When your business first launched, your focus was likely on getting those first orders coming in and fulfilled. Once your business becomes better established, you may be thinking about the future and how you can best ensure your company continues to attract customers while maintaining your existing ones. Growing your customer base is not easy, especially when you are competing against other businesses selling similar products. It is in this situation that the importance of building a brand becomes clear.
For many businesses, branding is an afterthought. Many companies only begin to strengthen their brand and create an authentic brand identity after their company and its core products have launched. This is because branding is often considered an optional extra or something that only large corporations can do successfully. But, strong brands can be built by companies of all sizes and should be at the heart of every business.
Read on to find out more about branding and its importance, plus how you can improve brand awareness for your business.
Why Your Business Needs Branding
If you have not thought too much about your business's brand before now, you may be wondering why branding matters. Well, if your company has reached a plateau and you are keen to drive it forward to greater success, then thinking about your brand is essential.
The main driver for developing a brand is to differentiate your business from its competitors. There are likely to be many businesses selling products similar to yours, maybe at an identical price point. So, how do you ensure that consumers choose your products over the comparable offerings of your competitors? The answer lies in your branding. A strong brand adds value to a product over and above its intrinsic value. This is the reason consumers are willing to pay more for a designer brand rather than a cheaper alternative, even if the products are identical.
What is Brand Awareness?
Building your business's branding is your first task, but once this has been done, you will need to focus on spreading the word and developing your brand awareness. Brand awareness refers to your brand's visibility and whether consumers can recognize the brand as belonging to a specific company. In short, you want to build your brand and get it recognized so that consumers want to be associated with it and choose it over and above your competitors.
Strengthen Your Brand
Ensuring that your brand is as robust as possible is vital when you are building brand awareness. Strengthening your brand is a key part of the process when growing awareness of your brand. One of the most effective ways to improve your brand is by ensuring it is cohesive and consistent. If you have several different versions of your logo and switch between using different colors, your brand can become diluted, which makes growing brand awareness challenging. Using your logo in a consistent way, and selecting your corporate colors, and sticking with them will speed up the process of building brand awareness and ensure your products are distinctive and instantly associated with your business. Creating branding guidelines is an excellent way of maintaining consistency throughout your products and ensuring that everyone in your business is aware of how to use your branding correctly.
Improving your company's presence online is another useful way to build brand awareness. Working on improving the use of branding on your website is an excellent starting point, as it will ensure that customers notice the similarities between your company's physical and online branding. So, thinking about the types of images used on your website, the fonts you use, how the logo appears, and the colors that feature throughout will ensure that your website is consistent.
Working on your business's social media pages to ensure they take the same consistent approach as your website is also vital. Your social media platforms are also the perfect place to give your brand some personality and to reflect your brand values. The more effective your social media posts are, the more likely it is that you will attract new followers, which increases awareness of your brand and leads to a broader customer base. One of the best things about utilizing social media for your business is that it allows you to interact regularly with your target audience, which provides valuable insight into how your followers and customers engage with your brand. The more engagement and interaction on your social media pages, the more likely the algorithm will work in your favor, and your brand will be visible to a wider audience.
Use Memorable Promotional Material
Finding unique ways to bring your brand to people's attention is a really effective opportunity to get noticed by a much wider audience. Using promotional products featuring a company logo and corporate colors is a popular choice for many businesses. But, for your promotional efforts to have the desired effect, you need to be sure that you choose the right products. Selecting practical items to use as promotional materials is always an excellent idea, as they are more likely to be used and to get noticed. You could get playing cards printed featuring a unique design and your company logo and give them to your customers when they make a purchase. Everyone loves to receive free items, especially if they are something they can actually use and look fantastic, so this is definitely something to consider when looking for additional ways to get your business noticed.
Take a Combined Approach
Improving brand awareness is not something that can be achieved overnight. Instead, you will need to make a consistent effort and strengthen your branding in every aspect of your business so that it builds awareness. Building brand awareness is an ongoing process, but it is incredibly worthwhile. When you focus on building your brand and growing brand awareness, you are making a long-term investment in the success of your company which will continue to benefit your business for many years to come.
As a firm, it’s important that you make sure your ability to present your operation, vision, and products or services well is essential. This kind of appeal can make new customers into returning clients, unsure consumers into first time purchasers, and regular people into brand ambassadors via word of mouth.
Of course, customers don’t generally ‘look for’ good branding, they just know what they like when they see it, and this means that some efforts are better than others. No matter if you hope to market a product, an event, a service, or something else entirely, knowing how to package the entire affair and trade using its spirit as marketing fodder can be key.
