A common trend when it comes to online marketing is establishing a brand image. It is often said that with the right image companies can drive their revenue to new heights. However, some question whether or not this is actually the best route to take. They wonder if brand recognition is really the creme de la creme of the marketing world or could it possibly cause a hindrance to conversion strategies. The fact is that there are supporters for both sides of the argument. According to an article at Chron.com,
Good branding can increase the value of the product and the company itself. A company’s identity in the marketplace can easily make or break its profitability as a whole…. While it is the goal of branding to become the standard, it’s not the goal to become the generic term of a line of products.
So, it is clear that branding in the marketing world can easily go both ways. So, it’s important for you to think first about what you plan to accomplish with your brand and develop a strategy that will help you get the recognition you need but not go over the top and become too common.
Decide What You Want
Consumers, in general, want to be loyal to brands that they know are trustworthy. In most cases, this will require you to make some sort of promise that will be of value to the consumers. Once you deliver on your promise, it will enhance the customers’ relationship with you and build on their expectations regarding your product or service. The more positive the experience the more inclined they will be to share your message with others. This can be extremely powerful in building up your overall image.
Become Familiar
People also tend to lean towards those brands that are easily recognized, as long as they associate positive experiences with them. You will have to carefully set up an image that the consumer can instantly relate to. Think about popular brand images like Coca-Cola, Nike, or Apple. Because their names have become so familiar, it is not necessary for them to ever point out who they are or what they do. They simply announce their new product line and consumers flock to them, no questions asked. This familiarity creates a certain level of comfort in the brand and sets them apart from every other brand in the market.
Create a Positive Image
A brand represents more than a product or a service. It does more than identify the company behind the name. Good branding efforts gives your company a living and breathing identity that consumers can readily relate to. As they pointed out at ufexec.ufl.edu,
Above and beyond the visual image, there’s a broader and more important matter at stake when it comes to a brand. It involves a reputation, or perceptions of everything the brand represents, conveying a sense of the kind of company that stands behind it. A number of factors and activities can help achieve this over time.
This can be done through more ways than through advertising; a business can apply social factors like advancement of minorities or those with cultural differences or implementing family friendly programs for consumers.
Avoid Becoming Commonplace
Brands become a problem when they become so commonplace that they represent an entire industry rather than a single product. A perfect example of this is Coca-Cola. When people enter a restaurant or some other type of eatery, it is common to order a Coke to go with their meal. Most people do this without thinking. This kind of attitude does not represent any loyalty to the company or the product. Another example would be the Xerox machine. The name became so commonplace that the word “Xerox” actually became so recognized that it could be used in lieu of the word “photocopy” regardless to the machine that was used.
Depending on the type of industry you’re in, much of the success of your business will probably result from setting yourself apart from your competition. However, when your message becomes so successful that it can be used to identify your competition as well, then chances are that your brand image needs a readjustment. The result is as they point out at CBC.ca,
Therein lies the paradox of high-end, designer brands – much of their appeal is exclusivity, but if they become too successful in marketing their exclusivity, sales increase, they’re no longer exclusive and core customers stop buying.
Once a brand image becomes too familiar it may no longer work to your advantage. It could end up becoming so well accepted that it doesn’t inspire any thought in the decision making process of consumers.
The question then becomes, “how do you embrace brand recognition without taking it too far?” Balance is necessary in order for your brand to be effective. For this to happen, your brand image must apply the 3Ps: purpose, potential, and promise.
Purpose: By determining a brand purpose, you give your brand values that the public will appreciate.
Potential: The image you’re trying to create needs to be realistic. Consumers need to believe that you’re able to achieve the goals you’ve set out to do. Try to carve out a niche for your business that will not only reflect the right image but will promote your business as a more mature and well-defined brand.
Promise: Your brand needs to deliver on a specific promise and be able to show how beneficial it will be to the end user.
Once you’ve determined these things, develop a way to deliver all three and find a way to fit this into your business strategy. This will require that you’re able to tell a story effectively in your presentation of the brand. Once you’ve mastered the skills needed to create a brand image you’ll be able to set up a brand that will not only be effective in delivering your message but will also mean something to the consumer.
Catchy phrases and tunes can be effective only if the consumer gets the point. It is difficult to walk the fine line of creating a brand image and finding an effective way to deliver on your promises without going to the point where customers become too complacent about the image you project.