What’s the first thing you think of when you think of a really good brand? More than likely, your mind begins to formulate lots of visuals such as logos, colors, and fonts from businesses we all love and adore. But, brands are a lot more than just their visual appeal.
Think a little deeper now: WHY do those brands come to your mind? What kind of services and products do they offer? What are their values? What do you like most about them?
Chances are, you don’t make your opinion about a brand based on the color of its logo. There are key components as to why you enjoy the brands you do. A successful brand takes a lot more than just a really good logo and graphics. A brand is also more than just its marketing campaigns. Let’s dive into some key areas that make a brand successful in today’s competitive markets.
A Sense of Purpose & Vision
Not only does a successful brand have visual consistency across all of its communication channels, but so does its messaging. It uses a specific voice and tone to talk to its target audiences, so that it’s recognizable among the competition. If you were to look at a successful brand’s social media, advertising, newsletters, print materials, or other communication methods, you’ll realize that its messaging is always true to the brand.
This also includes having a clear purpose and vision. This means knowing what your brand stands for and where it’s headed. A strong mission statement can guide decisions and align your team. Most businesses are created to make money, but having a purpose and vision for your brand that goes beyond revenue provides intrinsic value.
Clearly Defined Values
“Values should belong to people, not brands.”
This sentiment can be easy to deter from when thinking about businesses and organizations. However, it’s the value of a brand that consumers go back to. Let’s say, for example, you are a clothing brand and one of your values is “Exceptional Service”. A customer orders clothes from you and you mess up their order, so through your “promise” or “value” of exceptional service, you go above and beyond to remedy the situation. While that customer may be frustrated with the initial situation, the effort your brand went through to make sure it was resolved will keep them coming back.
Values Affect the Conscious and Unconscious Mind
Next time they think of ordering clothes from your brand, they may think to themselves, “They messed up my order last time. BUT, they did offer a solution quickly and went above and beyond for me. It’s worth ordering from them again.” Or, sometimes there’s no thinking involved at all and just a past feeling of customer satisfaction, so they go through with making another purchase.
These defined values not only carry to your external communications, but internal as well. You want all of your employees and stakeholders to follow the same values to ensure business success in all that you do. Values are a great foundation for a company to go back to in times of difficult times or prosperity.
Connect With Your Audience Through Online Engagement
We’re constantly being connected to one another through social media and online forums. In this digital age, we’re losing the ability to connect on a face-to-face basis. So, what do we do? We grow with the times. Engaging with customers on a day-to-day basis is almost always going to be easier through online platforms, versus a brick and mortar. Let’s face it, your presence online is almost MORE public than your actual physical presence. Your brand can reach people across the state, the region, the country, and the world.
Connecting with your audience online is one of the best ways to make your brand successful. Dedicating time to responding to online messages or comments shows your consumer base that you are available and responsive. Even if it’s a simple response to a positive comment, users love seeing brands interacting with them.
Community Engagement Fosters a Positive Reputation
Beyond interacting with your target audience or customer base online, it’s important to think about ways you can connect with your local community as well. Give your community supporters or local businesses a follow and interact with their posts. Or, go past digital limitations and help out with community events by sponsoring, tabling, or volunteering on behalf of your brand. In return, you can communicate your philanthropic efforts to your customer base and gain a more positive reputation among them.
Trust an Expert Guide To Move Your Brand Forward
There are many components to take your brand to the next level with great opportunities to explore. Some of the most distinct brands have gone through major changes throughout the years, and it can take lots of trial and error to find what works best for you. Every brand is unique in its identity, consumer base, key marketing channels, and more. We understand that this can all be overwhelming, which is why our team at Webspec is here to help!
Our digital marketing team works alongside all of our divisions across Webspec to bring exceptional service to brands across the state of Iowa and beyond. Need a new website and work on a PPC campaign? We can do it! Need a custom software solution to better serve your users and a social media presence that works alongside that? You can count on us.
Get connected with us today, and let’s chat about how we can help your brand be successful.