But what exactly do consumers respond to? After all, isn’t everyone different? How can we appeal to the masses when so many people have their own tastes and preferences we could leverage? Thankfully, a great deal of research has gone into this approach, meaning that even the pluckiest small firm can get the best of this understanding provided they use the best design agency and take a proactive approach towards branding. With that in mind, please consider:
Authentic Style
Authentic style is key when determining your branding approach. For instance, think of how brands like Jack Daniels have used the kind of font script on their labels for some time, harping back to the old times where proud stencilled lettering was key to promoting a brand, where the idea of barrel-aged whiskeys and Tennessee whiskeys spoke to adventure, masculinity, an old-school approach, and more.
For these reasons, even though Jack Daniels isn’t considered a particularly high-end whiskey compared to other brands out there, people still wash and present the bottles on their shelves or give it pride of place in their bar. That’s the power of authentic style and a willingness to present character proudly.
Themes Properly Expressed
Branding is also aided by themes that the kind of imagery, font, and graphic design used can imply. For instance, think of a fitness supplement as a product. It might come in a very simple plastic bottle geared towards keeping the supplement itself safe. The labelling around this bottle, however, will often showcase streamlined, cool fonts, use imagery that denotes power, performance, and agility, as well as competition, and will do its best to showcase people performing and finding passion in what they do on their website. Of course, these themes will be expressed best of all of they sponsor a fitness influencer to promote the product, as then the success achieved by the hard work of such a person automatically becomes associated with this supplement. As you can see - how you express a theme is just as important as what the theme is to begin with.
Transparency & Accessibility
Consumers wish for brands to be accessible, perhaps most of all. Without this, it’s very easy for companies to feel disconnected from the realities of day to day life, or out of touch with who might be purchasing their goods.
Some firms might take a thorough approach to sustainability, for instance, making that a core component of their branding. It’s also important to make sure your branding is accessible and understandable, that it doesn’t take too much work to piece together what you’re selling, why you believe in that product, and why they should care and not just move on. This takes an honest candor and the willingness to be up front.
Even with mysterious and often ridiculously artsy fragrance advertisements, the message is clear - our product will make you smell good and be desirable. As mysterious as the content of that advertising might seem, no matter what language you may speak, you see Johnny Depp staring off into the distance and a bottle of fragrance and you instantly understand the themes presented - you understand that you’re supposed to feel cool wearing this product.
If your branding is too complex, despite how smart your audience may be, consider how you can get the point across in a more transparent and accessible manner.
Pride, History, & Presence
Ultimately, if you can’t show pride in your history, in your presence, in your existence as a firm, it’s hard to convince others to care as well.
This is why companies often celebrate ‘5 years of being here!’ as well as celebrate events, prominently discuss their history on little pamphlets within orders of a certain value, and more. It’s about motivating the staff, celebrating their approach, and allowing others to find interest in that too.
It might be that your firm could benefit from such an approach.
With this advice, we hope you can look for the best of branding in the best of ways, and apply that to your own firm.
As your company grows, you'll find that there are certain aspects of marketing that you should outsource. Hiring an agency can help free up time to focus on other aspects of your business.
It's not only beneficial for the growth of your company, but it can also be more cost-effective than hiring multiple employees for all the different marketing tasks. This is because digital marketing services can cover things like lead generation, copywriting, and conversion optimization, which would cost you much more than just hiring one employee to do all three.
Why You Should Consider Hiring Marketing Help
The importance of having someone who can help with marketing cannot be understated. You want to be able to execute your ideas and get the word out about your company and products. This is something only a professional marketing team will be able to do effectively.
A marketing company or a digital marketing agency can provide you with the necessary help that you need with your marketing. With professionals on your team, you can focus on what you do best and let their skills take care of the rest.
How to Find the Right Marketing Agency for Your Business
A marketing agency can help you with various aspects of marketing. They can help you in all stages of the marketing process starting from planning to execution. Some marketers question the benefits of hiring an agency for their business. They can collaborate with in-house marketers in generating content for their website or social media posts.
But the truth is that agencies might be worth the expense because they have both analytical and creative abilities when it comes to developing campaigns and strategies. You need to find a good marketing agency and to do that, it’s wise to do your research. Also ask for recommendations and take meetings until you find the right fit for your business.
