Skip to main content

5 Steps to Becoming a More Recognizable Brand

Grow your business with these simple tips.
Do you have a favorite lunch spot? Maybe a cafe that once made a great impression on you? If so, that's the power of branding at work.
Your brand image is often the difference between having a lifelong relationship with loyal customers and never being discovered at all.
But, building an amazing brand doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time to figure out how to reach your audience in the most effective way possible. By following these simple (but often ignored) steps, you’ll develop a better understanding of what your customers want and how to exceed their expectations.

1. Focus on storytelling, not product features

Without a good brand story, your product holds no inherent or emotional value for your customers. As author and story coach Lisa Cron tells us, humans are hardwired to respond to stories. When a brand makes a deep impression on us, it impacts our buying behaviour. A 2013 Psychology Today piece showed that, when evaluating multiple brands, “Consumers primarily use emotions (personal feelings and experiences) rather than information (brand attributes, features and facts).”
It’s about building a human connection with your customer, not touting the bells and whistles of your product.
Keep in mind that a good story needs to be backed up by an excellent product. Even the most talented creatives can’t change the perception of a poor product.

2. Don’t try to be something you’re not

In order to last the test of time, your brand message needs to be true to who you are as a company. Don’t get hung up on what’s cool or trending now. Instead, focus on how you solve a real and enduring problem for your customer. Some of the most ‘uncool’ products have the strongest brands. Think about online accounting software Freshbooks, major appliance company General Electric or toilet paper company Charmin -- they know their customers and how to sell to them. Focus on what you do best and offer an authentic experience for your customer.

3. Give value to get brand love

Your content should focus on building relationships and helping your customers make informed and well-thought-out decisions. That way, when they choose your product or service, it’s because you’re actually the best fit, which will lead to stronger, longer lasting relationships. Not every piece of content you create should be about your product or lead to a direct sale. You need to understand your customer journey and where content fits in (that’s why you should have a documented strategy). With a strategy, you can develop a consistent brand experience across all of your channels, which is absolutely essential for long-term growth.
If you can nail down a content marketing strategy for your business, then you’ve discovered a cost-effective way to increase awareness about, and engagement with, your brand.

4. Be customer-centric on social

Focus on networks that are relevant to your target audience and start getting social. No matter how big or small your company is, around 67 percent of consumers in the U.S. expect to contact your brand on social. Good customer service on social is directly linked to business growth. A report by Aberdeen Group finds that businesses with social customer service experience around 7.5 percent year-over-year growth (compared to 2.9 percent without social customer service), so don’t underestimate its value.
Brands like Zappos have built their entire brand image and reputation around amazing customer service. They understand that having a loyal customer is 10 times more valuable than the customer’s first purchase.

5. Make connections offline

With so many branding opportunity opportunities online, it’s easy to forget about the importance of combining online and offline experiences. Going to conferences, meeting local people in your industry and public speaking are excellent ways to fast-track your brand’s visibility. These in-person events will help build your authority as a thought leader and get you facetime with key influencers in your industry. It really does pay to get outside. As CEO and professional speaker Jess Ekstrom points out, 90 percent of her leads come from connections made at conferences.
If you’re not sure where to start, think local. Host a small luncheon, run a seminar, or try career mentoring in your community. If you’re looking for conferences or events to attend in your industry, check out Meetup, AllConferences.com and Lanyrd. These are useful general directories that can get you on the right path.
Good brands understand what their customers want and find creative ways to deliver a memorable experience. If you aren’t doing that, then you won’t stand out against other brands that are constantly competing for your customers’ attention.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Readers Choice

Lead Your Team Into a Post-Pandemic World

During the Covid-19 crisis, I’ve spoken with many CEOs who have shared that a key priority for them, naturally, has been the safety and well-being of their employees. And there are many examples of inspiring actions taken by CEOs and companies in support of their employees. But as we’ve come to recognize that this crisis will last more than a few short weeks, companies are now defining their approach for the long haul. I’ve seen two crucial ideas take hold with corporate leaders. One: Given the magnitude of the shock and the challenges that this crisis represents, companies must consider the full breadth of their employees’ needs as people. Safety is essential, of course, but it’s also important to address higher-level needs such as the want for truth, stability, authentic connections, self-esteem, growth, and meaning in the context of the crisis. Two: Many CEOs have begun thinking about this crisis in three phases. They may assign different names or specific lengths to t
1 comment
Read more

4 Ways Google Search Can Help You Achieve Your Marketing Goals

Google Ads Google Ad extensions are a great way to add key descriptive text without taking up space in your actual ad and improve your quality score for even better results. It’s a win-win right? Google Maps Is your business discoverable on Google Maps? For small businesses, adding detailed information and the use of strategic keywords can be helpful for a better location optimization. Google Ranks SEO is vital for moving up in Google rankings. To climb up the ladder, incorporate top keywords in page titles, meta tags and focus on consistently delivering relevant content. Backlinking If SEO is the the only strategy you have, it is the right time to change that. Start adding backlinks to your content. Quality backlinks can further increase your brand authority. 
Post a Comment
Read more

Twenty Smart Business Buzzwords

Some words may grate on your nerves, but business leaders are still using "disrupt," "synergy" and "ideate." You should too. Spend any amount of time in a corporate environment and you'll likely notice there are some words that seem to come up on a daily basis. Certain verbiage becomes part of the  corporate culture  and soon, you may feel as if you need to use it to fit in. While they can change from one day to the next, most corporate buzzwords have a positive meaning. They're used to boost morale and motivate everyone involved in the conversation. Here are 20 of the top business buzzwords that you should make an effort to work into your vocabulary. 1. Impact Impact is a powerful word that has become a favorite of business professionals.  Grammarians argue  that the word is being used improperly, urging you to use "affect" instead, but businesses love it. 2. Corporate Synergy Half of the people who use this term likely
12 comments
Read more