So you have a business, you have managed to accomplish a lot, and have witnessed some serious success. However, with the change in the times, you have begun to fall behind some of the other relevant competition. Is it dissatisfactory products? It is poor service? Shift your eyes from these things being the culprit and look to your branding.
While solid products and exceptional service are still important factors in business, branding has become ever more important what with the barrage of attention on the internet and social media. Ultimately if you and a competing business have even the same level of quality, but you were the one of the two to not be properly showcasing yourself to the world, via branding, people will, unfortunately pick your competition.
So how do we brand ourselves to ensure this doesn’t happen?
Assess the Brand Personality and Conveyance
If you’ve been in business for so long, you, by now, should have a rather firm idea of the mission of your business. However, the way that information is presented often needs a facelift. This is a sort of opportunity to show your brand under new, fresh light. But think about all the factors going into the decision of how you brand yourself.
Demographic
What type of people would be about your business? Are you a business that would appeal to sporty and athletic people? Are they musicians? Are they younger? Are they older? These are just a few of the many considerations that correspond with this aspect of your branding. Take this to a fairly specific place. If you attempt to swallow up too many people into your posse, you’re brand will get diluted and be lost amidst the businesses with some specificity towards what they offered customers. You have to make to the people with whom you want to do business know that you do in fact want to do business with them!
Need
Okay, so you know who you are trying to target as your brand’s audience. Now look closer. What is it that they need from a company? And more so, what do they need from a company concerning the aspects of them that make them a company’s key demographic? Find out what it is that people within your market actually. Sure, there are things that you could provide that are already on the market in your industry, but what you want to do is find that distinguishing quality, a specific need that you fulfill on another level. This is kind of like when you pass by a Burger King and wonder why they only mention their burgers, it is simply their niche and they do it very well. So find this thing about your brand and emphasize on it!
What Do You Have That Competitors Do Not?
Now, you know the people to whom you are trying to appeal yourself. You also know their needs and know how you satisfy those needs. However, you have to also know what will set you apart from other companies. For instance, going to the Burger King example from earlier, sure this company provides a solid burger, but so do many other companies. So, what is it that makes this restaurant company so different from others? Take some solid time to consider what you do differently, exceptionally, or otherwise to make yourself stand out against all other businesses in your industry.
Framing
It is not enough, however, to just think about the customer type to which we are trying to appeal. We have to think about how we frame ourselves as we market ourselves through more modern forms such as social media. Think about the personality of your business, and then think about your marketing efforts as a conversation with your target market, and consider how the chemistry will be between the two. Are you aiming to be more fun and lively with your customers or just trying to deliver the message of what you provide. Since business is just a combination of working relationships, it is key that you think about how even the not-so-conventional relationships, like marketer-to-market relations, but think about how you can best establish and maintain that relationship based on how you put yourself out there.
Conclusion
We’ll conclude by saying that you, as a business owner needing to freshen up his or her approach, must take the time to sit down, think about your market, and think about how you are appealing to that market. It will take time and a lot of consideration to find a plan that works best for you appealing to the most ideal potential customer base, but viewing the process from this lens will prove super useful and effective. To learn more about digital marketing practices and operating from an online platform, contact Rave Retailer today!