Every business, big or small, should have a strong brand strategy that can help them not only reach and guide their target audience but also develop a firm presence in their market. It is no longer enough to simply have a strong product. You need to mean something as well.
Customers are increasingly paying attention to your “brand”. In a study conducted by Neilson, around 75% of customers stated that the brand origin is also a purchasing factor for them. 75%! You need to get this right. Having a brand strategy that both markets your products and connects and engages your target audience is a must for every business.
To help you in your creation of your brand strategy (or to check if it’s up to scratch) the following are a few things that can help you develop one.
1. Know your story
People don’t just want to buy a product; they want an experience. Understanding your story and communicating it simply will help deliver this. Story narratives work wonders because, firstly, they give a sense of honesty to a brand and, secondly, they elicits an emotional response from people as they feel they are supporting and joining you on this journey as they buy your product. This doesn’t mean that you make a sob story or lie. Your story is deeply embedded in your value proposition.
It’s also one of the reasons why brands like Apple, Nike and Microsoft have such cult followings. They all tap into the human element and their story resonates with everyone, and is embedded into their products. Nike, in particular, is very effective in this area.
2. A conversation with the ideal customer
Never build a strategy without having a customer persona. This persona should be of two or more of your ideal customers. You need to consider the habits, product expectations, buying experience, the customer journey and more. Additionally, don’t limit the use of the persona just to build a strong brand strategy, it can be applied in so many other areas of service, marketing, design, events and more.
You can even modify your value proposition or develop content according to them. For example, suppose you’re writing a product description and you’re going to make use of keywords for the text. You can think about what your persona will search for such as “best smoothie makers” (why smoothie maker, because that’s what I searched about 10 minutes ago). You can then utilise that keyword targeting that specific audience. This doesn’t only add value to your SEO and enhance product visibility in search results, but it personalises your product for a single audience.
The metaphor we use is that it’s better to dangle one line in the river with the right hook, than a hundred lines with no hooks.
3. Getting inspiration from admiration
No business is ever truly without competition in the marketplace anymore. Saturation of the marketplace means that even if you have a product, there might be other businesses who offer similar products and services. In this case, you really need to have a strong brand that allows you to differentiate yourself from the competition.
A good idea is to analyze how brands you admire communicate with their target audience, and not necessarily just within your industry. This doesn’t mean that you just monitor their social media. Take a look at their advertising, their website, their visibility and more. The key here is not to start copying them but understanding how they are able to do what they do. In this manner, you can get an in-depth look at the way a strong brand strategy can help you out.
As clear as a looking glass
With the help of these, you can ensure that you have a brand strategy that is strong and in accordance with your market needs.
At the end of the day, make sure you are investing sufficient time and energy into your web design and layout. Without it, you won’t be able to achieve the goals you hope to. Please don’t be just another run down store on the web, it drives us mad. Be alive! Give excitement or peace to you customers and have a website that helps them, not simply built to be.