Online Marketing

How to Get Your Brand Ahead in A Digital Age

October 2018
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The demise of massive brands such as Kodak, Nokia, Yahoo and Blockbuster Video proved that even the most powerful of companies can fall from grace. Our history teaches us that the key to thriving and surviving in business for many years is not about being the biggest, but adapting and evolving with the needs or expectations of your customers.

The Challenges Facing Your Brand

The problem facing businesses of all sizes is that consumers are now bombarded with between 4,000 to 10,000 ads every day. Many don’t even realise when they are interacting with a brand, and traditional marketing messages are getting lost in an increasing pile of digital clutter.

For example, from the moment we open our eyes and reach for our Apple or Samsung smartphones, how many brands do you interact within the first 15 minutes of your day? First of all, there are the marketing emails that you scroll through and delete where appropriate. Then there are the numerous ads or sponsored posts that bombard you on Instagram of Facebook.

Even as you put your phone down, your toothbrush, toothpaste, and even shower gel are all heavily branded. Even the clothes that you wear to the office will have some degree of branding, but despite being bombarded with brands, we don’t actually see them anymore. So how do you make your brand stand out in a digital age?

Business in a Mobile-First World

We are living in a mobile-first world where the traditional customer journey has been broken up into hundreds of micro-moments. Think with Google, recently highlighted that over two-thirds of smartphone users (68%) check their phone within 15 minutes of waking up in the morning. Ensuring you have a site that is not only mobile friendly but provides a positive mobile experience is crucial.

Google research also revealed that 64% of smartphone users expect a site to load within 4 seconds or less. Complex navigation or slow loading sites will increase the number of abandoned shopping carts and send your customers directly to a competitor as they search for better mobile experience.

One of the best ways of standing out from the crowd in a digital age is ensuring that you offer the same experience across all platforms and devices. But, most importantly of all, be prepared to wow the customer at every touchpoint.

Authenticity and Sincerity

Rather than ignoring or posting generic corporate responses to your customers on social media, it’s time to add a little personality to your brand. Although technology dominates every aspect of our lives, we crave the human touch. Showing empathy and that you genuinely care about your customers will differentiate you from your competitors.

Don’t be afraid to showcase your ideas, values and celebrate what makes your brand unique. In a world where brands are a dime a dozen, it’s never been more important to display the heart and soul of your company.

Provide Value

The moment a customer senses a sales pitch or ulterior motive to their communication, the average person will tune out. Focus on providing your customers with value and not only meet their expectations but exceed them with an outstanding experience.

By adopting a value-add mindset and helping your customers overcome their challenges, you will quickly stand out from your competitors, and best of all you can retire the tired sales pitch.

Provide Great Customer Experiences

A customer experience stretches far beyond the visuals on your website and social media posts. Every telephone conversation and frustrating encounter with a chatbot or marketing message from a ‘do not reply’ email address will cause an emotional reaction from your audience.

After investing time and resources building your brand identity and learning precisely who your customers are, it’s also to crucial to deliver on your promises.

It’s already well documented that it costs over five times as much to attract a new customer than retaining an existing one. By acting with integrity and building a meaningful relationship with your customers, it becomes much easier to secure their loyalty.

A great customer experience not only makes you stand out from the crowd but is also becoming more important than the price of your product or service too. Putting your customers at the heart of the conversation is just the beginning, and the real magic occurs when they begin talking about your company’s excellent customer experience.

Getting your brand is noticed in a digital age is involves much more than the design of your website. It’s about the conversations you are having with your customers and providing them with unique experiences that are remembered long after the checkout process has been completed.

At Pelling, we not only provide an engaging suite of brand ware, but we also help businesses of all sizes create a brand voice that represents their values, services, and personality. If you would like a conversation our team and learn more about how you can ensure your brand stands out from the crowd, please contact us.

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