A brand is certainly not just a logo. A brand is supposed to be an overall feel and look that your customers would be associating with only your business at all points of contact. You must know that all successful businesses actually maintain a consistent and strong brand voice across each and every platform since it could be useful in cutting through the noise effectively and reaching your target audience.
As per a survey report presented by Inc., a consistent brand would result in an increase in average revenue by 23 percent. There are some brands that have made their impact felt all across the globe. Starbucks! Nike! Harley Davidson! These are organizations that are much more than their products, they define lifestyles. They are statements about the consumers who buy them and the company that sells them.
Do not ever be misguided that memorable and bold branding is meant only for big organizations with fantastic marketing budgets. You need to remember that irrespective of your size and industry, you could definitely cultivate a creative and unique brand which actually would be resonating with your target audience. More often than not, people associate branding with colors and logos. However, branding is much more than simply ‘being recognizable’.
Some Expert Branding Tips for Your Small Business
Branding is very much about the impression that you create on the minds of a customer and the way it transmits a message. Remember that the first impression could speak volumes about a company, its vision, its core values, and precisely what it does. It is important for entrepreneurs to focus their attention also on the unintended effects of branding.
Clearly Define Your Company’s Purpose
A brand could be meaningful only if the company could clearly define its purpose, the main reason for its existence. You must have precise answers to questions like why have you started your company? Or in which way do you believe that you are making the universe a much better place? Without a strong conviction and a clear understanding of your ultimate intention, you would fail to convey to your target audience what is important and unique to your company. You may seek professional assistance from a well-known digital marketing company for perfect branding solutions.
Identify the Core Values & Ideals of Your Brand
Before plunging into details such as designs and colors, it is important to identify and firmly determine the core values and beliefs of your brand. You must treat the precise core values as the seed that would grow into your brand voice. You must know of all the ideas and beliefs your brand represents. What are the fundamental beliefs that would be shaping your business’s overall behavior?
Tell Your Story & Identify Yourself
While appealing graphics and catchy names could prove to be truly fascinating, they actually, do not tell your unique story. Your logo, slogan, and company name must necessarily provide insights into your innovative products and unique services and tell your potential customers what exactly you do. If you do not make the most of this golden opportunity, you would require spending precious time and energy on clarifying the basics. You could have used that time for developing a robust relationship.
Listen Closely & Fully-Understand Your Target Audience
Once you determine what your business would actually represent, you need to figure out effective ways of delivering your brand’s message effectively to your audience. Start by knowing the language used by your target audience. The most effective way of doing this is by actively interacting with your audience online. Consider visiting all the online communities where your target audience is known to participate such as Quora or Reddit. You may observe and understand their mannerisms, vocabulary, and even the pain points. This would be helping you in developing a voice to which your audience could relate to.
You should never ignore your target audience. Branding must start with clearly identifying and completely understanding your target audience. It would be a fruitless exercise to develop taglines, messages, and logos which may look amazing but have no connection with the target audience. Your ultimate objective is to create a solid fan base and a loyal customer base that are able to connect with your company’s core values, vision, and philosophy.
Try Creating a Liquid Experience
As per https://www.forbes.com, the most critical part of branding seems to be coming up with a liquid experience. Some people may assume that actually, that implies repeating the same looks and slogans across all the channels. That is obviously a mistake. “A liquid experience is a cohesive branding strategy but also one that takes into consideration the user and audience in an intimate way. My advice when working on a first impression is to first work on the audience. Better yet, think about the tribe you want to reach and create a cohesive yet customized branding version for a peak user experience.”
Keeping Your Promise Must Be Your Top Priority
Many businesses fail to keep the promises that they have made and this obviously, adversely affects the relationship with their audience or customers and potential customers. Your customers must find you trustworthy. If you are not able to keep your promise, you are breaking their trust in your business. Remember happy and satisfied customers could be a wonderful source of referrals because they feel good about you and your business. For instance, Zappos has been successful in building great credibility and trust with its customers by making a promise of quick delivery may be within two to five days. However, Zappos goes one step forward and upgrades its customers to overnight shipping for free. As such, Zappos actually wins a lot of acclaims, appreciation, and loyal customers.
Conclusion: Know Where to Initiate Successful Branding
Successful branding must start within your company. Only you could identify an employee with the potential of being a good brand ambassador and you must reward him or her for it. Only you are responsible for maintaining consistency in the use of the logo, name, and even the tag line. Remember successful branding is initiated inside your company moreover, it is nurtured there. You must not get bogged down by any limitations or restrictions. Go all out and make your company’s brand known definitely within your community and much beyond.
