No matter how good your product is and no matter how good the team you assembled is – building a brand is never easy. You’re up against hard competition in almost any industry. Besides that, a starting phase of your business is when you create a bond between your product and the consumer.
This doesn’t always take a big budget marketing campaign. A few tricks based on knowing your audience and brand strengths are enough to boost your brand awareness and bring you loyal customers. Here’s how.
Referral programs
This one is old as advertizing itself, but it’s simple, easy to organize and it works. For every new customer one of your clients brings – they get a perk or a discount. This can work for ordinary retailing (with coupons, gift certificates and so on), but it’s applicable to IT businesses as well. For instance, Dropbox gives you an extra 500 MB of cloud space for every new user you bring. Even in the age of social media, nothing beats word of mouth campaigns – every referral is also a testimonial about a quality of your work.
SEO
Obviously, your content should be search engine optimized, but what does that really mean? When it comes to SEO, what seemed like a good solution a couple of years ago – is painfully outdated now. Companies combine the work of SEO specialists and web developers and it makes all the difference. It’s also important for your SEO team to be proactive and respond to any changes that might occur. This means you should be getting advice from your SEO specialists not asking them for it. Just remember this will sometimes lead to a disagreement between you and the marketing team. Have faith in their recommendations and it will pay off.
Email signature
This may seem like a trivial thing, but think about the amount of emails you send every day. Now, think what would happen if every one of them was an ad for your business. That’s how you should think about it. Your email signature should have your personal information, job title and an easy way to be contacted (via social media, don’t put your email in the signature itself, it’s redundant). It should also contain a call to action. It shouldn’t be pushy, but it should be something a client can do right away. “Have you checked out our recent work? You can do it by clicking… “
Blog
It doesn’t matter in what line of work you’re in – you should take time to set up a company blog. Experts from one branding agency from Melbourne say that more than 80 percent of customers do online research before they purchase something. A blog can be a way for your company to present its work and establish a connection with the clients. You can also use it to promote new features or give an exclusive behind-the-scene access for those who are interested. A community built around a blog isn’t just about putting a warm touch on your work – it can actually be pretty monetizable.
Use influencers
This is a bit tricky to do, but it can be a great way to sky rocket your brand. Find an influencer in your field of work (that doesn’t have to be a celebrity – just someone who’s trusted in your industry). After you get to know the person, ask them to share your work. This can be done in form of a tweet, Facebook post or you can write a guest post for their blog. It’s important for the endorsement to feel natural, as a genuine review and not as some sort of a quid pro quo deal.
An app
Smartphone apps are becoming an increasingly important marketing tool. Almost 90 percent of time people spend on their phone is devoted to browsing through apps. Small businesses should get in on it as soon as possible. An app is also an opportunity to collect all of your marketing efforts in one place – your store, your blog, your customer testimonials, all of it should be right there at the tip of clients’ fingers. This can also be a way for your customers to talk to each other and exchange experiences about your products and services (that’s basically free customer support right there).
Re-marketing
Remarketing is especially important for new businesses (but it should be used by everyone). It targets people who have already visited your site, but have decided not to make a purchase. Emailing them with the special offer targeted to them exclusively can bring them back if it’s done right. This is especially useful if your business is young and customers are not yet fully aware of all the features and deals your business offers. It’s imperative for a remarketing campaign not to seem too abrasive and in your face. Ask people to try your product one more time – don’t bully them.
Just remember all of these techniques are valuable, but creating a brand takes time and effort. Be patient.
Nate Vickery
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