Posted by Cameron Francis on 22 Aug , 2016 in News Uncategorized
It’s every entrepreneur’s dream to have their products, services and brand mentioned by customers in favourable light. Hence, building a sturdy brand is indispensable for any successful business.
You’re reading this because you’re interested in getting the most out of your digital marketing campaign through blogging, social media and delivering great content to your audience.
But is your deepest desire to build a brand that everyone loves?
If so, you’ve come to the right place.
With the right planning and strategy, you can ignite an emotional bond between you and your customers and keep the relationship going.
Serving your customers something that satisfies their tastes and needs is key to establishing a brand that they will truly love and trust.
Obviously, you must have an excellent product or service to offer.
At certain times, however, despite the good products or services, some brands continue to struggle with getting to the top.
Why?
The reason for this is because transforming your brand into a trusted leader requires hard work. It entails a great deal of effort, considerable time and investment, as well as careful planning.
Fortunately, there are best practices that you can utilise to help you overcome the many challenges that come along with branding your business.
Outlined in this article are 12 strategies on how to establish a brand that everyone loves.
1. Make your first impression last
If your business doesn’t impress the first time around, then you can’t expect customers to keep coming back for more.
For instance, try wearing a pair of Nike shoes and you will feel a noticeable difference from your usual brand. Another example is try to take a glimpse at Apple’s products and you cannot help but be impressed by them.
This is the kind of impression that I am talking about. Your business must have this appeal in order to become a great brand.
You may think that these products are very popular today because they are established brands. But if you turn back the hands of time, you’d see that many such businesses started small.
The only difference is that they worked hard to make a good first impression.
Keep in mind that the product or service that you are developing and promoting now paves the way for your future success.
So make your first impression last.
Doing this helps you earn recognition and recommendations that will eventually turn your brand into a household name.
2. Consistency makes all the difference
You can easily distinguish between a random company and an established brand by the consistency of the product or service they offer.
Random businesses don’t offer much value for their products and services.
Businesses with strong branding, however, are focused on delivering value and reliability with each product or service sold.
A brand that is consistent and reliable will earn strong brand equity. Take for instance Coca-Cola versus some little-known soda company. Coca-Cola can charge more for their product because they have earned powerful brand equity.
Avid customers are more than willing to pay for more for the product because they believe that the brand is highly reliable.
3. Become an authority in your niche
Why do we love to hang out at Starbucks, dine at KFC or wear a Dior? Simply, because we love these brands and we love them because they stand out from other competitors.
These companies have their own unchallenged authority in their respective niches. They have managed very well to become an authority in their field of industry.
Don’t be just one of the many players. Try to become one of the most important players, if not the most significant one.
Identify your strongest competitors, learn from them and then outwit them. These are some of the most effective ways to stay ahead of the competition and become the leader in your niche.
4. Define your target audience
Knowing your target market is definitely a crucial step toward becoming a highly engaging brand. You cannot offer a good product or service without learning to identify the people or businesses that will buy your product or service.
Get a strong handle on your target market by identifying and understanding the various types of consumers. Know who actually influences or makes the buying decision. Learn to assess their problems, their wants and needs or what they want to achieve. Of course, looking at their budgets will also help.
This is achieved by performing market analysis. Gather enough information and data to help you identify and reach your audience effectively.
By clearly identifying your target audience, you will learn how your product or service should be pitched to get them to proceed to the sales funnel. Having a clear definition of your target audience in relation to their goals and needs facilitates in capturing their attention.
To do this, there must be a clear, strong and compelling marketing message that speaks your brand. With this, your targeted audience will be able to recognise you as a brand. You will be able to convert prospects into customers and gain their devotion as well.
5. Determine your brand goals
As important as knowing your target market, determining your goals gives you a clear vision of where you want your business to be going.
Your goals define your brand.
Obviously, your brand’s main goal is to be on top of every other brand in your industry. You can do this by having a clear definition of your goal or purpose. Ask yourself what makes your business stand out from the rest. Identify your point of difference and leverage your strong points.
If you are able to define your purpose, you can provide your customers and other stakeholders a clear vision of where your business is going.