The Different Types of Marketing Expertise That You Can Hire
The marketing world has changed enormously in the past decade with the rise of social media, mobile devices, and e-commerce. The emergence of digital marketing has also led to many changes in how marketers are required to work. While it is true that there are many types of expertise in marketing, some common positions include:
Think about what you need help with the most and see whether you want to hire one team, individual freelancers, or a mix of both,
What You Need to Know Before Hiring an Agency
The key to successful business is knowing the right questions to ask when hiring an agency. When you make an appointment with an agency, make sure you ask them about their experience in the niche they are hired for. However, don’t blindly trust that their previous customers in that niche will be like your customers in terms of demographics and preferences.
Ask the agency how they work and how they measure success. Make sure they align with your expectations and goals. Agencies should not start working on a project until you sign a contract with them because it will give them clarity on your budget and timeline for the project.
Simply put, a business cannot survive without good communication. You need to know if something has been delayed or gone wrong so that you can deal with it there and then. You need to be able to relay your needs and expectations to your employees and vendors. You also need to be able to connect with clients or customers so that you can keep them apprised of any issues and of any opportunities that you’ll both benefit from.
It’s obvious then, that clear lines of communication are vital for your business to succeed and grow.
First off, let’s talk about your employees. They are the lifeblood of your business and, while it can be hard to remember sometimes, they sometimes see more than you do when it comes to the day-to-day operations of your company.
You’d be surprised at how vital keeping in touch with your employees is, but doing so can help you to improve your productivity and even retain employees. If an employee has an issue, either with another member of staff or with the process, you should know about it and, hopefully, be able to deal with it.
If your employees feel like they’re being listened to, they will be more loyal to your company and will perform better. You can communicate with your employees in a few ways. The most obvious way is to schedule face-to-face meetings. A formal meeting might be more appropriate at times, but you can learn more at a less formal lunch. If you can, chatting to each employee individually is a good habit to get into.
However, some employees might be more comfortable with an anonymous way to apprise you of any issues or to describe their job satisfaction. You can use enps software to help you to monitor general team satisfaction and identify trends. This will help you to make better-informed decisions about the future of your business and how you deal with employees.
Connect With Vendors
Sometimes your company will take on the role of the customer. You may need raw materials or some kind of service to keep your business running, which means that you need to deal with vendors. Whatever you do, don’t neglect your vendors. If you lose them suddenly and don’t have a backup, you won’t be able to support your customers or your employees, which is terrible news for your business.
If you’ve dealt with customers, then you likely know what kind of conversations you dread as a service provider or seller. So, try to be a good customer for your vendors. Be open with them, especially when it comes to financial matters so that you both know what to expect. Don’t be afraid to ask for a discount, and make sure that you’re well informed about your vendor and the usual price and quality of your desired product or service.
Feel free to ask questions, as your vendor will know far more about their specialty than you will. Then, listen to what they have to say. If they need some time to answer, give it to them and you're more likely to get accurate information.
Be realistic, but also be clear about what you should expect. Don’t expect miracles, but remember that your business needs good vendors to function properly. Don’t make the mistake of sticking with a poor vendor simply because you like them or because you’re used to them. If there’s an issue, let them know. If the issues continue, find a new vendor.
Connect With Customers
Of course, you can have the greatest relationships with your employees and vendors imaginable, but your business won’t last long without customers. First, you need to reach potential customers and let them know that your business can fill their needs. This is where marketing comes in.
Social media marketing, as well as other digital marketing methods, are your friends here. Most people are on the internet now, which means that this is the best way to reach the most customers. Make sure that you have a solid brand personality that people will remember, so they will think of your business first.
Once you have customers, you shouldn’t neglect them. It’s much easier to keep repeat customers than to constantly win new ones, so try to keep them engaged. Use promotions to encourage repeat customers and to find new ones. Also, if there is an issue on your end, let them know and keep them informed every step of the way. Good customer service can do wonders.
As a business innovator in an ever-changing and fast-paced world, you must build time-management practices into your workday. Try out one or all of these tips to make your day more efficient.
If you have not been properly introduced to the virtues of web crawling, it is time. A web crawler search engine is an incredibly useful tool for your business. Its main function is to search the internet so you can spend your valuable time elsewhere. Web crawlers remove the need for manual search engine queries by becoming automated processes.
Web crawlers are useful for searching for a variety of things, such as finding mentions or reviews of your company online and securing leads. It is indispensable in researching your competitors’ content, products, and services, including relevant information. They are set up to scour for the information you otherwise manually search for and then send alerts in real-time. Searching for relevant industry contact information is unproductive and time-consuming. Web crawling performs this menial task with ease and accuracy.
