Killer Ways to BoostYour Brand in 2015

INTRODUCTIONFor brands, the last decade has been a disruption. In most ways, the disruption has been positive. The dawn of the digital era has opened access to new markets and has created a direct line of communication to consumers who were previously out of reach. Digital tools allow brands to be laser focused on target markets and bring the power of analytics to optimize in real time.

In other ways, the dawn of the digital era may have felt like a negative disruption. With so many communication channels to manage, prioritization can seem impossible. Not to mention the speed at which brands are now expected to respond. It can feel like chasing a moving target!

For brands, the struggle is real. The following e-book features 22 low-friction but high-impact ways to boost your brand in an ever-changing digital world.

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Become an authorityin your industry

Having an authoritative voice in your industry shows customers that you know your stuff! This builds confidence in your brand, sometimes even on an unconscious level. For example: Band-Aid® has become the default brand in the minds of Americans when thinking about and shopping for adhesive bandages. It is every business owner’s dream to become the flagship brand in their category. It starts with building brand authority.

Design anamazing logo

The average American is exposed to a minimum of 3,000 marketing messages per day. 99% of these messages have zero impact. This probably rings true for most. How many times have you heard someone say they saw an ad, but they could not remember what it was for? An amazing logo design makes your brand more memorable, and in turn, builds recognition and trust.

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Start ablog

Blogging benefits your brand in a number of ways. First, search engines love fresh content and they favor websites that produce it on a regular basis by ranking them higher in search results. That means you are more likely to outrank your competition when you continually post relevant and engaging blog content. Second, blogs give your customers an opportunity to interact with you in a non-sales-pitchy environment. This contributes to heightened brand awareness, trust, and brand affinity.

Amplify yoursocial channels

Americans now spend more time on social media than any other activity online. This makes a clear case to reach your customers where they are, and engage them with a push/pull method. One way to do this is to first, “push” content online. This can be in the form of tutorials, infographics, surveys, photos, or videos. Next, “pull” customers into your sales funnel with premium content in exchange for an email address. Then, nurture those relationships with relevant and ongoing email content designed to keep your brand top of mind.

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Braga little

No one likes a braggart, but if you don’t boast about the remarkable qualities of your brand (at least a little bit), who will? Don’t be afraid to talk openly about the achievements that reveal the essence of your brand and reinforce its identity. For example, how would anyone ever know about TOMS Shoes One for One® giving program if it wasn’t a prominent aspect of their marketing?

Ask forfeedback

Americans now spend more time on social media than any other activity online. This makes a clear case to reach your customers where they are, and engage them with a push/pull method. One way to do this is to first, “push” content online. This can be in the form of tutorials, infographics, surveys, photos, or videos. Next, “pull” customers into your sales funnel with premium content in exchange for an email address. Then, nurture those relationships with relevant and ongoing email content designed to keep your brand top of mind.

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Betrustworthy

Today’s customer is wise to marketing gimmicks and is more skeptical than ever. Building trust is not just about being honest (although that’s a good start!). Building trust is about consistent delivery of your brand promise. The little things really do matter. Zappos is a prime example of an ecommerce merchant that is well known for top-notch customer service, and they take great strides to ensure that every employee is trained to deliver on it.

Havea purpose

Competing on price alone is a misnomer in today’s digital world. Today’s consumer expects more from brands. They expect meaning, connection, and above all, they expect brands to have a purpose. Apple is a good example of a brand with a strong purpose. With the courage to “think differently,” Apple has cultivated a loyal following of customers who are actually willing pay higher prices. So it’s not just about money after all! Bottom line: The only way to make discounts more interesting is to offer more than anyone else. But no one - no one but you - can break the bond you have with your customers when it is centered around a shared purpose.

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Own yourmistakes

When you rely on humans (as opposed to say, robots) to represent the face of your brand, you are vulnerable to mistakes. And maybe even if robots are involved, you might make a mistake here and there. We hope this doesn’t happen to you, but if it does... just own it. The way you respond to a public faux-pas is an opportunity to showcase your brand’s character. This makes you more human in the eyes of your customers and they are more likely to forgive you.

Train youremployees

This should probably go without saying, but it’s worth mentioning because so many brands get it wrong. Think about it. You could potentially spend an unlimited amount of money on advertising your brand, but if the face of the brand does not deliver on the promise, you may as well toss those advertising dollars into your blender and hit frappe. For example, can you think of a brand that doesn’t promote “top-notch” customer service? But how many brands have actually delivered to you on that promise? Probably very few. This goes to show that having engaged employees really is a competitive differentiator and it’s worth investing the time into.

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Beconsistent

You’ve worked hard to build a brand that is recognizable and trustworthy. Reinforce this identity with a consistent market presence. This includes a consistent use of tone, logos, tagline, and even use of color. Coca-Cola, Disney, and Ford are examples of global brands that maintain a consistent theme in everything they produce. Make no mistake: Brand identity is equally important, if not more so, in local markets where competition is high. When a brand is unpredictable, it introduces risk in the minds of customers. Find your voice, and stick with it.

