When it comes to branding and marketing, especially digital branding and delivering content marketing through your blog and social media accounts, many concepts can appear complicated. Not everyone is an expert when it comes to marketing and communication, and if it were simple and easy to create a powerful and effective marketing strategy, everyone would do it!
Our Branding And Marketing ‘Secret’
As we all know, there are certain companies and brands that are better at marketing than others – even if you skip over many commercials and try to avoid advertisements, most of us enjoy watching ads during the Super Bowl, and we often collectively discuss which ads and marketing campaigns worked and which ones didn’t. Luckily, there are some marketing and branding concepts that are easy to understand and implement, such as the topic of discussion this week. This branding and marketing “secret” can connect you with potential customers when other forms of branding and marketing engagement prove to be ineffective. Once a potential customer learns that you share their values, you can quickly gain their loyalty and their business.
Be In It For The Long Haul
When we mentioned earlier that the “secret” to effective branding and marketing would be easy to grasp and understand, that doesn’t mean it is a shortcut or a gimmick that we believe we quickly bring new customers flocking to your business. In fact, establishing values that you and your target market share is the very opposite of a shortcut or gimmick – it can be the foundation of an effective, long-lasting brand and marketing campaign. Instead, it’s easy to understand the concept of shared values because it’s also the basis of many personal friendships and relationships we have with others!
Build Your Relationship With Your Customers On A Strong Foundation
It is very important to point out that we are not saying that you should become “friends” with your customers – not only is the concept somewhat abstract and trite, but it has been proven to be almost completely ineffective at winning over potential customers. While you certainly want to be on friendly terms with your customers and consistently treat them with honesty, kindness and respect, your customers will not choose you over your competitors because they are seeking friendship. However, when you establish shared values with your customers and potential customers, the basis for your relationship is the same – your customers want to loyally support brands and businesses that share the same ideologies and values as they do, which is the basis for many conventional friendships and relationships.
Treading The Fine Line Between Advocacy And Controversy
When it comes to shared values, a fine line exists between courting potential customers from your target market by promoting a shared ideology and alienating other members of the same target market and other segments of the general public by embracing overtly political or controversial ideologies. For instance, if your target market is composed primarily of rural blue-collar workers, it can be extremely beneficial to promote your shared values of hard work, independence, family and country, but do not assume that all of your existing and potential customers among your target market agree with an overtly political position or sympathize with a particular political party or politician. The scope of your target market should be inversely proportional to the depth of your publically-espoused values and ideological beliefs. If your target market is extremely broad, it is important to avoid alienating as many members of that target market as possible. However, if your target market is extremely narrow, you run less of a risk of alienating members of that target market with more specific and potentially-controversial ideologies and beliefs.