What do all small business owners have in common? They all want to turn a tidy profit, of course but prod them further, and they'll tell you how badly they want to transform their businesses into super brands like Nike or Apple. After all, about 80 percent of consumers make a purchase based on the brand's name - not the product's name. However, building a strong brand in a competitive marketplace isn't a walk in the park. There are several aspects that go into branding, including setting brand goals you can achieve. Knowing what your business wants to establish with its branding over a specified period of time will help you build a successful brand.
If you need help to set and achieve these brand goals, read on!
As a business owner, you want your target customers to know the business. They aren't going to buy your products/services if they don't know your business exists or cannot recognize it easily. This is why your primary branding goal is to build brand awareness.
Wear your consumer hat for a moment. When you go out shopping in the convenience store, what makes you recognize some products from a distance? It's mostly the logo or color on the packaging.
For instance, if your favorite yogurt brand has a green logo, the moment you see a yogurt with packing that has some green color on it, you'll instantly remember that brand. That's brand awareness at work!
As such, to make your brand more recognizable, start by focusing on the visual elements. You need a logo (that resonates with your target audience and is relevant to what you're selling), a defined color palette, fonts, imagery, and graphics.
Use these elements in your product packaging, as well as on your website, storefront, social media pages, and in print and television ads. It takes about 5-7 brand impressions to memorize a brand, which is why it's essential to maintain a consistent brand image on as many platforms/channels as possible.
Building brand awareness doesn't stop at the visual elements. There are other strategies you should implement, including running social media contests, getting involved in community programs, and creating branded digital content.
Contact this marketing agency to learn more about these brand awareness strategies.
Achieving a high level of brand awareness is a good place to start, but it doesn't necessarily mean your target customers will feel compelled to buy your products. There are many brands we can all recognize from afar (thanks to their effective awareness campaigns) but have never bought what they're selling. It just feels good to know that they exist - nothing more!
Of course, not everyone will buy your goods, but if the people who aren't buying are the same ones you consider your target market, something is amiss. Thankfully, you can solve this problem by pursuing another brand goal: creating emotional connections with customers.
Research shows that a whopping 94 percent of consumers are more likely to recommend a brand with which they have an emotional connection. So, besides these customers buying from you, they'll bring you more customers!
Now, how do you build a brand that can appeal to your customer's emotions?
Build your brand around a mission that can touch your customers' hearts. For example, you can start by looking at some of the social issues your community is facing. If homelessness is a big issue, you can make it your brand's mission to tackle the problem by, for instance, donating a dollar off every sale to a homeless charity.
Also, ensure your brand's values align with those of your customers. Honesty, integrity, diversity, inclusion, and transparency should all be part of your brand's core values.
Keep in mind that actions speak louder than words when it comes to emotions. You cannot talk your way into a customer's heart. You have to walk the talk; otherwise, they'll quickly call your bluff.
In today's digital world, where people are always on social media, engagement is a big goal for brands. High levels of brand engagement result in increased awareness, more sales, and even increased customer satisfaction.
What does it tell you when a brand posts a simple "good morning" on social media and the posts get thousands of comments and likes in a few hours? It shows that the brand has engaged users/social media followers.
This doesn't happen overnight. It takes a consistent effort to build online communities to reach this level of engagement.
If you haven't created social media pages for your small business, start now.
Don't go creating pages on every other social media platform. With a good understanding of your target audience, you can zero in on a few networks that will deliver the best results for you.
If your audience mostly uses Instagram, for example, that's where you want to focus your brand engagement strategy.
Next, start creating content that's informative, entertaining, and relevant to your audience. Post consistently and you'll start to see an increase in the number of comments, likes, and shares.
Top it all off with periodic social media contests, and your engagement will blow up. Some brands have gone viral after running these contests.
In a competitive marketplace, branding can be the one thing that makes your business stand out from the rest. Having the right brand goals and knowing how to pursue them will put you in a great position to build a remarkable brand.
Importantly, don't do it all on your own. Hire a branding specialist to design a branding strategy that works for your business. This will allow you to achieve your brand goals.
Would you love more branding and marketing content? Check out our business blog articles!
