Nov 15
In today’s oversaturated market, standing out as a brand can be a real challenge. Indeed, with so many options available when purchasing a single item, getting consumers’ attention and persuading them to pick you over hundreds of other brands is an arduous process.
This is why brand awareness is an indispensable element in every business’s marketing efforts. When consumers can recognize and recall the name of your brand, then you can start building a solid client base and capital as a company.
So where should you start? Below, we will walk you through the most important advantages of brand awareness and the steps you need to take to build yours.
Brand awareness can be defined as the degree to which consumers, especially your target audience, recognize your brand, company, and products.
For instance, McDonald’s infamous golden arches, or Nike’s legendary “Just Do It” slogan would be enough clues for a majority of people to recognize and recall these companies’ names. Both are excellent examples of brand awareness as consumers can name these brands as well as their products solely based on these elements.
The more prominent your organization’s brand awareness is, the stronger association consumers have with your products and the more likely they are to choose you over your competition. This is why brand awareness is an essential aspect of every business’s marketing strategy – it is a driving factor for steady revenue, growth, and market authority.
Brand awareness is essential for putting your company, products, and services on the map. Here are just a few reasons why brand awareness is crucially important to the success of your business:
Brand awareness directly impacts brand recognition and while the two may sound similar, it’s crucial to consider them as separate stages within the process of establishing your brand.
Brand awareness, essentially, makes consumers aware that your company and products exist. It is the first attempt in garnering an appropriate audience. Meanwhile, brand recognition is the stage that follows, where consumers may recognize you based on certain branding components like your logo, slogan, and overall design aesthetic.
Consequently, one stage is interlinked with the other and both contribute to client acquisition and higher sales. After all, you are far more likely to buy from a company whose name you’ve heard of before.
Good brand awareness inspires trust in prospective and existing customers. The more familiar customers are with your products and services, the more likely they are to purchase from you and become repeat clients.
Customer loyalty, however, cannot be accomplished with brand awareness alone – brand identity, customer experience, product quality, and targeted marketing are also contributing factors. Getting customers to purchase from you for the first time is half the battle – retaining them as clients is the other half.
Ultimately, brand awareness can give your company more credibility which, in turn, can encourage potential clients to acquire your services or products for the first time or on a repeat basis.
Do you want to know the direct benefit of having repeat clientele? Lower customer acquisition costs.
Having a steady customer base can stabilize your revenue but also lead to new customers through referrals. After all, if your clients trust your brand, they are also more likely to recommend you to others, helping you attain new clients without actively seeking them out. As a result, the cost of acquiring and expanding your customer base will be far lower, as it is behind to grow more organically while your budget can be reallocated to other ongoing marketing efforts.
By increasing brand awareness, you are ultimately also raising your company’s market share and sales. The formula here is simple: the more people know about your brand, the higher your sales will be and the greater market share you’ll have.
If you are a smaller business, this is especially important, as brand awareness will allow you to compete with bigger companies and establish your brand’s name. Of course, while bigger companies may dominate the game, you can still build a solid customer base by targeting your audience.
That said, brand awareness is still equally important for established household names that may want to expand in a new market, promote a new line of products or attain a younger or older audience as it allows them to establish their presence.
Brand awareness is not just important for boosting sales and establishing your company’s name; it can also serve your recruitment efforts.
In today’s highly competitive recruitment pool, where companies are racing against each other to acquire high-skilled applicants, you must be able to stand out. So, if you want to hire new talent, you must first grab their attention
If a recruit has never heard of your company and does not recognize your brand, then chances are they will opt for a competitor that is far more established than you. This is where brand awareness comes in as it will help you connect with talented job applicants who could potentially join your team and help you take your company to the next level.
Building brand awareness is not an easy feat as today’s oversaturated market makes it extremely difficult to stand out from the competition. By following some of these steps, however, you can increase brand awareness and help your organization succeed.
Brand identity consists of various visual elements, including:
When combined, these elements create a distinct image and identity for your brand which will allow consumers to distinguish your company from others. The more unique and recognizable your brand identity is, the easier it will be for you to stand out.
The purpose of brand identity is to be memorable and unique – a generic logo, dull color palette, and subpar design style will only lead to consumers forgetting your company’s name just as quickly as they learn it. Consequently, you must be careful when selecting these components, as they could have a major influence on your brand awareness efforts, too.
How you market your brand will determine the number of people you will reach.
When it comes to offline marketing, think beyond traditional marketing campaigns such as print ads, billboards, and commercials. Your company could also try sponsoring events as well as attending local festivals and fairs. This approach will allow you to immerse your company in your local community but also introduce your products and services to people in more creative ways.
Meanwhile, your digital marketing efforts should encompass elements including the following:
In today’s digitized market, having an online presence is an absolute must for every brand.
Not only will an active online presence allow your brand to reach a wider audience, but it could also determine whether potential customers will purchase from you once they are aware of your products. According to GlobalWebIndex, 54% of social media users use digital platforms to research products while 71% are more likely to make a purchase based on social media referrals.
A well-polished collection of social media accounts across different digital platforms can, once again, give your brand more credibility but also captivate consumers and encourage them to follow (quite literally) your brand’s journey before eventually trying your products themselves.
Beyond social media, you can also dabble in other endeavors that will help you establish an online presence. For example, you could take part in podcasts to discuss your company’s vision, goals, and values or create educational content related to your brand and share it on a blog, YouTube channel, and other social media accounts.
If you want to reach your target audience and make them aware of your brand then you must understand them first. Elements such as age, location, gender, education, socio-economic status, and interests play a key role here as this information will allow you to tailor your approach.
A company with a target audience aged between 18-35 will have a much different brand awareness strategy than an organization trying to reach adults aged 45+. Similarly, if your target audience needs to be located in Europe to have access to your products, it’s unlikely that you will pursue a marketing campaign in the US.
The better understanding you have of your audience, the more successful your brand awareness efforts will be.
Consistency is crucial when you are in the process of establishing your brand.
This doesn’t mean your brand needs to be static. Numerous brands adapt and fine-tune their image, branding, and goals, but in most cases, they maintain the essence of their brand, hence remaining consistent while, simultaneously, growing.
The point here is to be consistent with core elements such as your values, customer experience, and visual branding as these will allow you to solidify brand awareness and recognition.
If you are determined to see your company thrive, then you must double down on building brand awareness. Whether you are a startup company taking its first steps, or an established organization launching a new line of products, brand awareness will allow you to reach a wider audience, grow your sales and increase your market share exponentially.
But remember, for your brand awareness efforts to be successful, you must also:
Do you want to build brand awareness? Convertico Media can make that happen. Contact our expert team and receive a personalized quote here.