Your brand is the heart of who your business is and shapes the way your customers perceive and choose you among competitors. Developing a brand is more than just a logo; it also involves many interconnected factors all designed to persuade how people will think or feel about your business. If something contributes to how others perceive your business then it's most likely a part of your brand.
Branding is one of the most essential activities that your business can engage in to build a strong connection with your existing customers, draw the attention of new customers, and encourage trust and loyalty. Proper branding will also be a guide for consumers to understand what your business is and what they can expect. Strengthening your branding best practices will help gain more brand awareness for your business and further differentiate you from your competitors.
There are a few important steps to consider when working on developing and strengthening your brand to grow awareness and gain customers.
Understand Your Business
The first step in working towards strengthening your brand is to conduct a thorough internal audit of what your business represents and what value it brings to its consumers. It is important to understand who you are and what you are offering to your customers to create your branding structure. Some important areas of your business to consider when developing your brand identity are your company’s values, mission statement, business goals, positioning statement, products and/or services you offer, and how you are different from your competitors. This information can help you determine what message you want to send to consumers, so they can understand who you are.
Once you have an understanding of your business, you can properly design and execute your vision across channels that matter. Aligning your branding structure with your company’s identity will ensure customers see and understand your business for what it truly is.
Meet Your Audience Where They Are
When building your brand, it is important to know who you are trying to reach. To create a branding structure that will reach your target audience, you first have to understand who your target is. To develop your target market, research your industry market, collect data on your current customer base, and create customer personas to match your ideal customers. By identifying your target audience, you can better understand their needs and wants more intimately, and in turn provide value to them.
Identifying your target audience will assist you in choosing a brand voice, design, and strategy that will appeal to your consumers. Furthermore, properly aligning your brand identity to your audience will assist in getting your products and services into the hands of consumers that will find the most value in them. Once your branding structure is designed for your consumers, make sure to address your target market using distribution methods and platforms they prefer. For example, if your consumers spend the majority of their time on Facebook, then make sure to push your branded content on this platform.
Consistency
Lastly, once your branding structure is fully developed to align with your target audience, it is important to maintain brand consistency. Businesses must show their branding in everything that they do to make their brand more present and memorable. Your brand should be evident within your website, all social media platforms, and any marketing campaigns and collateral presented to customers. The more consistent your brand identity is both offline and online, the more customers will trust and be loyal to your company. Consistency is crucial to helping build a strong brand that people will quickly recognize and turn to for their needs.
- Claire Clark
