Imagup General Magazine 2024
Making your brand stand out in a sea of competitors and digital white noise can be frustrating at times. After all, we’re all subject to a never-ending stream of ads, soundbites, and pushy business tactics. While it’s important to make some noise and be seen, standing out in the right way can sometimes be a little tricky.
Not every business needs to bombard its customers with offers or discounts. And sometimes developing a solid relationship with new clients needs to be a slow and steady process.
So, how is your brand going to separate from the pack and showcase what makes your business special? It could be anything from an effective marketing campaign online to introducing your business through custom branded notepad like Captainnotepad.
All that matters most is that you’re staying true to your values and getting the attention of your desired audience. Business expansion is important but smart companies focus more on branding. Here are 7 top tips to make it happen for your company.
Branding Tip 1: Nail Your Brand Values
While there are probably a lot of businesses doing something similar to what you do, a strong set of brand values is a rock-solid foundation for standing out from them.
Not only does this help you to harness your company message and tighten your marketing content, but it also helps you to re-examine what you stand for. Knowing what you stand for answers that all-important question – why should a customer choose you over your competitors? So, think about what values define your team, your views, and how you work. Having a set of defined values will not only make you stand out among other brands, but will also guide you in how you function and who you hire to join the team.
Branding Tip 2: Analyze the Competition
Look at your biggest competitors and make a list of your similarities and differences. In the ways you’re similar, do you feel that you offer a better service or product? Is there something they’re doing better than you? If so, why is it better?
This isn’t about copying another business. It’s about having the ability to reflect on your brand. If you’re able to admit that your competitors are doing some things better than you, you’re one step closer to making your company more memorable. This is your chance to learn from your competitors’ successes and failures without having to learn from your mistakes.
Branding Tip 3: Highlight Your Differences
Here’s where you’re going to build upon tip 3 and define what truly makes you stand out from the crowd. Now this is very important. Look at those differences on your list and try to focus on how beneficial they are to customers.
Chances are that these differences could be the key to making your brand stand out from others. You may be solving a common industry problem without even knowing it.
Branding Tip 4: Search for Complaints and Negativity Online
That’s right, we want you to actively look for negativity online. Why? Because online complaints and common industry problems are a marketing goldmine.
By digging deeper into online complaints, you’re able to get to the sources of frustration. Once you’ve established what they are, you can introduce your brand as the solution to these issues. Try the following places for discussions and complaints:
• Quora
• Reddit
• Twitter
• Competitors’ Facebook pages
• Comments sections on industry-specific blogs
• LinkedIn
Perhaps delivery times are a common problem and you’ve realized that your deliveries are faster than anyone else. Maybe there’s a lot of talk about poor customer service, and you want to let people know that your business puts customers first.
Either way, there’s bound to be a lot of frustration that you can use to your advantage. Solving a common problem will make your brand more memorable than a hundred big-budget ad campaigns.
Branding Tip 5: Look into Unique Ways of Marketing
It’s a shame when the world overlooks marketing methods that make a long-lasting impression. While the digital landscape offers up a large audience, the ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ approach to marketing just isn’t going to cut it when it comes to your brand.
Look into the more personalized marketing methods, and set about getting your name out there. The marketing world is constantly changing and something that worked a week ago may not work tomorrow. So, keep up with the trends in your niche and make sure you’re always the first (or one of the first) to implement. It’s up to you to find the most effective ways to introduce your business to new customers.
Branding Tip 6: Spend Smart, Not Big
A large budget doesn’t always necessarily mean a large return on your investment. If you’re looking to make an impression with the right customers, then you’ll need to spend smarter, not bigger.
Earning the trust of your customers takes time. Think of it as an investment in developing a long-term relationship with them. This is where a personalized approach makes a big difference. Which brings us to the next tip/
Branding Tip 7: Don’t Lose Sight of the Personal Touches
All of these tips combined will help your business grow and get the right customers. But this last step is the most important of all – keeping that personal touch in business.
It’s something of a lost art in this day and age. So, how do you reignite that spark and turn it into a shining beacon of brand appeal? Through a more personalized and thoughtful approach to your marketing that combines all of these elements into one clear and impactful plan. Sometimes it’s not what you do, but instead – how you do it.
Clients always appreciate a personal touch and approach, so make sure you put your heart into branding.
