Here’s a little experiment to try next weekend when you have some free time: walk into any “big box” store and just look at the brands that fill it up. Ask yourself how many of these brands are new and make a mental note of which ones have you never even heard before. Then look at the brands that everyone knows and inspire brand loyalty.
What distinguishes these two categories—what separates brands into those that we remember and those that simply fade into the background of our day? I’m willing to bet that one of the big differences is the journey the brand has gone through. So let’s look at how your journey to building a successful brand starts with a few key decisions.
Start With Humanizing Your Brand
When it comes to developing a brand, one of the biggest tips I can give people is that you have to humanize your brand. Think about it like this: the 21st century is overrun with the idea that corporations are giant, soulless entities lacking creativity and compassion. The media has been pushing this idea that businesses are heartless and uncaring.
So if you want to challenge this stereotype and assert your brand as different from the crowd, then you are going to have to show the human side of your business. An easy technique to use is to incorporate the faces and personalities of your business into your branding and marketing campaigns. This will help to humanize your brand while being inspiring and connecting on a personal level with your audience.
Emotional Connections Increase Your Bottom Line
Here’s something else to chew on-an emotional connection with your audience can increase your bottom line. Human beings crave an emotional connection with each other. Just look at the boom in social media over the last decade. As we start to feel more and more isolated by technology, we are reaching out to make new connections and to reestablish old ones.
So one way to craft a brand message is to appeal to those emotions that we all share by crafting the right brand story. Tell your customer base who you are and how you got to where you are. Every business and business owner has a story to tell. Share the story of your highs and lows, successes and setbacks, and people will gravitate towards your authentic voice.
Steps To Take
Your journey won’t be a successful one if your brand positioning doesn’t reach the right audience. Decide early on who your ideal client is and how you can best make an emotional connection with them. College students are targeted differently than retirees. If you think that your brand narrative will appeal to everyone with a “one-size-fits-all” story, then you are mistaken. Craft your brand to appeal to those you would really like to reach.
It is also important to remember that a branding journey is not a step-by-step process where you move from Point A to Point Z in a straight progression. Let your brand journey move organically as you engage with your audience and connect with them personally.
Part of your brand journey will no doubt be generating an online presence to attract, engage and connect you with more people intrigued by your programming. That starts with the right website. We’d love to chat with you about your site and your online branding efforts.