Your brand is just as important as your products or services. It will be the first thing that potential customers will remember. Some bands have very similar quality products; the distinguishing factor among them is awareness. Branding plays a crucial role in name recall and word-of-mouth recommendations.
Phoenix-based brand designers cite the following practices that enable you to create strong branding associations.
Always be Consistent
Some brands lose their way because of their infatuation with re-inventing the wheel and gimmicks. This results in a muddled brand perception. You may attract one-time customers, but you may alienate current consumers.
Consistency may be boring like a decades’ long marriage, but it keeps money flowing into your business and satisfies the needs of your core audience. Stick to what you know and do best, and maybe diversify in smaller ways. A consistent brand has a solid message that cuts across the demographic spectrum.
It allows you to stand out in a cluttered group who wants to be everything to everyone.
Be Meaningful to Your Audience
It’s no longer enough to sell quality products and provide first-rate services; people want authenticity from the companies they patronize. Create meaning by participating in your brand’s community. This can come in various forms such as charity, sports contests and other similar events.
This can also be supporting causes such as equality, ending poverty or eco-friendly use of materials and production of products sold.
Find and Stay on a Clear Position
One of the biggest mistakes that some brands make is they want to hit several birds with one stone. They adapt to whatever the market dictates on a whim without factoring who they are and what they stand for. The best brands have a clear position in the niche they serve.
This can be good value, targeted for women only, kids’ choice, mothers and other certain segments of the market. Protect this position at all costs; doing so allows you to solidify a spot in a crowded niche. The market will likely listen to you first because of the authority you have in an industry.
Coherent Messaging
Communications is important to the success of any brand. The best ones are able to convey their message fluidly across platforms. This point ties in with the previous points about a clear position and consistency.
Use clear, precise and simple language when you publish content on social and when you reply to your customers. The communication from within your organization must also be in sync. Be clear about the direction of your brand and the new features you want to add as a product moves along.
Ongoing Conversation
Keep the interest in your brand alive by being active in forums, social media and your company’s blog. Reply to comments, whether good or bad, share videos, memes, images and infographics to maintain the interest of your audience.
Share posts from industry leaders because this allows you to collaborate with authorities in your niche.
These branding practices allow you to gain a competitive advantage in your niche. Implement these to reach your business objectives and beat the competition.