Whether you are a company of 1 or 100, defining your public image is a crucial part of business growth. In 2020 there are more avenues than ever to have a public presence and determining where your time and resources will deliver the most value can be tricky. Start by strategizing early on about what exactly you want your company to represent. This can be tweaked over time but will provide a solid jumping-off point for brand identification. Make sure every member of your team knows the brand’s messages inside and out to help create an immersive and predictable customer experience.
With customer loyalty as the end goal, as it leads to repeat sales and higher margins, having consistent, clear and memorable messaging is key. Inconsistent messaging fails to build trust and long-term memory connections in consumer’s brains.
Today, promotional messages posted in one region can be passed around the world in an instant so the need for uniformity has never been greater. When a consumer recognizes your brand, they should instantly know what to expect no matter the location, market segment, or product variation. This does not mean that you need to produce identical promotional materials around the world, just ensure that none of them violate any major brand identities or beliefs. Changes in target demographics, product segment, model type, etc. may require altered materials.
Not One Size Fits All
All the information consumers gather surrounding your business, in the end, gets used for product differentiation. This helps consumers make snap decisions on what product to buy that they believe will best suit their needs. Making sure your message is clear and direct will cut down on both conscious and subconscious confusion for consumers. The more predispositions someone has surrounding your brand, the less active decision making occurs at the point of sale. In other words, you do not think as hard about which brand to buy if you already have positive beliefs about one of the options. Just make sure not to over-exaggerate product uses or attributes beyond their ability. While it may gain a buyer initially, they will not become a repeat customer if the product does not meet their needs. Even worse, misleading or overpromising can create negative word of mouth surrounding your business.
Tips:
- Take the Time to Optimize Content – Every marketing platform has a specific format of content that tends to perform best. It can be time-consuming, but creating unique content that takes advantage of each platform’s advantages will maximize results. If you don’t have the ability to make custom content for every platform, focus on a few to optimize and make stand out.
- Be Useful – Spending time and resources on content just to create content is wasteful. Every message delivered should have a predetermined goal or provide helpful insight to consumers.
- Align New and Traditional Marketing – Today our mind jumps straight to the application of digital marketing, however, sometimes the best tactic is to mix new and traditional methods. Deliver a variety of content from social media, print, embroidered shirts and everything in between until you find a mix that works best.
- Dealing with Disgruntled Customers on Social Media – Not every business owner is an expert on social media and that is okay! However, modern problems require modern solutions. As a rule of thumb try to move any disagreement out of public view by suggesting a direct message or providing a support number.
For help with creating a unique brand for your business, contact the experts at INT.