How to make your brand stand out

“Brand” is a rather big buzzword in marketing. 

“Does your company have a memorable appearance or brand persona?” or “How does your brand speak to your customers?” are common questions that arise regarding brands.

But what exactly does this term mean?

In our crowded and noisy business landscape, it’s sometimes hard to stand out from the crowd and be noticed.

Your brand has to be managed in such a way that you create an emotional connection with your customers and turn them into loyal followers and supporters.

 With competition being rife today, making that sale or winning the desired contract will largely depend on how you make your customers feel.

With this in mind, let’s take a closer look at your brand and how you can ensure you use it to stand out.   

Do you research with a focus on your customer

Businesses are generally created by people for people.

You might know your business and its offerings inside out, but what do your customers know about it? How do you make them feel? 

This is where research into your customer is useful. You need to know who it is that you’re marketing to, what their desires and interests are as well as how to cater to their needs.

Creating a brand persona is a great starting point for your business and it is based on a serious amount of research. 

Finding out how, why and when you can be of utmost use to your customer will help you make sure that you stand out.

Identify your key strengths and emotional appeals

Identifying your key strengths will help you appeal to your customers emotionally.

After all, many purchasing decisions in this day and age are based on how you make your customer feel. These days, customer experience is what is sought after, not only a product or a service.

That’s why going back to the definition above of what a brand is, you need to make sure you affect the way customers feel and the ways in which they respond to you emotionally.

What are the emotional selling points that you can appeal to your customers with? In which way does your business offering provide customers with a satisfying and excellent experience?

Create a distinct, and not necessarily complex, visual identity

Тhe first thing people come across when they interact with a brand is its visual identity. This could be a logo, store branding, product packaging, website or online shop design, etc.

So, after you’ve identified strengths and appeals i.e. what your brand stands for – you ought to embody this into a visual identity. 

It may not be something very complex or eccentric, but something that literally or symbolically represents what your brand is about.

Determine your ultimate message distilled into a tagline

Creativity and simplicity are important in creating your brand message.

And you should employ them to distill your brand’s benefits and appeals into a one-line message, a.k.a. your slogan or a tagline.

Some of the most popular or memorable brands on the market like Nike or McDonald’s have a simple tag line that’s catchy and easy to remember.

Similarly, you need to consider how you’ll convey your brand’s ultimate message in a single line. 

Use the analogy of the elevator pitch i.e. if you were travelling in an elevator with somebody and they asked about your brand or business, how would you explain it in a few seconds before your floor arrives? 

Whether you offer the most aromatic espresso, the fastest cleaning service in your area or a self-service rent-a-car company, you’ve got to pin it to a single benefit.

What senses will you appeal to? How will you catch your customers’ attention?

Live and breathe your brand

We’ve all heard the saying that actions speak louder than words.

It doesn’t matter how catchy your brand message is, it will be worth very little if your business doesn’t live and breathe your brand identity.

If your brand persona is a young 25-year-old surfer who loves all things vegetarian and ecological, your business needs to relay this persona back to the consumer, enabling them to understand you’ve heard them and understood their needs while catering to these.

Similarly, if you cater to a more mature clientele, then your message needs to be consistent with who you’re talking to.

You therefore not only need to segment your customers effectively, gain their interest with your catchy tag line, but continue to offer products and services that align with your brand identity.

Conclusion

It isn’t enough to just run a business these days.

You also need to have a brand identity or personality which you consistently showcase through each action your business makes and every step you take in the process. 

Building a brand takes time, but with the above information, we hope you’ll forge ahead with your business and create a memorable experience for your customers.

Not only will they remember you and the way you made them feel, but they’re more likely to come back to you for more.