Today, it is more important than ever for your brand to stand out from the crowd. With so many competing brands and businesses, it is difficult to come across as unique. How can you achieve this, you ask? By creating a strong brand image!
With competing businesses fighting for the attention of consumers, having a strong brand image helps your brand stand out. When a customer buys something from you, they are buying into far more than just the product. Most people form an opinion based on what they see or hear about a particular brand. However, having a stable brand image creates a sense of credibility, generating brand loyalty among consumers.
Firstly, it is important to understand what you want to portray as a business. In other words, how do you want customers to perceive your brand? Identify a number of your brand’s key characteristics. This could be anything – think social values or particular product benefits. Apple, for example, is a brand with a strong brand image. They are known for their innovation, quality and minimalist design.
Once you have an idea of what you want your brand to convey, it is important to know where the brand is at. Sometimes, businesses may have a different perception of their brand compared to that of consumers. This can be checked via a zero measurement. This is a way of assessing and understanding current prevailing brand perception, revealing the overall image it conveys.
Once you have a clear picture of the current situation, you need to put together a strategy that takes the brand where you want it to be. For this step, you need to answer the following questions:
Take major white goods retailer Coolblue, for example. The business is not necessarily known for its low prices or the large number of brands it carries. What Coolblue is known for, however, is providing a service with a smile. Consumers value service, and this pairs perfectly with what their brand image is all about.
Brand images are not built in a day – they can take years to develop. However, once firmly in place, they can make a lasting contribution towards the growth of your brand. It is therefore vital to understand what your brand image strengths are and make the most of them. Whether it is a customer visiting your website, reading your blog post, receiving a package or visiting in-store, each contact moment should convey the same overall brand experience.
Building a strong brand image takes dedication, time and consistency. This is an ongoing process, one that needs constant optimisation. To measure whether your efforts have produced results, it is now time for your ‘one measurement’, checking whether your predetermined objectives have been achieved.
Having a strong brand image helps you stand out from your competitors, establish an emotional connection with your target audience and foster customer loyalty. Follow these steps to build a recognisable corporate image that will help you grow and succeed in the long run.
Written by Inge Velders
