A successful business can be defined by a variety of factors from its profits to its edgy competitive approach to the market. There’s naturally another element that defines whether you’re running a successful company and that’s how it’s perceived by the market. Your brand is above all your business identity. Consequently, it doesn’t matter that you hit high revenues if your company lacks an identity. So what plays behind the story of a brand? More importantly, what tools can you use to create and establish your brand effectively?
What’s the story behind the brand?
Get yourself noticed
Creating a brand is one thing, but a brand only exists if it gets noticed by your audience. This is the part of your branding strategy that requires imagination as you need to compete against hundreds of other brands for the same market. It’s a combination of creative approaches that can gain you the attention of your audience – see more information about growing your brand faster – by leveraging existing customers and innovative expertise. It’s not a matter of talking about yourself, but of making sure that the market sees you. Advocacy programs with loyal customers can build the trust you need, but you will need to diversify your reach to become a competitive player.
Find something to talk about
What’s the first thing potential buyers do when they hear about your company? They check your website. That’s where you can start converting prospects into customers by using content that stands out. Rosie Morley tells you more about it here. As a rule of thumb, you need to pick the right medium to share your content. Will it be a vlog or an article? Use your voice to convey appropriate and valuable messages to your customers.
Build an identity that attracts customers and employees
Your brand is more than just a collection of content pieces. Your brand is a core of values that appeal to your target audience – whether employees or customers. Your brand values are there to help you capture the proposition, personality and purpose of your brand. However, don’t fall into the trap of wanting to achieve perfection. Your brand values bring your customers closer to your business. Just as nobody is perfect, nobody will identify with a flawless ideal. Take Airbnb, for instance, a core value is to make customers feel at home anywhere in the world. What’s yours?
A subliminal message
There’s a little trick that some brands use to communicate more than they say, and it’s called subliminal messages. There’s nothing manipulative or illegal about it: These brands have a logo that has a secret meaning for those who know where to look. FedEx, for example, shows a small arrow between the E and X, which supports the message of safe and quick delivery. Pinterest uses a pin incorporated in the design of the letter P. Le Tour de France has a stylized bicycle incorporated in the logo using the sun, the R and the O of tour.
In short, define the story of your brand and people will remember you. To get started, ask yourself, what does your brand reveal about you?
