What is the most valuable asset your company has? It isn’t the building or any of your intellectual property. It is your brand.
You need to do whatever you can to build brand awareness. However, you must also make sure that you generate awareness in a way that helps solidify your perception in the eyes of your target customers.
Shutterstock Licensed Photo – By Wright Studio
Even if you have the best enterprise out there, it’s difficult for businesses to be noticed and gain good reputations – let alone if competitors try to undercut your novel product or approach to service. So, what can you do to stand out from the crowd? Read below for three essential tips if you want to boost the presence of your brand.
1. Think Big…. then bigger again
If people haven’t heard of you, you won’t get their business. So, before worrying about converting sales opportunities, getting your name out there is essential. If your marketing spend doesn’t stretch to naming rights of a sporting stadium, you can still make your brand’s name stand out in a skyline, through the art of good signage. Visibility from afar is key to this strategy – it’s is less about telling people where you are, and more about signalling who you are as a brand. National sky signs symbolise success and scale, and are a simple and effective means to communicate to people that your business, means business! Normally installed on (often high rise) buildings; a sky sign done right is memorable, iconic and places your company as an elite in its field.
If you’re a niche product/service, you can still think big, but perhaps you will tailor your presence to certain neighbourhoods with particular demographics, or spend more on industry specific locales which will target your communication towards certain subject matter experts e.g. business parks or industrial estates.
2. Digital presence
Visibility across the major platforms is essential in today’s knowledge-based societies. When people need to know something, they head online. If you’re there waiting with an answer and engaging user interface, your brand’s first introduction with a potential new client is already off to a good start. Digital presence is not just a website, you’ll want to think about SEO, social media and the use of influencers when you’re boosting your brand awareness. Outsource these tasks if you’re not a specialist!
Also Read
3. Service your service
Once you get people through the door or entering credit card details online, brand awareness does not end. A satisfied customer will tell maybe 2-3 people, but a negative experience and they’ll tell 8-10. Therefore, building your company’s affinity with good and informed service is imperative. This will come down to the staff that you have representing your brand. Surveys, mystery shoppers and increased staff training will help get you on the right track. A healthy work environment will also help you to retain great staff – so, invest in your people!
As part of any marketing strategy, signage, service and your digital presence should be conceived simultaneously as you undergo a process of brand optimisation. This means that the schedule for the design, implementation, maintenance and update of these things happens seamlessly. As a result, people will know who you are, what you can deliver, and experience your company’s awesome service first hand. This is brand awareness and optimisation done right!
Make Building Brand Awareness a Top Priority
The fate of your business hinges on the strength of your brand. Make sure that you are making growing your brand one of your top priorities. These guidelines should help you improve the perception of your company in the eyes of your customers.