So, you want to know “how to make your store stand out”. We totally understand. We know that you want to be different from other stores. You want to establish a strong connection with your consumer and increase brand awareness. You want to build your online presence. You want to create a strong brand identity that allows you to bypass your competitor.
Here’s the good news: It is possible. But it will take a tailored and data-driven business branding approach to achieve positive results.
What is business branding anyway?
Shaping brand identity is the process of giving meaning to a company, store, or even a product and service. While it’s true that creating a name, logo, and color for a business and product is an essential part of a store branding strategy, its definition and approach go several steps further.
Business branding is beyond making your products recognizable in the market. It’s a strategy designed to give your business a meaningful connection to your target audience. The goal is to create meaning for your organization and products, then give the people reasons to choose you instead of your competitors.
The branding strategy should be a holistic and tailored approach. You need to answer how to be different from other stores. To create an effective and strong brand identity, one must infuse values, style, vision, and culture. It should be a holistic approach and depending on your approach, you can stand up above the competition or fall down the wrong path.
5 reasons business branding is essential for startups
Every day, consumers are now more exposed to new brands thanks to technological innovation. Crafting a branding strategy has always been a crucial aspect of any business but it may be more critical now than ever. If you are a business owner, here are the reasons why you need to invest in store branding.
1. Make your store or product recognizable
As a business owner, you would want to let your target audience know about your product or store exist. Onbuy.com’s research revealed that 71% of consumers are more likely to purchase products and avail service from a name they recognize. Your business logo plays an essential part in this effort. If you have effective branding for your business, people can swiftly take note of your logo and business from a glance. Your brand identity would also stay in your target market’s mind for a long time.
2. Effective branding creates an emotional connection
Being recognized is just the first step. An effective branding effort allows you to appeal to consumers’ emotions. You can use it to make them feel more connected to your product and company. Your effort is beyond advertising, you are building a relationship with your target market, which can turn into a loyal customer.
3. It allows you to stay ahead of the competition
In the world of eCommerce, where new companies and products are springing every day, you should always pursue how to be different from other stores. A unique brand will always have a significant influence on people, which can eventually turn into a competitive advantage over your rival. The moment your audience hears about your brand, they can quickly remember your store. With this, you can attract and retain customers more effectively and at a much lower cost.
4. It provides clearer direction for your future marketing effort
Branding plays a critical part in any company’s effort. If you want to have a working marketing campaign for your business, you need to build a concrete brand first.
You should always incorporate your marketing effort from your branding. Developing a clear brand strategy helps you stay focused on your organization’s goal and vision. Thus, if you establish a weak brand, your advertising, and other marketing efforts may not work.
Similarly, a consistent branding and marketing effort tends to be effective as it helps people easily recognize your business from the crowd.
5. It lets you find outstanding talents
Business branding might be more crucial in building a team than you think. For starters, you want your team to like their job and make everyone feel that they are part of the team. Successful brands achieve more amazing results by generating a feeling of oneness in their organizations.
Emphasizing the values and culture of your business also allows you to attract the right people for your team. The right people will not only apply for the money. People with outstanding talent want to work for a company that shares the same ideals. Strong branding for a company or even a simple shop lets you persuade your team that they are part of something bigger than just a job. If your company has strong business branding, you will not only convince talented people to work for you but also easily increase the retention of your best employees.
What to consider when creating a branding strategy for your eCommerce shops or business?
When it comes to storing branding, there is no one-size-fits-all strategy. It requires a calculated approach and careful planning to come up with a strategy that will match your business. There are countless store branding strategies out there. We have compiled here all the things you should consider to come up with a tactic that will effectively work for your business.
- Understand your target audience. Knowing your customer should be your first step in building your brand identity for your business or store. You have to understand your customers’ behavior and all other elements that may influence them. For eCommerce owners, you should observe their behavioral patterns in making their buying decision. Knowing all the factors will not only allow you to connect with your audience emotionally but also lets you empower your future marketing effort.
- Spy on your competitor. Spying may sound unfair and illegal but it shouldn’t be. Knowing your competitor’s marketing efforts and content creation approach should be part of your branding strategy. This allows you to understand why rising and outperforming you in some areas, the keywords they are ranking, and what tactics that give them results.
You should spy on your competitor to widen your perspective to improve your brand further. After all, your competitors are also spying on you when you make a progress. If you’re not keeping an eye on them, then they are a step ahead of you.
- Ensure Brand Authenticity. Yes, spying on your competitor is crucial in building brand identity, but it doesn’t mean that you should duplicate their strategies. A recent Stackla study revealed that 90% of customers see brand authenticity as a key aspect in choosing the company they like and support. Come up with your own brand tone, voice, and culture. Be clear on what you stand for and show your convictions.
In a world overloaded with information, you must secure your brand authenticity. It’s not only a way to break a noise, being authentic also sends a genuine message to your audience. Even an eCommerce shop should know how to be different from other stores.
- Let them know your story. One of the best ways to ensure brand authenticity is to share your story. Storytelling is still one of the most effective approaches to establishing an emotional connection with your audience. Tell the story of your brand, call out why you started your business, and what you stand for. When you share your story, make it count! Pitch your story in a way that builds trust.
- Polish your visual assets. Visuals are critical in creating a brand identity for your business or store. This visual asset includes your logo, website design, and ad design, as well as a color palette, fonts, and typography.
A recent study highlighted that having a distinctive trademark color signature increases the likelihood of people identifying your brand by 80%. It’s the reason why you can recognize 7-Eleven stores by the stripes of red and green. - Be consistent but don’t be afraid to adapt. Being consistent is critical to promote recognition. Once your brand becomes recognizable, people are more likely to choose and purchase your products. When change is required, however, do not hesitate to be open and flexible. It is necessary for business to adapt to withstand competition and withstand the test of time.
Do I need to hire professionals to shape my business’ brand identity?
You could perform some branding efforts yourself. Or you might seek the helping hand of an expert. Either way is okay. However, please know that results can vary widely in quality.
If you end up looking for expert help, it is important to choose a company you can trust. Hiring the wrong agency can truly harm your business more than it will help.
If you are looking for a reliable company, Be Global E-commerce Corporation can get your store branding strategy right. We immerse ourselves in all our partners to understand all we can about their products, services, and the ideals they stand for. It’s an important step for us to build compelling brand identities, deliver the strategy successfully, and communicate a brand story to the right audience.
