Build Your Brand! The Essentials for Growth
Branding, it comprises of all the ways in which you and your company is perceived.
It promotes recognition, defines and illustrates your company, separates and contrasts you to competitors and provides directionality…These are just a few of the mass of benefits that branding, especially well designed and implemented branding, can have.
So, lets face it, branding is immensely important. There is a rationale behind companies like Apple who spent USD $1.2 billion on company advertising in 2015 – A paltry amount when compared to some other leading multinationals (Forbes 2015). That rationale is that it has made their brand one of the most recognisable and certainly the most valuable in the world with a value, according to Forbes, of USD $145.3 billion (2015).
However, not many of us can afford an advertising budget even fractionally as large as that. So besides advertising how does one continue to build their brand? How do you create a positive perception of your company and convert interest into sales?Here are a few tips:
THE BASICS
There are three fundamental basics that, applied in good fashion, are the foundations for branding success. These are quality, customer service and price. In fact, according to Hammis (2015) these basics were the top elements in constructing consumer loyalty to a brand. 88% of respondents stated quality, and 72% and 50% quoted customer service and price respectively.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Social media, as technology advances, has become one of the most influential methods of communicating brand between companies and consumers. An example of the sheer size of communicative ability is represented in some 2015 statistics on Facebook within Australia. According to Heber (2015) each month there are 13 million active Australian Facebook users and the average time spent on Facebook is 1.7 hours per day over a total average of 14 sessions a day. By utilising social media businesses not only have access to a incredibly magnified scope of people, but are able to display interesting and relevant information to build their brands.
WEBSITES
Additionally, in the Internet of things having a well designed website is a necessity for building brand. This is because a website, whilst providing useful information, is essentially a reflection of a brand and its values. For instance, 48% of people credit website design as the number one factor in deciding the credibility of a business with 94% stating web design at the reason they, ‘mistrust or reject’ a website (Ironpaper 2014). Website design and branding can be improved through the use of mobile optimised sites, fast loading times, more colours, bullet points, Search Engine Optimisation and HTML 5 just to name a few (Sellers, 2013).
COPYWRITING
Copywriting is the process of writing content for online and print utilised within marketing. Copywriting is highly beneficial for branding its ability to communicate with and persuade readers, conveying both products and a sense of brand. Subsequently, it is not surprising the effect that well implemented copywriting may have. Durant (2015) states that 80% of consumers found that authentic content was the most influential factor in deciding to follow a brand.
ANALYTICS AND MARKET RESEARCH
Analytics and marketing research are tools highly useful in the visualisation of what your target market really looks like and how to approach them. Analytics and Market Research enable a quantitative display on consumers; their wants and needs, demographics, and interests and preferences thus allowing businesses to improve their brand accordingly. It additionally enables an analysis of competition and general market conditions.
IN SUMMARY
Quality, customer service, price, social media, website design, copywriting, analytics and market research…There are boundless opportunities for building brand and improving company perception. Other opportunities to explore include networking, logo design, SEO, brand loyalty and of course advertising. The opportunities for improvement are endless but the end goal is the same - to convey the value you give as a company and to build that brand!
SOURCES
10 Web Design Statistics, 2014, Ironpaper, viewed 1 March 2016, http://www.ironpaper.com/webintel/articles/10-web-design-statistics/>
Ally, D. 2016, 7 Ways to Attract Millions of People to Your Brand, Entrepreneur, viewed 1 March 2016, http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/270540>
Deyle, N. 2014, The 10 most important marketing tools, B2B Marketing, viewed 1 March 2016, https://www.b2bmarketing.net/resources/blog/10-most-important-marketing-tools>
Durant, J. 2015, 15 Crazy Branding Stats You Need to Know, viewed 1 March 2016, https://www.bopdesign.com/bop-blog/2015/10/15-crazy-branding-stats/>
Hammis, E. 2015, How Important is Brand Identity? (Infographic), Business 2 Community, viewed 1 March 2016, http://www.business2community.com/infographics/important-brand-identity-infographic-01197538#vsV6ESxP7ptkwb4L.97>
Heber, A. 2015, These incredible stats show exactly how huge Facebook is in Australia, Business Insider Australia, viewed 1 March 2016, http://www.businessinsider.com.au/these-incredible-stats-show-exactly-how-huge-facebook-is-in-australia-2015-4>
Sellers, C. 2013, Why Good Website Design is So Important: The Stats and Figures to Prove it [Infographic], viewed 1 March 2016, http://www.instantshift.com/2013/09/02/importance-of-effective-website-design-infographic/>
The World’s Most Valuable Brands, 2015, Forbes, viewed 1 March 2016, http://www.forbes.com/powerful-brands/list/#tab:rank_header:position>
Wilson, J. 2013, Why is Branding Important?, Strategy, viewed 1 March 2016, http://www.strategynewmedia.com/why-is-branding-important>
