Month: February 2021

Have you noticed that you don’t like watching the same movie over and over again even if it is one of your favorites? Beyond a point it gets boring. Branding is no different. To keep your branding fresh and interesting you have to wrap it up in different interesting stories ultimately conveying the same promise, confirming your commitment to your target market. It’s not easy. But it’s interesting, and definitely profiting. Most of our businesses have suffered the jolt from the present pandemic. Many brands have experienced a major setback and some are even forgotten. In fact, some are even replaced by new brands. Brand revival is crucial and possible. You can get back on your feet with a few smart moves that we discovered along the way as we immersed in branding and re-branding many a brand to keep them on top of the consumers’ mind through and after the pandemic. This comeback is not about the business you have built, it is about the business you are going to build. The one thing to remember is every recession comes with changes in consumer expectations and buying patterns, and, technological advancement creates new aspirations. Either you are with the times or you are not in the league at all. In fact, the only reason your competition might be growing faster than you is because of the technology put to an advantage.

For brand revival, there are a few very important steps to be implemented with complete honesty and dedication. You might think, since your grandfather did business a particular way and earned his buck and more, you too might sail through. The sad part is you will sink. Don’t get caught up in past laurels, because business is fluid and ever-evolving. You have to create a new plan with a fresh perspective to stay afloat. So let’s create it: Reassert your brand value through a smart process.

1. Give your product new dimensions

Redefine why your brand exists and what it offers to create fresh perceptions based on the latest buyers’ expectations and purchase patterns.

2. Make your consumer want your brand

Create an offering tailored to a particular mindset and grab a niche in the market who will think five times before making a shift. Make your brand feel like it’s made for them only. Discover a strong consumer drive and go after it hammer and tongs.

3. Looks are deceptive

Change the look of your brand, not to deceive, but to appeal to the audience with something they have been looking for in your brand product category. Research to gather the right insights to discover the unrealized value and try to bring it to the surface through a new look.

4. Make an overwhelming offer

Add value to your brand. Make it more customer-centric by adding exactly what the target is looking for. Make an offer they can’t refuse and watch your sales bar hit the sky.

5. What’s in a name? 

Well, everything. Your brand name can create a major market shift if it addresses a particular need or perception that the audience is looking for. Sometimes a particular brand function when incorporated in the name can become a vital distinguishing factor leading the consumer to make a purchase.

6. Realign your distribution network

Find your consumer and reach out to him or her through a well-planned fresh distribution channel that your consumer is likely to visit. Be sure, if well directed your consumer will be thrilled to find you in your new place and take you home with them.

7. Pricewise 

Pricing can change the game. Create a fresh lease of value for your brand through pricing and value adds. Demonstrate different levels of value for your bulk category, special category, and top-end category and create wider markets through operating at flexible price points.

8. Tell a different story

Integrate your brand into the lives of your consumer by telling stories they will relate to and want to hear, establishing personal value for the brand. Engage your audience by telling them something that will draw them to your brand by building intrigue and curiosity. A new story will change the way your customer perceives your brand. Just the same way your grandma made the same porridge interesting with anew fairy tale every day. A word of caution: Every brand carries with it a best before date unless you continually look for ways to renew it. A successful brand is always exploring the next possibility.

Some ask why a small business needs branding. We tell them, as a branding agency we grew from small to big, and that’s what branding does to your brand. We grew the hard way and with us, we grew our people to take our culture forward every day in every way.

Listed below are branding insights that might take your brand a long way:

1.  DEFINE YOUR BRAND Study your product or service in-depth. Search the market pockets and research the emotive and rational needs of the target audience. Define your brand character that connects with the target market and differentiates your brand from other players in the same category.

2. THINK OF YOUR BRAND AS A PERSON All of us are made up of beliefs and values that shape our character. We wear different personalities that are expressed through a diverse choice of colors, taste, and our response to situations and people. Your brand is also built of out these elements and it is important to have an intense understanding of what qualities your brand carries. Your brand personality will help your target to identify with your brand at an aspirational level.

3. THE DRIVING FACTOR Outline the purpose of your brand and your brand heroes to establish a strong brand positioning to convey your brand identity and brand character in all communication mediums. This will further establish a strong connection with the consumer.

4. CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS Create customer trust with honest branding by delivering what is promised. Advocate your company values in every endeavor of brand communication to form a strong and long-standing relationship with your consumer.

5. A CONSISTENT TONE OF VOICE Substantiate your brand character with a consistent manner and tone to communicate what your brand stands for. This tone will become your brand voice and reinforce brand recall.

6. STOP BEING REPETITIVE Make your key messages work together to shape comprehensible brand identity.

7. AVOID IMMITATING BIG BRANDS Your brand identity will form out of a distinctive approach to your customer that sets you apart from others in the same market. Original is always in style and any kind of imitation is always hard to believe along the way.

8. BELIEVE IN YOURSELF Be daring. Carve our niche. And, be flexible to fit the mind of the ever-evolving customer. Big brands are laden with bureaucracy making it difficult to be bold with branding. As a small brand, you have an advantageous edge by being innovative.

9. BRANDING IS THE SOUL OF YOUR BUSINESS Don’t dilute your brand positioning with haphazard discounts. Instead, offer more through well-planned promotions that will emphasize your brand mission.

10. BE FLUID Today’s customer is intelligent and as a brand respects his intellect by not giving away everything upfront. Create intrigue and allow the customer to discover the genius of your brand. This is a great way to manifest brand ambassadors who celebrate your brand by telling everyone about their great experience with your brand. If you need support with your brand, from creating your initial brand strategy to the visual identity elements contact us and we’ll help you discover your brand story.