to build a brand that will allow you to raise your prices, attract your dream people, and leave a lasting impression? I’d love to work together! Book a free consult or send me an email at hello@craftedbycarly.com — I can’t wait to chat!