It’s commonly accepted, almost to the point of being a platitude, that the world of business houses a remarkably ruthless level of competitiveness. Despite the unoriginality of the remark, it’s a statement that will always hold true. Even if your business operates within a very specific industry, and therefore caters to a rather niche audience, it’s a guarantee that others are incessantly focussing their efforts in order to direct all of the attention towards themselves.
This is an especially pertinent point to newfound small business owners, those who do not have a substantial degree of financial security, relatively speaking. But, whatever your organisation’s position is, there are fundamental principles which collectively apply. Principles which, when fulfilled, inherently work to provide your brand with the recognition it deserves.
What we’re talking about here is brand awareness. Establishing a firm sense of brand awareness is the chief method used to convert leads, boost sales, and so generate more profit overall. However, to give your business a fighting chance, it must be unique. To help you along with the process, we’ve collaborated with the experts over at Custom Planet to outline the 5 top tips to ensure your branding stands out in 2023.
1. Know your target audience
The first step in making your branding stand out from the crowd is knowing the audience to which it’s directed. After all, it’s virtually impossible to target a certain group of people if you don’t have a strong notion of who they are. This is often referred to as market research.
A great way of getting a better understanding of your audience is by developing an idea of your ideal customer, i.e., their age range, pain points, and what brands they like & why they choose them over others. From there, you can use this initial concept to adjust your brand’s image accordingly.
Take, for instance, how a minimalist approach to branding and product packaging is currently a popular trend. Likewise, it’s singularly beneficial to get opinionated feedback from your audience so that you can see how your branding is perceived in real time. Foremostly, you want to form a positive first impression for your business, an impression that clearly projects your vision.
2. Create a distinct visual identity
One of the most integral factors attached to successful branding is a distinct visual identity. This requires you to be quite meticulous when you’re selecting the image, colour palette, and font that you feel accurately reflects your business’s personality in a professional manner.
Further still, it’s essential that you’re consistent with your chosen visual identity. Namely, that wherever it is placed, it remains unchanged. Inconsistent branding often confuses customers and leads them to assume that your product or service is characterised similarly.
In essence, your branding should be instantly recognisable and present throughout all material extensions of your business. A prime example of this is Coca Cola’s image, whose name alone brings a striking red background paired with a notable white cursive typeface to mind, owing to the company’s extensive pervasiveness.
3. Use technology to your advantage
Technology permeates today’s society, and it would therefore be remiss to neglect it. Implementing technology into your branding campaign is proven to heighten your reach. Fortunately, there’s no shortage of ways to do this.
Beginning with the basics, it’s crucial that you have a personal website. Much beyond being simple purchase pages, websites act as a central hub for your business where they can host informative content that is solely designed to enhance your online presence. As such, directly raising your brand awareness.
In a similar vein, social media now stands as one of the most effective marketing tools available. If you want to quickly impress your branding into the minds of thousands, then there’s no better way to achieve this by reaching out to ‘influencers’ (individuals with a considerable online following) and proposing collaborations.
4. Identify your unique selling point
Intrinsically, differentiating your business from others in the same field entails identifying your unique selling point, sometimes called a unique value proposition. This simply means discerning what separates your venture from the competition.
This could be that your product or service is the best value for money offering on the market, that you possess a leading amount of expertise, or that your goods are completely bespoke. Ultimately, your brand should have individual qualities, as opposed to elements which may appear to be plagiarised.
When you’ve identified your business’s exclusive angle, you can then incorporate this into your branding. By applying your unique selling point to your image, name, and slogan you’re thereby left with an entirely original identity. In practice, this equates to intrigue among your target audience.
5. Humanise your brand
Unless you want your business to be short-lived, it’s necessary that it is relatable. A core aim you should strive towards is fostering long-lasting relationships with your customer base, and brand relatability is the key.
Connecting with the people who comprise your target audience demands that your brand’s message is one of authenticity, otherwise you won’t be able to carry out productive communication. Maintaining a dialogue between your business and its customers is important because it allows you to promote the values which underpin your organisation.
If these values resonate with your audience, or indeed align with their preexisting beliefs, it becomes much more likely that they’ll respond by exhibiting brand loyalty. To give an example, people in general are now much more aware and conscious of how their actions affect the environment. In turn, conducting more sustainable processes is how many businesses choose to humanise their brand, consequently increasing its appeal by involving such attitudes within their particular image and labelling.
Taking into account the sheer volume of businesses one must compete against, attracting your defined target audience can be a formidable prospect. Having said this, ensuring that your branding stands out by satisfying these 5 pointers goes a long way to increasing your brand’s visibility and, followingly, its profitability.