The amount of effort you put into creating a trusted brand that speaks to your customers will have a direct impact on sales. Consumers become extremely loyal to the brands they follow. Certain brands have almost become part of their identity. Affinity for certain brands helps them make social connections as well as communicate with others about their interests and even values.
A lot goes into brand image. Creating the image you want requires marketing, design, product development, customer services, and a lot of other intertwined systems. All of this combined helps establish who you are as a company and what people think and feel when they see your logo or hear about your business.
How does brand marketing fit into that picture? Brand marketing helps present the kind of image you want to project into the marketplace according to Ross Kernez from Hpone. It’s messaging about who you are, what values your organization espouses, and who your audience is. Here we discuss how you can use brand marketing to stand out from the crowd.
How Brand Marketing Works
Brand marketing is less focused on converting a single lead or closing one deal. It’s, instead, centered on building a comprehensive, long-term relationship with customers. Brand marketing wants to create a space inside people’s consciousness. When someone thinks they want to buy a mid-range car, for example, the companies that have been the most successful marketing their brand in that space will probably win out.
Brand marketing should last longer than a single product launch or product lifecycle. It can last generations and, when done correctly, can build a moat around your business that makes it more resistant to competitors and the ups and downs all businesses experience.
Brand marketing is made up of many components. Some of them include:
Customer Service – Responsive companies that show empathy are quicker to build positive brand images. Brand marketing around customer service could be, for instance, highlighting customer service awards or soliciting reviews from happy clients.
Product Quality – Establishing and showcasing a track record of high-quality products that fill your customers’ needs can improve the perception of your brand. You become a market leader known for dependability.
Innovation – People love companies who change and innovate. Brand marketing can help curate your image as a thought leader and create buzz around new products to increase demand.
Creative Ads –The right creative ad or viral video can do wonders for your brand reputation. The best brand marketing teams are always thinking about what’s next when it comes to content.
Affiliates – What type of influencers or partners use and endorse your products? A company’s representatives and other affiliates make a big difference.
Customer Demographics – To do effective brand marketing, you have to know who uses your products and why. Then, you can make marketing campaigns that speak to them and build your brand awareness.
The Making of a Good Brand Marketing Campaign
You’ll likely execute many different brand marketing campaigns during your time in business. What you’re looking for is a cumulative effect here. It’s very unlikely that a single marketing campaign will sustain your brand image for years. Brand marketing is an ongoing process. Here’s what you need to do brand marketing well.
- Identify your brand image and values associated with your brand
- Unify your organizations’ teams around that brand image and those values
- Draft ad copy and marketing materials around that brand image
- Include some aspect of highlighting your brand image in other marketing campaigns (product launch, event marketing, etc.)
- React to customer feedback promptly
Soliciting Feedback on Your Brand Image
A great way to understand how your brand marketing is being received is to solicit feedback from customers and even people who don’t love your company. This can be done with tools like email surveys, online reviews, focus groups, and other forums.
You must get a realistic view of where your brand image is so that you can react with marketing that either maintains your position or helps you readjust to where you want to be. Customers and potential customers will offer honest reviews of how they feel about your brand, and you can take that information back to your company and make things even better.
