This is the second post in the Small Business Branding Made Easy Series. I hope you found the first one helpful and took some time to think about how you want customers to perceive your business.
Your Ideal Customer
As we discussed in the last post, branding is all about how customers perceive your business. Your brand is the promise that you make to your customers and as you develop it, it is important to keep your ideal customer in mind.
If you don’t know who your ideal customer is yet I recommend that you take a break from this series and either take the full Niche Market Series to get clear on who you should be selling to. But at the very least you should download the Customer Persona Worksheet.
You can get it here: https://coaching.miware.co.za/create-a-customer-persona/
Create Emotional Connections
With any branding campaign, the goal is to create an emotional connection between your customer and your business. When you accomplish this, you create a loyal following of people that want to buy what you offer and refer you to their friends and family.
It is possible and actually quite common for a customer to be so attached to a brand that they will not even consider buying from another company. Take people who drink Coke and ask them if they like Pepsi. Nine times out of ten they will answer with an emphatic ‘NO’.
What do your ideal customers think of your business?
Along with knowing who your ideal customer is it is also important find out what they think of your business.
For instance, do they…
- know you exist?
- have a clear understanding of what you offer?
- harbour any negative impressions of your business?
- have any positive impressions of your business?
- see you as trustworthy enough to buy from?
Utilize Surveys
A good way to collect this data is by using surveys. Surveys will give you valuable insight into what your target audience knows and wants from your business and will help you build a great campaign that will be irresistible to your target market.
Brand Markers
When it comes to building a strong brand, perception is everything. Especially when you are trying to stand out in a competitive niche. Being perceived as “the best” in a customer’s mind can be the difference between success and failure. If you can align your brand with your ideal customers and get them to connect with multiple brand markers associated with your business you will be rewarded with a loyal following of brand advocates.
There are six brand markers you need to incorporate and answer for your ideal audience to build a great brand:
- Quality – How well do your products satisfy customer needs?
- Value – Do your customers put a high value on what you offer?
- Visual – Is your business or are your products/services visually appealing to consumers?
- Senses – Can you use smell, taste, touch and sound to make an impression?
- Personality – Can consumers relate to your business on a personal level?
- Emotion – Does your business appeal to your consumers emotional state and needs?
TASK
Take some time to think about and answer the questions above for each brand marker. Then write a comment below on how you can incorporate your answer for each brand marker into your branding campaign.
