Building any business that will withstand the test of time is a feat that many entrepreneurs never achieve. Building an online business can be just as daunting because of the shear number of businesses that are competing for the attention of your ideal customer.
So how do you get your customer’s attention and
keep their attention for as long as possible?
By Building A Brand Around The
Niche You Choose To Serve!
Creating a consistent brand for an online business is a highly effective way to get more customers and clients, to increase awareness of your organization and to generally propel yourself to new heights. Having a strong brand will create many more opportunities for you and will mean that every aspect of your business helps to strengthen every other aspect.
But creating a brand isn’t easy and that’s why there are so few sites on the net that have that strong presence and identity that they need. Here are some of the most common mistakes that companies and individuals will make when creating their brand…
Mistake #1 – By Not Having A Brand At All!!
A brand is an emotional trigger that you use to remind people of who you are and how you help them achieve something in their life. If I were to say “Starbucks”, then what would you think about? I thought about a relaxing environment where I can go to get a great cup of hot chocolate and sit and read (or work, if need be!) Okay…what about Little Ceasar’s Pizza? All I could think about what the cartoon guy, in a toga, saying “Pizza, Pizza” and then Hot and Ready came to mind.
In your market of choice, the only way to stand out is to brand yourself. Your brand embodies the values and principles you hold most dear to you. For me, it is honesty and integrity. Providing value to everyone I meet and seeking the most truly win-win situations in the marketplace for both myself and my customers.
Mistake #2 – Lack of Consistency
This applies both to your visual consistency – in terms of the way your brand looks across various channels and your consistency in terms of the topic, industry and values you put out.
The point of a consistent brand is that it should represent a certain degree of quality and a certain predictability in terms of what users get. People should know that something with your logo on it will be something that they enjoy.
So if your website is talking about puppy dogs one week and programming the next, you’re going to lose people. Likewise, if you put out a brilliant product one month and the next thing you release is garbage, people won’t be able to trust you in future. Stay consistent and stay true to your vision.
Mistake #3 – Poor Visuals
Aesthetics are an important aspect of your branding and if you don’t have a strong logo and strong visuals through your advertising and web design, then your brand isn’t going to be memorable to your customers and users. If your logo is a grainy JPG that looks like something you made in college, then it might be time to hire a professional or at least have a rethink.
The colors you choose have a profound impact on your brand. In fact, helpscout.net stated:
…colors influence how consumers view the “personality” of the brand in question (after all, who would want to buy a Harley Davidson motorcycle if they didn’t get the feeling that Harleys were rugged and cool?).
Mistake #4 – Missed Opportunities
Every business card, social media account, invoice and email is a chance to strengthen your brand. Make sure you include your logo everywhere. Through repeated viewing of your brand, your customer’s will reinforce the perception that you are able to solve their problem within that particular sphere that your market resides.
Mistake #5 – Be Transparent
When creating your brand, you are creating the way that people are going to see you. To do this effectively though, you need to be objective, realistic and transparent. If you’re a one-man-band tinkering in your free time, then don’t try and brand yourself as a global corporate enterprise. It will ring false and your brand will fail as a result.
Building and maintaining your brand should be the first and foremost task in your business. It is not an all-time consuming task. Once you have the foundation in place, it is simply continually following through on implementation of your brand throughout your business and product lines.
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