A strong brand can be the key to a company’s success, but knowing how to cultivate a powerful image often proves difficult for businesses. To help you tackle this challenge, here are four secrets to effective branding.
1. Know your audience
To create an image that appeals to potential customers, you must understand their needs, desires and shopping habits.
Get a clearer idea of the people you are trying to appeal to by conducting surveys, interviews and focus groups to put together customer profiles.
The descriptions should include details such as gender, age, income and location, and also identify your potential customers’ interests, values, lifestyles and other factors that may impact on their purchasing decisions.
2. Tell a story
Once you’ve created these profiles, you can start developing your brand. This is about much more than simply designing a logo and coming up with a catchy slogan. To really stand out, your brand should tell a story and reflect the whole ethos of your business.
Whether you’re proud of your company’s history, you want to emphasise your ethical credentials, you’re focussed on offering supreme levels of customer service, or you have other notable selling points, make sure your core messages are reflected in your business’s image.
3. Connect with consumers
A lot of marketing activity now takes place online, but it’s important to consider more traditional channels too. For example, speaking directly to potential customers at their homes, their places of work, and at private sites and public venues can be an effective way to raise brand awareness and increase sales.
If you don’t have the resources or expertise to run these face-to-face campaigns yourself, you can turn to the experts here at Appco. Highly skilled brand ambassadors, who are contracted to independent marketing companies in the Appco UK network, receive in-depth product, compliance and customer service coaching, ensuring they are well placed to represent our clients.
Using field marketing to engage with people gives you the perfect opportunity to explain your products or services in detail and create a personal and more lasting connection with your target audience.
4. Never let your standards slip
If the quality of your products or services slips at any stage, your company’s image could suffer. It’s vital to have strict quality-control procedures in place and make sure everyone working within your organisation is aware of the importance of their actions.
This may not be easy, but it is well worth making the effort. By ensuring that your customers have positive experiences each time they deal with your business, you can protect and enhance your brand and help to safeguard your success.