The year 2022 has been transformative for many businesses large and small in terms of dealing with consumer issues, changing attitudes, and the evolution of the finance industry. In branding and marketing, you may have also seen a few major shifts or changes. For instance, quite a few small businesses and startups manage to expand and grow with the help of social media tools and email marketing.
The changes in technology have also led to an increase in competition for smaller brands. In such a situation, how can one stand out? You may be wondering what can a small business or startup do. A lot of things, and the foremost is to gear up your branding strategy.
Visual Identity
If you haven’t gotten your branding strategy in place then now is a good time. This is where a strong visual identity can make a huge difference. Let me explain how important it is: it’s more than the other four reasons, combined! The visual brand elements are very important and can help your business stand out from the competitors. A logo design, website and blog are all elements of a branding strategy that can help you up your business game in the coming year.
The first step is to get ideas for a relevant design that matches your industry or niche. For example, in the food and beverage industry, you need to focus on building a visual identity with appealing colors, fonts and imagery. Focus on using graphics that would catch your audience’s attention and motivate them to interact with your brand.
With a good visual design, you can instantly catch the attention of the viewer on various marketing materials and digital mediums. So for instance, you could use the restaurant logo in email marketing to create brand awareness and recognition.
Create Buzz
After you launch your small business, don’t expect people to come hoarding in to get your products or services. You have to get the word out there. Leverage digital channels such as social media platforms and emails or newsletters to engage your audience. Create an event to create buzz: sweepstakes, coupons, and contests are some examples.
You can even offer to speak to your local community for free or sponsor an event. Host a webinar and cover topics that would interest potential customers. If you want, you can also talk about subjects like workplace benefits; housing standards; medical or healthcare trends, or facilities to draw attention to your business and generate positive buzz. What such events do is that they get traffic for your business and create a good impression on the target audience too.
Positive Perception
It’s always a good idea for businesses to would show some civic sense and social responsibility. According to an article in Entrepreneur, consumers are skeptical of businesses nowadays so much to the extent of being paranoid. As a small business or startup, you could up your game by showing that your brand cares about them more than just the money. You can even integrate it into your branding strategy by offering donations to local employment agencies, and wildlife sanctuaries or even show support for pet care centers or disability centers. By showing support for an important social cause, you can make it easier for people to remember the brand and recall the products or services later on too.
Unique Customer Experience
Needless to say, due to the mass manufacturing and industrial nature of the world today, everyone wants to be different from the crowd of standardized assembly lines. Personalization is the experience that your audience craves. Most experts say that consistency in branding is the key to success and it’s how you can build a successful brand. While this is an important factor, you also need to focus on personalizing the customer experience.
For large brands like Starbucks, McDonald’s, The Body Shop, Target, etc. consistency helps gain recognition worldwide, and it’s good when you’re big. For small businesses and startups, consistency should be present in your branding materials but personalization takes priority. You need to create a brand experience that will help trigger memory and spread the word about how fantastic customers find the business, process, and products or services/
Digital Recognition
This one is a no-brainer. Which business is not online nowadays? Not yours I hope. Being online is what your brand desperately needs to get maximum reach for your products and services. Even if your business doesn’t serve national customers, you still get a website and get customers around your area. Don’t depend on your boutique to get walk-in customers all the time. A nice web design will just help pique their interest, and the next time when they go shopping they’ll stop by your shop.
Conclusion
These are some of the reasons why you need branding strategies to up your business game. If you are thinking about expanding your business or building a brand in 2023, it is a good idea to start with an effective promotional strategy. This will make it easier for you to get ahead of the competition and stay relevant for a long time.
Ready to take your business to the next level? NavaWeb offers web design, branding, SEO, and digital marketing services to help grow your business. Book a free discovery call today so we can discuss your business!
