The value of a brand is a funny thing to quantify, a firm might be hugely successful and make lots of money, yet the company’s reputation could be poor. A brand name evokes an inherent value and finding a way to reliably measure that value is vital to grow your company.
Two separate companies could offer consumers the same product at the same price and quality, yet one will sell more than the other. The general answer to this is because of the intangible value inherent in the brand name, which could come about in a number of different ways, from a positive image, better actual (or perceived) customer service or simply a more attractive brand.
All of this can stem from making your brand much more marketable and there are plenty of ways in which to do this.
Get out into the community and interact with people
If you are a business just starting out you will need to drum up interest in whichever way you can and one of the first ports of call should always be your local community.
Getting out into the local community and interacting with the people that live there can be an easy way of spreading the word of your brand. Armed with all of the information about your firm, the products and services you provide and promotional t-shirts that are emblazoned with your company’s logo, you can win over a whole new set of followers.
A personal touch can always have a positive impact on your target audience, especially if you’re talking to them face to face instead of just staring at a prompt sheet. Be passionate about your products and services and ensure that you’ve done your homework – after all, you may get questions on pricing, lead times, technical specifications, packaging or delivery options.
Use social media to your advantage
The last couple of years has seen a colossal increase in the use of social media by organisations of all sizes looking to market their particular products & services; with the platform being used as both as a standalone strategy, or to complement other communication strategies such as events, email, direct mail, the distribution of promotional items etc.
For example firms can tie a social campaign in with the launch of a mobile website or run the same messages on Facebook as they use in their online advertising.
For those with a presence on Twitter, another opportunity for firms is to have their promotional items printed with a specific # (hashtag) so that the recipients know they can use that term to engage with the firm online.
Provide promotional items to loyal customers
Part of brand building should be about rewarding people for being your customers. You could send out a monthly direct mail campaign to your existing customer base enclosing marketing literature and samples of new lines in your range.
Enclose promotional items emblazoned with your call to action and contact details in the mailing piece to create a lasting reminder of the campaign.
When out in the local community, distribute promotional items such as stress shapes to anyone that signs up to your mailing list. Alternatively, you could run a competition on Facebook or Twitter that offers a free promotional gift to the first 100 people that ‘Like’ or follow you.