In an increasingly competitive eCommerce market, brands are getting harder to stand out.
Customers have an overwhelming number of brand options when purchasing their products. Great products, exceptional customer service, and raving reviews are excellent differentiating factors. However, what makes customers stick to a brand is when it identifies with them.
When a brand gives a customer the feeling that they “get” them, it is a highly distinguishing factor for creating a loyal base of customers. One thing that comes into play here is developing an effective branding strategy that will enable your company to stick to its core values and become more reliable and relatable for your customers.
Developing a brand strategy, possibly with brand strategy consultants Brand Council, includes specific, long-term goals aligned with your company’s ideals.
A considerable misunderstanding that most brands need to clear up about branding strategy is that your brand does not only include your name and logo. Your branding is much larger than that. It also includes intangible things. How people perceive your brand, the values you hold, and how you present your product in the market is how you differentiate between being a powerhouse or a mediocre brand.
Consider the following branding strategies that will set your brand apart from others.
Get to Know Your Audience
It is imperative to know your target audience. A target market is a segment of potential customers more likely to buy a product or service from you. Before you overhaul your branding strategy, get to know and understand your target audience. This way, you will attract the people most likely to interact with your brand and minimize any mismatches between the company and the customer.
You can use surveys, quizzes, and focus groups to interact with your target audience and get a feel of what they think about your logo, motto, and other brand identifiers. Ensure that you incorporate their feedback when you’re creating the strategy.
Mastercard showed an excellent example for this point. In a bold move, they excluded their brand name from the company logo during their rebranding. After the change, Mastercard did a research study that found that more than three customers who were asked about the Mastercard logo could identify the brand from the two interlocking red and yellow circles alone.
Strengthen Your Brand Identity
The first step in strengthening your brand identity is to recognize your core philosophies, mission, vision, and ethos. This will strengthen your brand’s foundation and make it easier for you to build campaigns that truly represent your organization.
Your logo and brand name can help you instantly connect with your customers. Your logo can help create a great first impression of your brand. Your brand’s name, logo, colors, and designed materials should be strictly uniform everywhere they show. The selection of colors can play a huge role in your branded content, as the human brain is wired to process visuals more quickly than text. Research suggests that adding color can enhance your content’s comprehension rate by 73%. That is why it is essential that your logo truly signifies what your brand stands for, as it will become your most considerable identity. Most importantly, after selecting a color palette for your brand, your company remains loyal to those colors and uses them strategically across all their platforms and places.
Secondly, your website address, social media handles, and newsletter should all have aligned messaging. Make sure that you keep all your social media pages (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube) active by posting at least once a day, and all your posts have your logo and are consistent with your brand colors.
It is crucial to maintain brand uniformity across all marketing channels. Your brand’s name, logo, colors, and designed materials should be strictly uniform everywhere they show.
Pivot towards Customization
Customization makes your brand unique and allows it to stand out among its competitors.
For most eCommerce businesses a logo maker is the first physical touchpoint the customer has with your brand is when they receive and open the package. Investing in custom shipping boxes for your company is one way to make your brand’s unboxing experience count.
Arka allows you to design custom boxes that suit your brand’s needs and demands at no additional cost. Arka helps your branding become more influential by helping you blend your brand image in customized packaging and providing you the option to design your packaging. This way, even before your customer opens the package, they will have a brand affinity.
Conclusion
If you want your customers to develop brand loyalty, the first significant step is for your company to create strong branding that resonates with them. A robust and dynamic branding strategy can help your brand differentiate from its competitors and leave a lasting
This article originally appeared in the HawkeMedia blog and has been published here with permission.
