Have you ever come across a business, and a few days, months, or even years later you tried remembering the name of the business, or tried finding it by its logo, or some other visual representation of the business? I do the last one all the time when trying to find local businesses I’ve forgotten the name of.
To better understand “brand”, let’s do a little experiment.
Answer the following questions:
- When you see the name “Coca-Cola” what comes to mind?
- How about “Nike”?
- Do the two images below match what you thought about when you saw the names of the brands mentioned above?
- Do you know what products Coca-Cola and Nike sell?
- Do you sometimes feel that you see these or some other brands “everywhere”?
- How do you feel about these companies when you see their logos and reflect on your experiences with them in the past?
If your answer to questions 3, 4, and 5 is “yes”, this is the result of brand consistency in action. Consistent use of colors, shapes, fonts, images, tones of voice, and tones when writing, along with regularly talking about, or sharing in various ways about a brand is what results in you thinking you see the brand “everywhere”. That’s marketing and advertising.
What is brand recognition
The result of consistency in a brand’s marketing strategy is that you can quickly associate the name of the brand with what their values are, their products and services, you can even remember the sounds, colors, text, and symbols that are associated with the business. You may even have strong emotions attached to certain companies for various reasons. This is great branding. The more potential customers are exposed to your brand, the more likely they are to remember and trust it. This is important because in some cases it can take up to 7 interactions before a purchasing decision is made.
Remember, we all forget things, so think of what you can do to be memorable while still creating or adding value to current and potential customers.
Wait a minute, what’s a brand
Your products and services are amazing, however, for your ideal customer, association with your brand comes with something even more valuable that they can relate to and connect with, it keeps them coming back because there is just no one else who can provide them with that.
Your brand is what identifies and distinguishes your products or services from others. It is a combination of what is seen, heard, and experienced. The more your brand is seen, heard, and experienced, the more likely it is to be remembered.
Be visible! Market your brand online.
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Remember, based on their experience with your company, customers will develop emotional connections to your business, its employees, company values, vision, and mission. Your brand helps attract potential customers to you and helps returning customers easily find you when they need to. It also helps build trust with potential customers and develop customer loyalty.
Branding includes your:
- Trust is a major factor in branding, this contributes to the emotional connection your audience has, so be sure to prioritize this in various ways, including compliance, honesty, ensuring consistent quality with your products and services, transparency, etc.
- The value you offer to your audience should never be neglected. After all, great businesses provide unforgettable value to their customers, clients, and users. Always consider these questions, how do you make them feel, what do they stand to gain from associating with your brand, and will they be proud to share with others that they associate with your brand
- Mission, core values, & beliefs – this describes your company’s purpose and helps guide decision-making. Customers may also prefer brands that closely align with their own personal values and beliefs, potentially forming an emotional connection.
- Brand identity – makes your brand memorable in terms of the audio and visual components – logo, name, slogan, fonts, colors, and sounds.
- Brand personality – a set of human characteristics that are conveyed through written, audio, and visual content, or real or imaginary characters.
Improve your branding by:
- Sharing your company mission, values, & beliefs openly as this helps your employees and customers better understand and relate to your brand while building trust. A trusted brand is a lasting one.
- Ensuring you choose fonts, colors, and imagery that represent your company well and use them all the time when mentioning your brand. Your branding should be consistent across all marketing materials and platforms (business cards, stationary, website, social media, etc.)
- Create a catchy slogan or tagline to capture attention and help improve memorability
- If you decide that the tone of your brand is friendly, welcoming, professional, fun, etc., it’s important to ensure that is conveyed on all your marketing materials, through all staff, and locations, all the time. Consistency is key with all things branding, this contributes to memorability.
Summary
Your brand is a combination of what can be seen, heard, and experienced. Strive to connect with your customers by creating positive lasting memories through your brand. Prioritize consistency, and building and retaining trust.
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