Long gone is the time when a company could rely only on the quality of their product for success. Big companies are not going anywhere and start-ups are emerging at an unbelievable rate. Today, brand marketing is a key aspect of running a business, you should place your efforts into developing and maintaining a strong brand presence. Listed below are some proven strategies to can help you with branding your business.
Identity
A strong sense of identity lies at the core of every successful brand. When talking brand identity we’re talking visual identity for the better part. Having a great product means little if you don’t have a great way to represent it. The name you choose needs to be catchy and to evoke everything that your company stands for. The color scheme and logo are something that your company will be recognized for, so investing in a great design definitely, pays off. All the great companies in the world have logos that can stand by themselves even without the company name. That kind of identity is what you should be aiming for.
Stories
People love stories. Storytelling has always been the foundation of human society and something that we all share our genes. Global brands are very aware of that and know how to exploit our love for good stories. Successful marketing campaigns are brimming with brilliant examples of storytelling. But, what makes a great story? First, it should be fascinating, emotionally engaging and eventually, it should present a clear relation to your brand. Never underestimate the power of appealing to customers’ emotions. It can be more effective than other, more rational methods. A well-written branding story can become synonymous with your brand in the collective consciousness.
Community
A successful branding strategy cannot exist without a target audience that will help it develop its full potential. Still, once you have a target audience clearly defined, you need to start turning that audience into a community united around your brand. Capitalize on giving the people the fulfillment of the need to belong. This sense of togetherness can be achieved in a number of ways. You should strive to develop personal contacts with your customer base and what better place to do that than social media. An agency that specializes in email marketing for e-commerce can help you develop a one-to-one relationship with your customers.
Loyalty
Create an environment where customers will be encouraged to share their own stories and experiences. Apart from social giants like Facebook and Twitter, there are much smaller but specialized niche communities that have their forums and social networks. Use loyalty programs and rewards that can convert people from casual users to real promoters of your brand. However, your community strategy will only work if your employees are friendly and welcoming to the customers even if they are sharing negative experiences.
Values
Your target audience will ultimately decide on particular values that you would like your brand to be associated with. For some, it will be family values, of others adventure, femininity or friendship. Common, desirable values can be a strong uniting force that binds a brand to its customers. Two popular approaches in adding value to the brand are the “gluing” and the “golem” approach. The gluing attaches brand values and other desirable associations primarily to the name and the logo. The golem approach, on the other hand, creates a human-like entity with a personality that consumers can relate to.
Building a strong company from the start by just providing a quality product or service is getting harder. Although a great product is essential, a solid brand is like a battering ram, clearing the way to the markets.