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Building a brand takes time and effort. Once you have established your small business’s brand presence, your goal should then be to increase it so you can attract new customers. That’s because it can take multiple impressions before someone will remember your brand.
So, what exactly should a small business do to increase brand awareness and gain more market share? The short answer: invest in marketing initiatives that align with your business goals while keeping your target customers a top priority.
More specifically, here are some key reasons why increasing brand awareness is so critical to business growth:
- Push to have a competitive advantage so that customers choose your products/services over others.
- Proliferate recognition of your brand so that customers correctly identify your business based on the logo, colors, and other visual indicators.
- Develop a strong sentiment among your target customers that will influence loyalty.
Here are 10 ways to grow your business’s brand awareness:
1. Be Transparent
According to a survey of 2,000 consumers, 94% of customers are likely to show loyalty to a brand that offers complete transparency, and 73% of customers are willing to pay more for its products. Transparency plays an instrumental role in driving loyalty and increasing a brand’s overall value. Therefore, being clear about how you do business and how your products are made will play to your advantage.
2. Have Stellar Customer Service
Consider the entire customer journey as you look at what it will take to attract the right demographic, retain those customers, and then build referrals from those relationships. Being contextually relevant with how you approach your customers will help generate new sales, increase repeat sales, and sustain loyalty. After all, 90% of Americans use customer service as a factor when deciding whether to give their business to a company.
3. Deliver Valuable Content
Content is integrated within every single piece of communication and deliverable that your target demographic is exposed to. Your ability to clearly define who you are, what your purpose is, and why you offer better value than your competitors all lie within the content you produce.
Therefore, make sure that you are regularly publishing new content to give your target customers a reason to return to your website every week. It is also a good idea to diversify your content assets with everything from blog posts to infographics and even videos.
4. Personalize the Shopping Experience
Based on a survey of 15,000 consumers and business buyers, 63% of consumers expect businesses to know their unique needs and expectations, and 76% of B2B buyers expect the same. Having a connected experience with your customer requires considering various touch points from when they are exposed to your brand to the point of purchase. These touch points are important, because they show your customers that you truly care about them and hope to not only earn their business, but create a meaningful relationship with them for years to come.
5. Leverage Social Media
Giving existing and potential customers a glimpse of the people behind your brand will create a deeper connection than just showcasing your products or services. This is why social media is so powerful. Harnessing social media as a top avenue to increase awareness will amplify your reach while also helping you stay relevant with new trends in the market.
6. Share Exclusive Deals with Email
Email marketing is a key avenue for sharing exclusive deals with your target customers. Encourage your website visitors and social media followers to subscribe for exclusive deals. You can also leverage email marketing to cross-promote, and to upsell customers. Again, consider the entire customer journey and how you can optimize it to win more sales while also providing stellar customer service. See BBB Business Tip: 5 email automation ideas to start now for more ideas.
7. Be Trustworthy
In a previous post about trust and integrity, we shared the following advice: “Gaining your customers’ trust has never been more important. In today's globally connected world, consumers have dozens of options at their fingertips when making a purchase. This availability has allowed customers to be more thoughtful when deciding which brands to support.”
Building your company around trust and integrity will also boost retention rates while helping you acquire new customers as well. You can incorporate your BBB Accreditation to immediately instill trust in your customers.
8. Develop Branded Videos
A survey of 3,000 consumers revealed that 54% of consumers want to see more video content from a brand they support. Leveraging video as a way to engage with your customers in real-time and while they are on your website will provide a more personalized shopping experience and assist in customer acquisition and retention.
For example, let’s say you sell T-shirts. You can develop a video to provide guidance on the best fit and color for a potential customer’s specific needs. This is not only a unique way for the customer to shop, but it also factors into the actual purchasing decision.
Bonus tip: See BBB Business Tip: How to determine a YouTube strategy for brand awareness for additional ideas.
9. Advertise Where Your Customers are Online
Not only are digital ads cost-effective, but you can easily track and measure their performance to see where you’re gaining the most traction. Digital advertisement also gives you the ability to be as targeted as possible so you don’t waste your ad dollars. By advertising online (and where your target customers are most active), you’ll not only grow awareness, but you’ll also be able to understand which messages, calls-to-action (CTA), and products/services are driving the most engagement.
10. Run Free Giveaways
Who doesn’t love free stuff? Just as you would target a specific demographic through online advertising, you can do the same by running giveaways. Rather than being incredibly broad, be more targeted with who you want as customers. This will help establish a foundation for new customers and improve retention.
Once you have targeted your ideal customers, make sure you have an easy way for them to share your giveaway with their friends and family. This will help proliferate your brand name, allowing you to grow your subscriber base, which can further be nurtured into paying customers overtime.
Visit BBB.org/get-accredited to learn more about Accreditation and how it can help your business.