Today’s market is incredibly competitive. Whether your business is focused locally, spread nationally, or entering the global market, you have to stand out from the crowd. It’s about more than just your goods or services— solid branding and positive association are key. This can take shape through powerful marketing campaigns, solid reviews, and making yourself memorable. Let’s take a look at how you can unlock the power of solid branding and powerful association to boost your business.
What is Branding?
Branding is the consistent look and tone of your business. Your main colors, your logo, your consistent fonts— all of this and more come together to create an aesthetic for your company. For good examples of solid branding, we turn to mainstream companies. Target, with their red bullseye and red/white color schemes. Walmart, with their pleasant blues and vibrant but minimalistic spark logo. Regions, with their vivid greens, classic bicycle, and green/white color schemes. These are just a few examples of reputable, popular companies with instantly recognizable branding.
Branding doesn’t have to be permanent, but it has to be consistent; any changes need to be well communicated with current customers.
The Power of Positive Association
Positive association is when good things remind people of your business. This can help keep you in their mind whenever they need the goods or services your company offers— or when their acquaintances do. This can help drive loyalty and sales. Positive association can come from various things: positive customer experiences, great products, community involvement and charitable actions, and powerful marketing campaigns, are just a few. In essence, it comes from something your company has done that invokes positive emotions. Unlocking the power of positive association will vary based on your business and what you have to offer customers. It goes beyond token actions; in fact, tokenism can have the opposite effect and drive customers away.
Negative association is the obvious counterpart to positive association. Tokenism can lead to this, but so can a misphrased sign or a hard-to-read font. Negative association is anything your business says or does that causes negative emotions in potential customers. You want to ensure that your brand and company have a positive reputation and an emergency plan in place to address problems that may arise.
Top Tips for Building a Strong Brand and Using Positive Association
Now that you have the pieces of the puzzle let’s look at a few examples of how to bring everything together. To start, you need a strong brand. Here are some tips for creating one:
- Define Your Brand’s Values and Mission. What do you stand for, and what do you want to achieve?
- Develop A Consistent Visual Identity. This includes your color schemes, fonts, and logo.
- Create a Strong Online Presence. Well-designed websites and solid social media activity go a long way in creating a lasting impression.
- Provide Excellent Customer Service. Pay attention to details and communicate clearly with customers.You can use customer support software to automate this process. Be easy to reach and friendly, and do everything in your power to make things right.
- Use Storytelling to Connect with Customers. Talk about your business, your employees, and even your brand’s history. Connect with your customers on a deeper level, and earn their loyalty.
- Work with Professionals. If you don’t have any experience in design, don’t try to build your brand alone. A designer will ensure you get your message across clearly, and give you tips on how to stick to your branding.
Now that you have a strong, recognizable branding strategy, it’s time to implement it.
- Be Practical. Most customers are tired of junk mail and spam. Your advertisements need to be memorable but unobtrusive— bonus points for convenience and usefulness! Consider investing in promotional products like branded pens or eco-friendly non woven tote bags that are eco-friendly. These are everyday items your customer will use, and they will keep you fresh in their minds. Most promotional products have a minimum order amount, but the return on the investment is worth it.
- Be Positive. Positivity in a company can range from being friendly in conversation to making an impact on your local community. Many companies choose a cause to support, like Walmart driving donations for the Children’s Miracle Network. Be transparent about your donations, and lead by example or offer to match customer donations.
- Be Transparent. No one likes a company they can’t trust. Be open and communicative with customers about their purchases or appointments, and keep them in the loop on schedules. Don’t try to hide from negative reviews and experiences— reach out and talk to the disappointed customer if you can. Address the issue publicly, but don’t name names. Let customers know what you are doing to make things right.
- Be Consistent. Consistency is essential to being memorable. You want a steady image, and consistency helps drive customer loyalty as they know they can count on you.
Wrapping Up
In the modern competitive market, learning to make your business stand out can be daunting, but you’ve got this! We hope the information in this article helps you build a powerful, positive brand that keeps your customers clamoring for more.
