When you think of some of the most successful and long-lasting companies in existence today, odds are you're thinking of organizations that have been exceptionally good at building their brand.
For example, why do most consumers buy Apple iPads instead of generic tablets? Or why do people tend to buy Coca-Cola products instead of the "off-brand" equivalents? In many cases, these companies have developed over many years because of the strong brand recognition.
The point is, building a strong brand is crucial for business longevity — and it takes dedication and effort to achieve such brand recognition. However, with some determination and help from marketing experts, you can see your brand enjoy exponential growth.
How to Build a Brand
First things first: it's important to understand the process of building a brand before you can launch any effective branding campaigns. So how does it work?
Building a brand involves several moving parts, including:
- Informing customers about your brand (e.g., what your company does, and the services you offer)
- Presenting your story and core values (in other words, why you do what you do)
- Differentiating your organization from the competition (this could be in terms of pricing, product quality, quality of service, or a combination of these and other attributes)
After you've started to gain exposure among your target audience, it's important to reinforce your progress through brand awareness campaigns. Brand awareness is generally defined as "the degree to which consumers recognize a product by its name... [including] positive perceptions of the qualities that distinguish the product from its competition."
In practical terms, brand awareness marketing is customer recognition that helps maintain consumer interest during slower times of the year.
Elements of Brand Building Campaigns
Brand awareness campaigns can be conducted on various channels, such as TV, radio, and digital display ads. Such campaigns are generally not focused on specific products you offer. Instead, they're designed to provide an overview of your company, including the values it upholds and the people that keep it running.
Brand building helps you establish an emotional connection with customers — one that goes far deeper than dollars and cents. As a simple example, consider how Ford often positions itself (especially concerning its truck models) as the champion of blue-collar toughness. Tesla's brand characteristics include luxury, innovation, and eco-consciousness.
What's the point? You want to showcase your story and core values in a way that helps consumers to identify with your brand. As a result, they'll be more likely to buy from you when making a purchase decision.
Tailor Ads to the People You Want to Reach
Of course, even the most well-designed brand-building campaign won't have much of an impact if you're targeting the wrong people in the first place. Going back to the example in the previous section, would it be effective for Ford to target urban, eco-friendly people with their truck ads? Probably not. In the same way, your ads must be tailored to the specific prospects you want to reach — namely, the ones who are most likely to buy from your company.
In this regard, having at least one customer persona is vital to your overall marketing strategy. A customer avatar (or buyer persona) is "a fictionalized characterization of your best customer(s) based on information about them and how they use your product or service." Put another way, your avatar is a (semi-fictional) profile of your ideal customer.
You can expect a much higher ROI when you adapt your advertising to your customer avatar. Of course, such adaptation should include the tone of your messaging, its content (including word choice), and the platforms you focus on when distributing your ads. For instance, if you're targeting an older crowd on the radio, you'll likely want to advertise with a station that plays older songs; or if you're targeting a demographic that's interested in sports, you'll want to place ads on websites that cover their favorite teams.
Building Your Brand for the Future
Brand building is essential to virtually any successful marketing plan. When you invest in brand awareness campaigns, you keep customer interest alive during downtime and encourage them to personally identify with your company's values and sensibilities. When you incorporate customer avatars into the mix, you can effectively reach your ideal customers with your messaging.
Granted, there are a lot of "nuts and bolts" when planning and executing a winning brand awareness campaign. However, with the help of an experienced media partner, you'll be able to turn this vision into a reality. Your brand will be more recognizable than ever — and your company will flourish as a result!
