When it comes to building a great brand, many business owners get things all wrong. They think that as long as they offer exceptional products or services, customers will flock to them automatically. Unfortunately, things usually aren’t that simple, especially when you factor in your competition. Most industries are over-saturated with businesses that are pursuing the same target audience. The more competition you have, the more necessary it becomes to make your brand stand out.
Take a moment to imagine your brand as a person. If they walked into a party, would everyone recognize and flock to them immediately? Or would they be a wallflower, standing on the sidelines and watching the popular people work their crowd magic? If you suspect the latter option, it’s time to overhaul your image and earn your place in the limelight. Here are some great ways to make your brand stand out in your industry.
Get Your Name Out There
If people don’t know your brand name, they’re unlikely to do business with you. It’s human nature to prefer the familiar over the unfamiliar. The unknown may be fraught with risks most consumers don’t want to take. Therefore, the first step to making your brand the talk of your industry is to create a great name for yourself. You’ll have a much easier time earning public trust if your audience sees your brand featured in trustworthy publications.
Many small business owners have no idea how to build an effective digital PR strategy. If you’re one of them, that’s OK! After all, you can’t be good at everything. To fill in your marketing skill gaps, consider reaching out to a digital PR agency. They specialize in helping businesses be seen for all the right reasons and in all the right publications.
Know Your Customer Base
Trying to make a name for yourself when you don’t know your customer base is like delivering a presentation blindfolded. When you have no clue who your audience is, you can’t tailor your message to their interests and needs. Getting to know your audience requires time and effort up front, but the outcome is worth the investment.
To create your average customer persona, welcome and analyze customer feedback, conduct market research, and segment your audience. Use this information to create highly targeted marketing content. Let your average customer’s personality, needs, and behaviors guide your brand message and tone.
Tell a Compelling Brand Story
No one wants to get stuck listening to someone else tell a long, boring story. If your brand story is uninteresting, there’s arguably no quicker way to drive your customers out the door. To get an idea of what makes a compelling story, consider Spotify’s brand. The music streaming service gets users to share their own stories about their favorite songs and artists each year. Then, it provides a roundup of everyone’s listening habits in its Spotify Wrapped annual review.
You don’t have to go the route of audience-generated stories to make your brand stand out. But you do need to create content that’s interesting and holds your audience’s attention. Don’t be afraid to make bold statements that cause some industry buzz. If you’re confident enough to brag about why your brand’s so great, you’ll have an easier time convincing everyone else.
Deliver Value
You can say whatever you want about your products and services. But your words will mean nothing if you don’t deliver on your promises. Customers hate to feel duped and will announce their fury on social media platforms if you sell them a shoddy product. Contrary to popular belief, there is such a thing as bad publicity. And you don’t want your brand to be permanently equated with the words “low-quality” or “scam.”
Here’s an easy way to avoid being black-listed by your target audience: make sure your products and services are worth buying. Always source high-quality materials and maintain a strict standard of excellence. There’s no shortage of flimsy, unreliable products on the market. Your goal should be to make your brand stand out by always delivering value.
Learn From Competitors
It’s wise to learn what branding strategies work best for your successful competitors. To do this, perform a competitive analysis or hire someone else to do it for you. Use the information you glean to build your own successful product and branding strategies. Analyzing your competitors can also help you avoid making some of the same mistakes they’ve made.
Though it’s wise to learn from competitors, you don’t want to become them. Instead, make your brand stand out by emphasizing how it’s different from other brands in the industry. For example, if your product has a feature other products don’t have, talk that up in your marketing materials. You can also stand out by creating a unique brand voice that your audience relates to. Many brand managers find that tasteful humor works better than anything else to attract attention and interest. Look at Wendy’s or Duolingo for example.
It’s remarkably easy for brands to become lost in an oversaturated market. That’s one reason why 96% of businesses fail before they celebrate their 10-year mark. But don’t let that dismal statistic get you down! You can boost your likelihood of success by creating a name customers know and love. Use these tips to help your brand stand out and become the talk of your industry.
