Today we're going to take a look at the most effective branding strategies to help you grow your business.
We've been in the custom sign industry in Ontario for over 10 years and we'd love to share our expertise with you.
We'll explain why building your brand is so important to growing your business and we'll break down the various branding strategies for you. So let's get going.
Learn how to do effective brand building
What Is Brand Building?
You may think that brand building is simply designing a great logo and catchy slogan, but it is much more than that. Your brand is actually your customer's overall perception of your business. It's a combination of an "identifying symbol, mark, logo, name, word, and/or sentence that companies use to distinguish their product from others."
Your brand has a very close association with your company and in fact, often your brand will become synonymous with it. Brand building means making your brand stronger, more identifiable, and more valuable in your customer's eyes.
Brand building will help consumers learn to trust your brand
The Importance of Brand Building
Your brand can become one of your most valuable assets. If you have a public company, your company brand will actually carry a monetary value in the stock market which will affect stockholder value as it rises and falls so it is important to maintain the integrity of your brand.
According to Neilson's Global New Product Innovation Survey, almost 6 out of every 10 people surveyed said that they prefer to buy new products from brands that they already know and are familiar with. 21% of those surveyed said that they have purchased a new product because it was from a brand that they like.
In fact, consumers in both North America and Latin America stated that brand recognition was the second biggest reason why they would purchase a new product; the first reason being the price.
So if you are a smaller business trying to compete against a bigger, more familiar brand, brand building could help you incredibly.
Brand building can also help generate awareness of your business and promote your products and services. The key is to get your customers to know, feel and experience your brand so that they are familiar with it, trust it, and feel confident with it.
Brand recognition plays a huge role in whether or not consumers will buy your product
Brand Building Steps
Step 1: Define What Your Brand Stands for
In defining your brand, you are going to determine what your brand actually stands for. Start out by making a list of all of your company's core strengths and then also list your company's values.
Your values could include things like your commitment to environmental issues, your social values, and the economic well-being of your customers. To better define your brand, you can consider the answers to the following questions:
Why does your company exist?
What problem does your company solve?
Why should people care about your products and services?
Keep in mind the answers to these questions when you are coming up with your slogans, taglines, signage, messaging, visuals, etc.
Make a list of all of your company's core strengths and values
Step 2: Decide How Your Brand Is Different from the Rest
In order for your brand to stand out from your competition and be remembered by consumers, you need to differentiate it. Find ways that your brand is uniquely different and what advantages it has for consumers over your competitors.
Differentiating your brand with meaningful benefits will go a lot further to build confidence with your target market than the more superficial elements of choosing colours or a logo. You can also research what other companies in your market are doing to discover how they have done brand building. Don't copy what they have done but use your research to discover how you can be different from them.
The following is a great video by leadership expert Simon Sinek that will help you differentiate your brand from your competitors.
Learn how to differentiate your brand
Step 3: Define Your Target Market
One of the main foundations of your brand building is to determine who your target market is. If you can narrow your target audience focus then you will have a competitive advantage.
Develop a solid picture of your target consumers and then work on creating a brand identity that they can understand and relate to. When determining your target market, you should define your audience according to the following factors:
Age
Gender
Location
Income
Education Level
For example your target market could be males between the ages of 40 and 55 living in an urban setting with an income level between $55,00-$70,000 and having a college diploma. You can define your market even further by thinking about their motivation, goals, pain points, and current brand affinities.
Define your market and target them
Step 4: Get Consistent Exposure for Your Brand Building
You need to be consistent with all of the elements that make up your brand identity and showcase them across many different channels.
This means that your logo, colours, font, website design, signage, content, advertising, packaging all needs to have the same look and messaging so that your business becomes easily recognizable to your consumers.
Your branding should be consistent across all channels
Step 5: Get the Right Exposure for Your Brand Building
In order for your brand building to be successful, you need to have more than one type of channel to market it. You should use a combination of the following channels to highlight your brand and build awareness for your products and services:
Custom signage for the exterior and interior or your building
An effective website that gives a great user experience
Social Media Marketing such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram
Paid Advertising (PPC) such as Google Ads
Need Signage for Your Brand Building? Trust AGC Signs
If you need the perfect signage to do brand building for your business in Ontario, contact the signage experts at AGC Signs.
We have over 10 years of experience in the signage industry in Ontario, so we can help you design the perfect sign.
We strive to exceed industry standards by providing our clients with superior signage solutions through in-house custom design, fabrication, and installation. We do it all from start to finish - that’s why AGC Signs is your one-stop signage destination.
We can help you consider all factors involved in the creation of your signage including structural requirements, municipal by-law requirements and permits, as well as the architectural features of the building where it will be located.
All of our technicians are highly skilled and extremely hard-working. We also use only top-of-the-line equipment to make and install your custom signage. You can trust us to do the job right; we do all of the work ourselves and never subcontract it out. Contact us today for a free quote.
"I have used AGC Signs for our last 3 projects. I have found them very professional and cost competitive. They have also been very informative in helping with the design and production of our business sign and vinyl window graphics. I will not think twice in using them on our next project."
- Greg Halsall
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