6. Craft a great logo
A great company logo will carve a deep impression on your audience’s mind.
It greatly helps in making your business more impressive. Upon seeing your logo, it only takes a few seconds for people to form an opinion about your brand.
So make sure you have a logo that is distinctive, strong and balanced. It should be something that can be easily spotted at a glance. Most importantly, the visuals and imagery should work to complement your brand name.
If creating a great logo is not your forte, get a professional designer to assist you.
7. Exceed customers’ expectations every time
Various elements influence the outcome of your branding efforts.
Going above and beyond customer expectations is one of the strategic moves you can do to make your customers become loyal to your brand.
How can you achieve this?
You see, most customers don’t expect much yet they love surprises. Try to over-deliver on their expectations by understanding each of their touchpoints or interactions with your brand. This can be anything from a click on your website up to even a single like on your Facebook page.
From there, you can determine your customers’ expectations, anticipate their needs and plan ways on how you can exceed those expectations. You can do this by offering something new and exciting as well as freebies that can surpass their expectations.
If you are able to meet your customers’ expectations and give them a one of a kind experience, you can make your customers share their experience with your products or services to others. They will become more than willing to spend the extra money and buy more of your products frequently.
8. Convey a clear message
People from all walks of life should understand what your business is all about. Hence, making your brand message clear and appealing to customers and fellow businesses is imperative.
Make sure your business descriptions and taglines are strong, sharp and concise. They must be brief, persuasive and convey a clear message about your business’s goals and value.
An effective brand messaging can stimulate the desire of your customers and get them excited about your products or services.
Brand messages can be in a form of a tagline, an ad slogan or a headline that conveys specific benefits or services. Regardless of which form they take, your brand’s message needs to be relevant to your target audience.
Remember, your brand message is the voice for your business that reflects your brand. Try to make it meaningful and memorable that will capture the essence of your brand.
If you’re not sure if you are crafting the right brand message, try to answer the following questions:
- Does your message offer something unique, interesting and different from your competitors?
- Is your brand message easy to digest, simple and compelling?
- Does your brand message reflect the truth about your business?
- Does it resonate with your target market?
9. Create a professional website
In this day and age where digital media plays a crucial role in business communications, having a professional website is the key to communicating your brand globally.
Regardless the size of your business, creating a website provides you with a strong brand to back your business up. It is an integral tool in making your business recognisable, consistent and differentiated.
Here are some essential elements of a website that can be useful in branding your business:
- The right colour scheme;
- High-quality website content;
- Straightforward layout and design; and
- Innovative features
10. Take advantage of social media
The different social media platforms are undoubtedly very helpful in branding your business.
Try adopting and learning the various tools and features on offer by these networks as it can effectively help in increasing brand awareness.
If your business has profiles in these social media platforms, it would be easy for your customers to keep themselves updated on the products or services you offer.
11. Combine marketing strategies
Sure, there are lots of different ways and marketing strategies to make your brand famous.
Combining all marketing strategies (off and online) in your arsenal will certainly make your brand highly visible and recognisable all throughout the globe.
Consider going to great lengths in finding innovative strategies to make your brand your customers’ go-to resource. Don’t rely on just one marketing strategy. The more strategies you have the farther and wider your brand can reach.
12. Be professional online
It’s easy for your business to be online. However, it takes hard work to become a brand that is loved by everyone.
In today’s competitive age, your brand can become successful online by showing professionalism, which can boost your credibility in the market.
One way of doing this is to be highly authentic, relatable and trustworthy. These are key characteristics that can set your brand apart from your competitors.
If your customers conceive that you have a professional online presence, they will be more than willing to patronise your products or services and even recommend you to their friends and colleagues.
This concept must not only be applied on your website but also to all your online outlets such as blogs, social media, and document sharing sites, among many others.
These are just some of the fundamental ways you can apply to your business to be able to become a brand that is loved and trusted by everyone.
Why does your brand matter?
Your brand speaks the promise of your business.
That is why Coke remains to be the number one brand of soda for people all over the world.
Coca-Cola was able to successfully build a strong emotional connection to their loyal customers and prospects.
So, when are you going to start honing your marketing skills?
Why not try these tips and let us know how they work for you.
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