Nike. Chanel. Walmart. All of the images that come to mind when you think about these companies are due to the many years they have spent building up a recognizable brand. Now that you can use social media to showcase your company’s values and identity, it is very important to take a minute and strategically think about your branding strategy. The following tips are useful techniques when developing a strong brand identity.
Step 1: Identify Your Brand
How would you describe your company? What problem does your company solve? Why should your customers buy from your company and not from a competitor? And most importantly, how do you want other people – especially your customers – to describe your business? Write down a list of adjectives for each question and one sentence describing what your brand is and what your business will be known for that ties all of them together conveying. Use the adjectives and sentence you wrote as an overall guideline when you go through the rest of the steps below.
Step 2: Analyze Your Target Customers
Who is your ideal customer? How do you want them to feel each time they interact with the business? Remember, your brand is everything that the company sees, feels, and thinks about your business, from the first time they see your logo to the entire purchasing process. You can develop a strong brand when you place yourself in your target customer’s shoes and come up with ways to deliver real value to them.
Step 3: Analyze Your Competitors
Look at your competitors and see how they have distinguished their brand in the marketplace. Is their brand identity apparent in their marketing materials and website? Next, go back and look at the adjectives and sentence you wrote about your brand and make sure that it stands out from the competition.
Step 4: Clearly Communicate Your Brand on Every Channel
Now that you have identified what your brand is and your target customers, it is time to make your brand come alive! Sit down with your marketing team and brainstorm ways to showcase your new and improved brand on all of your marketing channels and materials. You can also use the art of storytelling to clearly communicate your brand and get customers engaged. If you tell your brand’s story successfully, over time people will be able to visualize and immediately associate the name of your company with the products and services you sell (eg. Kleenex®).
Step 5: Show Your Employees How to Embody Your Company’s Brand
It is very important that all of your employees understand what your brand stands for and how it impacts their job. This is especially true for customer service representatives, salespeople and other employees that are the “face” of the business. When they understand how their words and actions represent the company in everything they do and are given the adequate tools and training to embody your brand, it can really make your company rise above the competition.
Step 6: Celebrate and Reward Your Fans
You want your customers to become fans who rave about your product and service to everyone they know will benefit from using it. Loyal customers are desirable because they are amazing brand ambassadors that can easily use word of mouth marketing and social media to make your company go viral. Reward your fans with free products, prizes or other items that they will appreciate and aligns with your company’s identity. When you encourage your customers to become loyal to your brand they can become your biggest brand ambassadors outside of your employees.
Hopefully, these tips will help guide you towards creating a brand that makes a lasting impression. Please contact us to find out how we can help take your brand to the next level with our website design and internet marketing solutions.
