For young companies, or established ones looking to extend their footprint, brand recognition can be the difference between success and failure. At its core, brand recognition is the ability of consumers to identify a specific brand by its attributes over another one.
Brand recognition isn’t granted, it is earned through the hard work done building and molding your brand identity and voice. When a brand engages its target audience and develops a sense of self, this is when brand recognition can be achieved. This is when your brand can be differentiated and identifiable from similar brands.
Achieving this recognition can be confusing, by understanding these 3 phases you can set your brand apart:
Awareness Recognition is not attainable without awareness. Consumers cannot recognize your brand without first being aware it exists in the first place. This is where broad marketing is impactful – it allows you to get in front of a large audience and highlight your services/products.
Yes, you should always have a target segment in mind for your business, but casting a wider net to start is the best way to boost awareness. When you feel confident your awareness is established, using KPIs and other success metrics, you can begin to narrow your focus on your ideal client – increasing your conversion rates.
Preference Once you’ve established your audience, you need to keep them. Competition is always looking for a way to steal your clients, which is why you need to work to keep them. You can establish brand preference through the obvious like supplying quality service or products, but it goes beyond just that.
Stay active and engaged on social media. Be sure you are meeting your customers where they spend their free time, and share incentives and promotions to get them to visit again. This stage is about getting your audience to come back again.
Loyalty When a consumer chooses your brand consistently over another, that’s brand loyalty. Repeat customers are invaluable to any business, not just because of the credibility and trust it builds, but because retaining customers is cheaper for a business than gaining new ones. A loyal customer takes less effort to convince to make another purchase than someone who has never used your product or service.
Put effort into your active clients – rewards and referral programs are an excellent way to give back to loyal consumers and gain a few new ones as well. Partner with other relevant brands – if your business sells shoes, consider finding a sock company with a similar target and brand identity. It opens your book of business and expands your reach.
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