Building a Successful Brand for Your Ecommerce Business

You may think of a company's brand as simple elements like a logo, tagline and website design. However, the most successful brands are defined by several additional components--both behind the scenes and customer-facing--that add depth and meaning to those elements. These steps will help you build a strong foundation for your brand and create a brand that is appealing to your target audience.

1. Know the position of your business

You must understand the market before you can create a brand that is successful in the competitive marketplace. You can do this best by doing research that will help you create a positioning sentence. Although there are many models available, the basic idea behind a positioning statement is to identify your customers, describe your product or service and tell how you are different from your competitors. These steps will help you create a compelling positioning statement.

A. Do your research on the competition

Look at the overall product mix and identify the small and large businesses that sell similar products. Taking a detailed look at these competitors will allow you to create a competitive matrix for reference. After identifying your primary competitors, compare yourself to them on many factors such as price, product quality and brand awareness. The competitive matrix will allow you to understand your brand's strengths and weaknesses, which will lead you to the next step.

b. Determine your differentiators

Comparing your business with your competitors will help you determine your niche and unique Selling Points (USPs) which you can use to distinguish your brand from the rest. Ask yourself why someone would choose your product over the other. What is it that sets my brand apart from the rest? What do I offer that is unique?

These questions will help you identify the unique qualities of your brand and identify your niche. Your niche must be very specific about your offerings and incredibly focused on a particular demographic. Do not waste your time trying to appeal to everyone. Instead, concentrate your efforts on a particular audience.

c. Identify your target audience

Once you have identified your niche and USPs it is time to research and classify your target market. This can be done using demographic data. You can do it through Google Analytics, social networks, or newsworthy articles. You should pay attention to what they value and are interested in, how you can speak to them and what their thinking is. To better understand your target market's buying habits and identify trends you can capitalize on, it is important to get to know them.

When getting to know your target audience, creating user personas--orfigurative representations of your target market--can be extremely helpful. Creating 2-4 personas will allow you to understand how potential customers see the brand and what it can do for them. You should include information about the personas you create: their name, job title and demographic information. Also, details about their goals, challenges, fears and what your brand can do to help them.

2. Your business's appearance and feel

After you have used the information above to create a positioning statement, you will be able to better understand what imagery and messaging will appeal most to your target audience. You can then create a styleguide for the business that reflects the look and feel you want. Your style guide should be your go-to source for brand consistency across all channels. These are the steps to compile your style guides:

A. Create compelling design rules

Start by mapping the design elements of your brand. This includes your logo, typography and color palette as well as graphics & imagery. A mood board is a great tool to help you get started if you are stuck. Think about all the things that come to your mind when you think of your brand and products. You can use Pinterest to search for images and make a collage with all the words or pictures that represent your brand. It's much easier to see how your brand should look online and printed.

b. Develop a definitive tone & voice

Now that you have a well-defined look, think about the tone and voice you want. Think about your brand's voice, and your tone. How will your customers perceive you? Are you friendly and approachable or do you want to be professional and instructive? You can create messaging that resonates with your customers by referring to your user personas. Once you have settled on a sound, ensure that your messaging across all channels and aspects of your business remains consistent. This includes marketing, sales, customer service, culture, and culture.

c. Craft a mission statement

Now that you have done your research and have a solid look and sound, it is time to put it all together with a Mission Statement. This short, action-oriented statement defines the purpose and goals of your company. The mission statement is the foundation of your business and will guide you in all aspects of your business. It can be shared internally to motivate your team and externally to let your audience know exactly what you are doing for them.

3. Expand your business's reach

Once your brand has a clear position and a look that appeals to your target audience you can start marketing your business. You are correct, the way that you market your business is also part of your branding strategy. When creating your marketing strategy, keep your brand attributes in your mind. With a particular focus on these steps.

A. Plan an engagement strategy

Based on your positioning statement, consider which channels you could use to interact with customers and how often. Social media, review sites and community sites, as well as forums in the industry, are all channels that you should include in your engagement strategy.

Consider what you know about your users before you decide on the top channels for engagement. This includes where they spend their time online and what messaging may appeal to them. If you're looking to increase social media engagement and your target market is Gen Z then you might want to invest some time on Snapchat or TikTok. If your target market is Baby Boomers you will likely focus more on Facebook polls and posts.

b. Encourage customer loyalty

Consider the brands that you are most connected with and what actions have been taken to maintain that connection. Are they offering a loyalty or rewards program for repeat customers? Treat customers like family members and encourage referrals. When customers share photos with their product, feature them. There are many ways to get customers excited about your brand. But make sure that your offering is in line with your mission statement or positioning. You can even make customers brand ambassadors by providing exceptional quality, service, communication and support.

c. Keep a consistent presence

If you don't present yourself in the same manner at all touch points, all of your hard work will go begging. Your customers will be confused if your brand voice is fun and playful but your social media posts seem businesslike and serious. The same applies to dark-colored branding but using pastel backgrounds for surveys. No matter how insignificant-seeming the communication, make sure it fits in with the brand you've worked so hard on.

Conclusion

No matter if you are a brand new business or an established one looking for a competitive edge, branding is a key component of any business. If done right, branding can make the difference between a company that's struggling and one that thrives. Branding is not just about a logo or company name. It's also how your company wants to be perceived so that loyal customers will follow you.