Offernovelty

Introducing novelty to your brand is not the same as being gimmicky. Every brand has at least one characteristic that is unique, or maybe even unusual. What’s the one thing that makes your brand different than competing brands? Perhaps you have an uncommon distribution model. Or maybe your company was founded under unusual circumstances. Whatever it may be, stand out from the crowd by capitalizing on the value of your differentiators. Make sure customers know what makes your brand unique and why it matters.

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Narrowyour focus

While it may seem counterintuitive to narrow your scope, simplicity is key to a memorable brand. We’ve all heard phrase, “you can’t boil the ocean.” Similarly, your brand can’t be all things to all people. Keep your brand centered around one core message and maintain that core message in everything you do. Consumers are inundated with marketing messages on a daily basis. Very few are retained. The simpler your marketing message, the easier it will be to remember.

Tell astory

When it comes to creating a strong brand, nothing is more powerful than a rich narrative. A well-developed narrative cuts across demographic barriers and captures the attention of your audience. There is a lot of science that supports the use of storytelling to change attitudes and behaviors. The short version is this: A well-told story evokes emotion in a way that rational data can not. And because emotions play a strong role in our decision-making, brands with a well-told story are more likely to be chosen and preferred.

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Focus onengagement

Of all the areas in marketing, engagement is the broadest, and, arguably the most difficult to measure. You can easily get lost in trying to design the perfect customer engagement plan. Stop. Don’t overthink it. It really boils down this: Repeated, valuable interaction will strengthen the emotional bond that a customer feels toward your brand. The key words here are repeated and valuable. Repeated and valuable interaction with your brand increases a customer’s emotional investment. It’s as simple as that.

Beauthentic

You don’t have to be a luxury brand for customers to expect authenticity. Being authentic means being honest about your products, services, and business practices, and the impact they have on the world. It may sound rudimentary, but it’s worth mentioning because today’s customer is more vigilant of this than ever before. The need to “read the fine print” with brands has become the rule rather than the exception. Be transparent. Be authentic. Trust will follow.

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Getpersonal

Just because two people share a common set of demographics does not mean they share any interests or even any needs. That’s the problem with most “targeted” marketing strategies today. A personalized marketing strategy takes into account each person’s individual preferences, based on real-world interactions, and tailors each message accordingly. It is not enough to say, “Dear Firstname,” and move on with the same mass message. Personalized marketing speaks to an audience of one, which makes it far more effective.

Behuman

Even though we refer to brands as “living” entities, people don’t actually have relationships with brands. People have relationships with people. A brand may dictate a product or even an experience, but people own relationships and people own feelings. It is interaction with people that shapes a customer’s perception of a brand. There is a reason people prefer to speak to a real, live human. The more opportunities you give your customers to connect with the people behind your brand, the easier it becomes for them to build relationships.

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Prioritizeyour goals

Brand goals can be difficult to measure but are incredibly important to set and track. Brand awareness, for example, can be measured by social media following, blog views, or Google searches. But it’s not enough just to set goals. You are far more likely to achieve your goals when they are prioritized. Why? Because chasing simultaneous goals kills your productivity. A solid branding prioritization strategy helps you focus on what matters and lessens that sense of rushing between projects.

Predictthe future

Nobody can actually predict the future, but you can come pretty close with predictive analytics. Predictive modeling through analytics is a way of predicting the outcome of your marketing efforts based on behavioral data from the past. One way to leverage this powerful technique is to identify the customers who are showing declining engagement rates. Armed with this data, you can put measures into place to win them back.

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Lightenup

People enjoy doing business with brands they know and like. So why do branded messages always seem so serious? Southwest Airlines is an example of a brand who has embraced a sense of humor by incorporating fun and laughter it into their safety announcements. Obviously, it can’t all be fun and games, but there’s certainly no harm in lightening up once in a while - particularly on social media where you can get instant feedback.

If you can’t track it, don’t do it

Without a measurement strategy in place, your marketing efforts are basically a shot in the dark. No one can afford to spend money or time on measures that aren’t working. That’s why it’s so important to identify the metrics that matter up front, and to outline a strategy on how that data will be used to make decisions in the future. For example, let’s say you spend $5,000 on marketing in one month. Let’s say that during that month, you acquired 10 new customers. To determine the ROI of your marketing program, you will need a way to measure the lifetime value of each of those newly acquired customers. This is important to know ahead of time so you can put measures into place that link these two (or more) sources of data.

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Conclusion:BRANDS OUTLIVEPRODUCTS.

The new world of marketing is starting to feel less like marketing and more like relationship building. That’s because it is. Why? Because consumers have more options than ever before. This shift in consumer power has changed the buying cycle and places a greater emphasis on customer experience.

“Disruptive technology is a catalyst for change, not the reason.” - Brian Solis, Author, The End of Business As Usual

For example, the simple act of searching for a new restaurant online involves input from 5 different sources. That is why, in a world of connected consumerism, relevant content and positive brand experiences matter.

Want more? Follow us on Twitter @MR2creative

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