Employ a Password Manager
Whether in your business or personal life, you are probably overflowing with unique and hard-to-recall passwords. Safety and efficiency are lost when you choose the same password over and over for all of your accounts. When it comes to work, you are not only safeguarding yourself and your work content, but you are also safeguarding the company and its intellectual property. To that end, carrying a password book or a scrap of paper with passwords haphazardly written is not effective either.
Try a password manager to keep your passwords safe instead of worrying about where they are and how you can remember them all. A password manager is a program or app in which you securely store passwords. It will even assist you in creating new, strong passwords when you need a new one. Password management programs can store additional personal information such as credit cards and banking details so that you do not have to.
Here is a video to guide you through the benefits of using a password manager.
Make a Schedule for Tech
The advent of technology has been wonderful for humankind. It has also proven to be a time-waster. With your ever-present smartphone, you are always available and reachable. While it may seem that this leads to greater productivity, it does not. If you are constantly responding to the sound of an incoming message or request on your phone (or any other device), then you are not staying focused on the task at hand. Even private personal time should be separated from work responsibilities so that you can recharge and refresh and then go back to work revitalized.
To that end, start by determining what hours during any given day you must be available for work obligations. Now, look at the remaining time. Carve out a schedule for sustenance, personal and family time, and any wiggle room where you are off-duty but available. Once that is done, craft some out-of-office or OOO messages to use when you are unavailable. This will alert people that you have received their text, call, or message, etc. but are not accessible at present. When those requesting your time know when you will get back to them or be available, they will wait for you instead of continuing to make contact, thus avoiding filling up your inbox or feed.
Work hard and work smart are words to live by. Make your business practices and life easy by utilizing efficient technological tools to get the job done well.
When you build or update your company’s website, you need to keep growth in mind. The wrong approach when creating your site can hinder sales, causing your company to stall or fall behind competitors.
By using the right approach, the opposite can occur. You can create a growth-oriented site that boosts your brand, increases sales, and operates seamlessly. If you aren’t sure where to begin, reach out to Nick for a free quote on web design services. Here are some tips that can get you headed in the right direction.
Enhance the Visual Aspects
Many prospective customers’ initial interactions with your company happen on our website. As a result, how your site looks matters. If the colors are chosen haphazardly, the pages look cluttered, or the pages don’t display correctly on the visitor’s preferred device, there’s a chance they’ll decide to go with a competitor.
Luckily, many web design best practices are easy to keep in mind. First, choose a simplified color scheme that fits your brand – usually featuring no more than four main hues. Next, balance text, images, and videos with whitespace, reducing visual clutter and improving readability. Finally, choose a responsive design, ensuring your site adjusts to a wide range of screen sizes and device types.
Another excellent option for improving the look of your site is an eye-catching banner. If you’re worried about the cost of hiring a graphic designer – which can easily run between $100 and $850 per project – consider going the DIY route. With an online banner maker, you can start with an attractive template and customize details like the text, colors, and font. Plus, you can even add video or animation, all while getting the perfect sized banner for your website, Facebook profile, Twitter page, or YouTube channel.
Embrace Integrations
Few things can streamline company processes quite like integrations. When you implement the right ones, you centralize activities that usually take place across multiple systems, allowing you to handle various tasks with greater ease.
Ideally, you want to integrate your customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) tools as a starting point. Then, by adding in your website, you can optimize a range of tasks by eliminating cumbersome data entry and ensuring activities can occur through a single portal. Customer management, inventory tracking, purchase processing, and order monitoring can all happen through one application, boosting productivity and organization.
Be SEO-Friendly
If you want to capture organic traffic, Zenbusiness emphasizes that you need to keep SEO best practices in mind when creating your site. That way, you can increase your position among search engine results, increasing the odds that prospective customers are more likely to engage with your company.
There are several components to SEO, including page speed, authority, security, word count, keyword selections, keyword density, and more. Often, the easiest parts to control are the content-oriented portions, such as keyword selection and use.
Try the Google keyword planner tool if you’re not sure which keywords can improve your site’s position. It will help you identify opportunities and enhance your website’s position, increasing your odds of securing organic traffic.
Make Purchase Easy
Abandoned carts can be a bane for any company. If you want to reduce the abandoned cart rate, making purchases as easy as possible to complete is a great start. Consider adding “Buy Now” buttons to make single item purchases incredibly quick. Additionally, reduce the number of pages customers have to navigate between entering their cart and completing the transaction. That way, they can finish up in the fewest number of clicks and pages possible.
