Web Branding Matters — Part Two

Posted on September 3rd, 2008 in Branding by admin

Brands grow in time. They appear over night but they can die as fast if you fail to address at least four of the crucial aspects of the branding process:

1. You need to understand your clients, their needs and the market. When you write about your products don’t write something like “buy this product because it is good”. Write “this product is good because” and start naming its features. And ask yourself: is this product really necessary?

2. Reinforce your brand with online and offline communication tools: emails and newsletters (opt-in based, and not bought from who-knows-what traffic exchange firm). All aspects of the customer service should be branded: ask your employees to answer the phone by first providing the name of the company, then their own name. That works for “first-time” emails as well: always attach a signature, always write intelligent messages, and reaffirm your business statement.

3. If your slogan is “light and beauty” stress it in a newsletter by writing: to bring light and beauty in your lives we have created this product and link to the product. Beware: all your branding efforts mean nothing if the product you sell is inferior and if you don’t keep your promises. All your promotional materials, the customer support and the products should be focused on creating customer loyalty.

4. Offline and external communications are vital. They add to the online branding efforts and should also be used to reinforce brands. Start designing your brochures and business cards. It’s time to do some serious business here.

To deliver your message online you could use the following online branding tools:

A Website with a difference: it is a fact that users remember more visually than textual. So create a website that tunes with the likes of the targeted consumers: use distinctive colors, maybe pay to have an amazing website design created and a professional logo. Be different, be yourself.

You don’t want visitors to leave without purchasing: make your products visible. Highlight special offers and discounts. Red is a great color for this purpose: a real attention grabber, perfect for your “hot sellers”.

Surprise your visitors and don’t let them forget you. Give them something even if just for visiting. Some shops give candy. You should give information: free articles, ebooks, software, etc.

Innovate, don’t imitate! Web users don’t like to see cheap copies of other websites when they land on your web pages.

Transmit your message consistently. Focus on a niche and address the consumers in this segment: clear and precisely.

Don’t lie to your customers.

I cannot conclude without underlining the most important advantage of online branding: it doesn’t need big budgets! Yes, it is your brand. Sure you “understand” it. But when you attract your clients by offering free jokes or other gimmicks just to increase traffic, are you sure you understand your brand right? Traffic is wonderful, but how is that going to expand customer loyalty?

So think relevant and use the real world to enhance your Web brand.

Scott Lindsay is a web developer and entrepreneur. He is the founder of HighPowerSites and many other web projects. HighPowerSites is the easiest do-it-yourself website builder on the web. No programming or design skill required. Get your own website online in just 5 minutes with HighPowerSites.com at: http://www.highpowersites.com

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Attract Your Perfect Customers Like Crazy With These 3 Tips On Emotional Branding!

Posted on July 14th, 2008 in Branding by admin

Does your brand evoke an emotional response? Does your brand create loyalty? What would make your clients eager to pay for your products and services? If you answered “yes” to the first two questions, you don’t need my expertise. However, if you want to know how to attract your perfect client through brand marketing, however, then I’ll help with your online branding strategy.

Here are a few tips to help you create an emotional brand that works for you. I call this eBranding (emotional branding).

Before reading these tips, be sure to repeat this mantra. Simplify. Simplify. Simplify. It doesn’t have to be complicated to reach the human senses.

1. Start with your perfect customer or client in mind.

What do they want to see, hear, touch, taste or smell? If you don’t know then you need to take the time now to figure it out.

How frequently does your customer need to see, hear, touch, taste or smell your brand?

Starbucks demonstrates an excellent example. You can see their brand and immediately (if you are their perfect customer) you mouth will taste the coffee. As you get closer, you will begin to hear the customers ordering and soon you will touch the branded cup holder and smell the sweet aroma. I’m not even a coffee drinker! Do you see how they seduce your senses?

Can you do this with your product or service? Can you do this online?

2. Then look at your tag line, slogan and copy writing.

If you are writing online, ask yourself what emotional response will this evoke? If your copy doesn’t produce an emotional response, then the likelihood of your brand being known is slim.

Consider Nescafe’s tag line: “Start the day with great taste!” This tag line not only puts a great taste in your mouth, but it also puts the idea in your head to have a cup of Nescafe each morning. Pretty strategic, eh?

3. Now look at your photos, graphics and images used to represent your brand.

What senses do your imagery strike? A photo of you might create a person-to-person compassionate look and feel, which is very important online.

This may add to your daily to-do list, but don’t despair. Your eBranding strategy will pay off with BIG returns from the investment of your time.

Jen Blackert, The Online Success Coach, teaches small business owners how to branding their website with her simple eBranding success system. Visit her website at http://www.BrandTerra.com and her online reality blog at http://www.ibrandweb.com.

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Web Branding Matters — Part One

Posted on June 12th, 2008 in Branding by admin

There is a new concept in branding: online branding. If you want to know exactly what that means, you only have to take the traditional definitions of branding and adapt them to the Web. Then you’ll get a simple definition: online branding makes your visitors believe that you are the only answer to their problems.

Every business has a brand; so don’t go around saying “I don’t need a brand”. You have a business, the business has a name, and you’ve created a website, so welcome: you are in the world of the online brands. It’s nice here: brands evolve, brands decline it’s a tough world, but if you can manage to create a powerful trademark you are in for a great treat.

Why Is Online Branding Important?

An online brand is the experience a consumer has with you and your products. You have to make your clients feel good about their choice.

Online branding is not about placing your company logo on the upper left corner of a web page. Your slogan could sound all mighty for you, but slogans are made to be spoken: it’s hard to do that online without annoying your visitors. Writing your slogan in bold letters may work, or it may not. So how do you succeed if two of the most important branding elements are doomed? They are not. They just don’t work online as fast as other tools.

Brands should trigger emotional feelings that will determine consumers to buy. A good slogan could work, but it is not enough to have a slogan if the contents of your websites are not supporting its message. So what is your message? What should your potential clients really know about your brand? Is it reliable? All brands assert the same. Is it the best on the market? When it comes to an online brand people just need to know the real advantages and benefits.

At Burger King you “feel the fire”, Coca-Cola… you “love it!” Philips is about “sense and simplicity” and Panasonic gives you “ideas for life” All these global brands have something in common: they back-up their slogans with powerful online and offline branding efforts. If you look at their websites you’ll notice they are all incredibly designed, user friendly and rich in valuable information. For example customers landing on a Philips page understand right away what the “sense and simplicity” motto defines. So when you build up your online brand make your values stand out.

Creating an Online Brand

Online branding is a science because the Web is evolving faster than brands. It is hard to build up an online brand, but not impossible. What do your customers first think of when they see the name of your company online? If your answer is “nothing” you are on the wrong path. When you build a brand online you have to force it and reinforce it. Force your customers to grasp it and once they do, remind them of their choice: newsletters, articles, press releases, emails, free giveaways and so on.

You cannot create an online brand if you disregard a few important aspects such as understanding your market and the reflection of business values through your brand. Success comes in little steps - branding is still a time-consuming and costly process. Yet online, there are some free opportunities. However, unless you are a branding expert yourself, you need professionals to take care of your branding campaigns.

Scott Lindsay is a web developer and entrepreneur. He is the founder of HighPowerSites and many other web projects. HighPowerSites is the easiest do-it-yourself website builder on the web. No programming or design skill required. Get your own website online in just 5 minutes with HighPowerSites.com at: http://www.highpowersites.com

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