Creating a brand is a challenge itself, but many business owners fail to realize that it is only half the job they have to do to actually become successful. It has been more than three decades since we got internet, and every day, more and more websites are created, and that means that there are more and more information for the customers to take in. Most of the companies look too much alike, and it is hard for the users to remember any of them, let alone choose with whom they would like to work. In this article, we will talk about ways to make your brand image stand out more, which is essential to get more clients.
Be Creative
There are millions of small businesses across the world, and they all compete for the biggest market share, for customers, and more sales. Originality and creativity is the most important thing about creating something of your own: and it applies to basically anything in your life from the very start. You want to have that "hook" that will stick into your customers' heads and never let them go. Think of some things or ways to make your brand a little more creative, thankfully, imagination is free to everyone. It may be a catchy name, or some outright crazy stuff in the design, or maybe a mascot! It is up to you to decide what tactics you will use to make your company stand out, and you know what: it never hurts to experiment and be a little bold about it. Trying something new and being proud of it is something that made tech giants like Apple what they are now. Go on, try something new, and find your way to be a unique brand!
Say "Hi" to Your Competitors
No, buddy, you won't get off without the research. You absolutely need to do it. We just talked about being creative, and one of the most easiest and quickest ways to do something unique is to look through your direct competitors. Check them out, see what they have come up with and what unique do they have to offer to the clients. And do 10x better. It is easier said than done, I know, but all it takes is the right people to get help from! Message us and we will crush through all of your rivals' websites and make yours, what? You guessed it, 10x better.
Clients, Clients, Clients
The most common mistake that young entrepreneurs make is that they make themselves or their company the most important thing in the brand. They tell only their story, and why they are so cool and innovative. They are wrong, because they must be centering their brand around clients, not themselves. It is their stories of success they must be telling! And through their stories comes your success. Let's be logical about this, what would you find more believable: a company that is telling why they are so cool without any real stories to back it up, or a company with customer success stories? If you ask me, one real story is better than a whole page of telling how cool somebody is because of this and because of that, because it makes us relate and imagine that it could be us, we just have to work with these guys and my story will be here next for sure!
Go for a Niche
Having a big audience has its pluses and minuses. You can try to set up your brand around a specific niche to serve a smaller audience, but with a bigger customer retention rate. Plus, it will allow you to be more creative, as you can tailor your company's identity and branding directly to the needs and style of your audience. Say, you will sell skateboards. That means that your primary age group would be teenagers, so make the cool place with rad skateboards. Or you sell kitchen stuff, which means housewives would be your audience. Make the place to feel most like home, but don't include screaming children though. Overall, think about some ways to make the selected group most comfortable in your stores or websites. Extensive research will surely help!
Quality is the Key
While being focused on the client is a good and necessary thing, your another primary interest must be in the quality of your product. While the experience that people go through make them come to you, the quality is something that will make them stay and possibly come back. You must work on providing the best product possible, and results won't be too long. This is so essential because no matter how good you are at making your brand visible and unique, that won't help you with good reviews and retention rate. Your prices may be somewhat higher, but remember: there will always be people who are willing to pay you more to receive something of superior quality.
Work on Your Trustworthiness
We touched the trust issue above, but I think it deserves more recognition. Trust is something truly universal, as being trustworthy is a thing that simply can't be bad and it is one of the important parts of our success as human beings. Without others trusting you, there can be no business, period. That is why, from the day one, you have to start working on it. Collect good reviews, but don't you dare to remove the bad ones, that's a very bad call. People find that out very quickly, and there is a direct self-sabotage right there. Rather than that, try to work on the issues your customers pointed out, and you will get proper recognition for that. You may also ask your past clients to write an honest review, and this way you'll be slowly but surely getting more and more trust from the potential buyers. You see, people constantly rely on others when making a choice. Just remember yourself looking for some good headphones, basically anything, what do you do in the first place? Right, you read reviews to find out if that particular pair is any good, or is that website deserves to be trusted. After that, you make your choice. Don't get me wrong, reading what others have to say is a very good tactic.
Make Your Brand Feel Friendly
There is nothing more off-putting than a brand that tries to be strictly professional and "salesy". Today, being somewhat friendly and playful is the way to go. You don't have to go very far, but you can try this: imagine that your customers are your friends, and use all of your website copy to talk to them in a calm, warm manner. It works wonders, because it feels more alive, like actually going to a physical store and talking to someone. People are very aware of everything when they are about to spend their paycheck, so every interaction counts. I can't possibly count how many times I was about to purchase something, but the dull and cold experience that I was getting just made me go look for another place to buy from. I am sure that you had experiences like these too, so make the right choice and work on being more informal.
Work on The Values
Every brand has to be honest and provide quality product, but these values are so basic that you can't make them the center of attention. You must go deeper and think of other values that you will be making your brand all about. Another thing that I want to point out is brands taking on the human rights stances and all that is related to this. Most of the times it looks really cheap, let's be honest. The worst mistake that companies do is that they come out with these bold statements out of nowhere, simply hopping on the hype train. There is no guarantee that it is honest, and it probably isn't. So that's why you, as an owner, must start creating this caring image from the very start, but please, do so only in you truly care , because if you don't, people will see and call you out for that. Cheap tactics like these are based on lying, and we all know where this road leads us.
Be Sincere
We slowly came to our most important guest of today: honesty. Being sincere in all of your media, statements and overall brand image is the most crucial thing to be successful. Yes, you can lie your way to a quick win, but as a owner of a company you must think what's in it for a long run. Right, nothing. You always want to be looking for perspectives that will give you success for a long time, not just a week, a month, or maybe that one deal. Being transparent to your customers will never be overlooked by them, even if they don't say it out loud. They will just be loyal to you instead, or recommend them to their friends or relatives, and nothing works better than referrals.
Launch Social Media
Your online presence must not be limited to your website. You must be always looking to build your social networks in a way that you constantly stay in your customers' sight. Reminding people that you are there reminds them that you are there, as simple as that. Depending on what niche you are working in, you will choose different social media platforms, and it is something you will have to research. Thankfully, you won't have to go far, just look for your competition and see what they are up to and what social media they use for their campaigns.
Create Custom Content
Blogs are very powerful tools. Writing some custom content is always a good thing that shows that you put extra effort and care into your business. Here's a good practice for you: create a schedule and try to write posts following it. It might take you time to get accustomed to it, and it may not work for the first few times, but you will get there! If you are not very good at writing, you may think of hiring someone who will do that for you, but it will be better if you will post your thoughts and visions from time to time.
Be Consistent
That is the last of my tips, but it comes with a little trick inside. Some people don't understand what being consistent is, but it is really quite simple. Being consistent is taking all the tips above into account, and always follow them. This way, you and your customers will receive a smooth experience: they get a good experience, you get your money. Now that's a good trade offer for me. Remember, there are always more tips out there, but most of them come from your experience. So don't be scared of experimenting, do something new every now and then, and always be looking at the feedback that you have been given. Strive not for the perfection, but for the consistency.
