Branding can be a tough and challenging thing to do. No matter what you’re trying to sell, a company, a person or a product, the marketing process can be a big pain in the neck.
Branding in today’s society can be a tricky thing, for several reasons.
First, since it’s hard to come up with a good, unique idea that people will love and will be attracted to.
Then, you always have to keep in mind that your audience, the customers, have different views, tastes and preferences and to meet all of them through a campaign can be very hard. But, not impossible.
The best part about marketing, and by association with branding itself, is creativity. It knows no borders and it can be as extravagant as you please.
You can be as creative as you want to, however you have to be careful about the perspective. Since everything is easily interpreted these days, you need to make sure you don’t have a lack of that.
Trends and brands are born from simple ideas, basic concepts which are later developed into great successful ideas.
But let’s get more into what branding is really about and what steps you need to take in order to get the famous so called ”recipe of success”.
1. What is your company really about?
When you start the branding process you need to really think about what is your business really about.
Ask yourself these questions: What or who are we selling? What are our values? Who is our customer? Who or what are we targeting? What’s the main purpose of the business? How are we any different from the competition? How can customer relate to our products?
When you start creating a campaign to sell your ”product” to your audience you need to make sure you have an answer to these questions, you have the right, skilled team and you start creating a strategy.
Which brings us to the following and most important step:
2. Everything is about the customer
Your profit comes from customers and so first you need to decide what’s your specific target, we are talking about: age, background, environment, studies, preferences, needs and so on. Creating a profile and having a certain type in mind makes it easier for you to sell and create a story for your product.
After doing so, find out what their needs are and strategize the branding campaign surrounding their necessities that your product can meet.
For example: Your business is selling razor blades, decide what’s your target and find out (by using the right research tools) what customers seek in a basic, affordable razor blade: is it the sharpness, the soft touch or its effectiveness? If you believe your product is meeting their requirements, use these to brand your items.
The more the customer can relate to it or it fulfills their needs, the better it is for your business. After you caught their attention, try and build a relationship with them and maintain it.
It’s all about customer’s loyalty. If they feel ”connected” with what you’re selling, the chances of buying from you instead from the competition will increase.
3. Design and credibility are the keys
The first two things your customer is going to look at are the price and the design. The design is the first thing that draws the customer’s attention and just by looking at it they have a few seconds to decide if they like or not and if they will buy it or not.
So having the right, accurate and appropriate design is another thing you should take into consideration. Also, don’t forget the fact that the it’s supposed to match with the product and be right for the target.
For example: If you sell toys, make the packaging colorful, extravagant, put on different cartoons that the children love. Add some extra items that come with the package so that they can have more reasons to buy it.
4. Remain consistent
Make sure that all of the previously mentioned aspects are efficiently communicated to the audience in a large number. But you must never forget that you should use the same design, icons, colors on everything: blog, website, ads, advertising campaigns.
They must recognize your product and associate those specific symbols or colors with your business.
5. Choosing an influential person to represent the brand
This a thing that most companies are doing, choosing a trending and influential figure to represent them and advertise their product through all social media platforms and media platforms.
Do some background check, find the right person that shares the values and perspectives as your company and fits your brand. Make sure that they will also remain consistent, won’t affect the sales of the product in any way and will always be open and friendly to the public.
Remember that everything that they do, negative or positive, will affect your product.