If you are like most entrepreneurs, your dream is to grow your brand to be the next Apple, Nike, Amazon, or any other big brand that appeals to you. Of course, owning a big brand exposes you to more resources that you can use to grow the business even further. Banks and suppliers trust big brands, so you can be sure to get financing easily and get big discounts after purchasing in large quantities. In addition, the icing on it all is, big brands are always in customers’ minds and mouths. You command a following of loyal customers, making the introduction of new products easy.
However, running a big brand is no mean feat. Though it can be challenging, the benefits are too enticing to ignore. The question, however, remains how the big brands get to where they are. What do they do differently? What lessons can you pick from them?
Well, here are 7 lessons to help you build your business empire to the next most talked-about brand in your niche.
7 Lessons For Building a Big Brand
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1. Enhance your brand-building process
The reason why big brands linger in people’s minds is that they put in the effort to build a unique and recognizable brand that goes beyond just a cool logo and looks more at enhancing customers’ experience.
Your brand is how customers perceive your business. Brand building, on the other hand, is the effort that you put into creating a brand that will leave a unique and unforgettable image in the industry.
Brand building takes proper planning and a creative strategic approach to get there. Here are a few pointers to help you in your brand-building process.
- Define your why - What is the purpose behind your business? What pain points do you address? What sets you apart from the rest? Build a brand story to tell your customers about this.
- Identify your target audience- Narrow down to the specific customer and the exact need you want to solve.
- Create a killer mission statement, brand voice, and memorable logo and tagline. Think of Starbucks or Apple, despite not having a name on their logo, their brand perception remains strong.
- Tie everything together and reflect it in every aspect of your business.
2. Work on brand awareness
One thing that is familiar with most big brands is that their names tend to be everywhere. Be it on print media, social media, blogs, television, or merchandise like a personalized magic 8 ball, you rarely miss their presence in such places. These brands have put in the work to build awareness about their businesses.
Ensure that you capitalize on the following to increase your brand awareness.
- Create a website and use it to tell your brand story. Optimize it for SEO for it to appear on top of search results on online search engines. If you think this is not part of your expertise, you can always look for monthly SEO packages.
- Create valuable content for your customers and ensure that you focus on the most searched keywords in your niche.
- Use email marketing to pass important information about your business to your customers.
- Use paid advertising to appear on billboards, television, and other online advertising avenues such as Google Ads and Facebook Ads.
3. Build a team
Ideally, you can’t be able to build a big brand single-handedly. You will need to build a team with all the expertise that you require. And not just that, you need individuals who see your vision and are willing to work hard and commit to living out the dream with you. You want people who will continually be creative and innovative to ensure that you are taking over the industry.
However, you will need to play your part to be a reputable employer. Put in the effort to keep them engaged and satisfied with their jobs. Make them feel valued and heard to build a sense of trust and belonging.
If you are expanding to other countries, it can be overwhelming to look after your employees. Be sure to outsource that service to a reputable PEO. If you want to expand to a specific country, make sure to hire a local peo agency. Taking care of all HR, salary and benefits is a sure way to ensure that your foreign employees are satisfied. Consequently, they will work hard to establish your presence in their countries.
4. Listen to your customers
Customers are the very reason that people set up businesses. That is why listening to their needs and what they have to say isn’t optional. Every brand that dreams of going big must be ready to listen and provide excellent service to its customers. McDonald’s, for instance, is known for providing feedback forms to customers for them to rate the food, and service and leave general comments.
Such a strategy unlocks valuable insights into specific customers’ needs and points you to the areas that you must improve. Implementing such suggestions communicates that you value your customers, and it goes a long way in winning them over to become loyal customers.
5. Establish a strong social media presence
You can also capitalize on this powerful tool to build your brand. Be sure to share valuable content enriched with the most searched keywords in your niche. Craft catchy hashtags to enhance traffic to your pages. Most importantly, be active in handling customers’ comments and complaints.
One of the best ways to start with social media advertising is by buying likes, followers, and views. You might think this makes little sense because those followers don't want to buy your product but what they do provide you with is even more important. Visibility. Social media is a vast space and without an already-established audience, you will struggle to get eyes on your brand. Buy Instagram followers with multiple package options to suit the size of your business and watch your engagement grow.
6. Outsource
As a small business owner, you might lack the technology or resources to take your business to the next level. However, you can take advantage of outsourcing firms out there to help you with innovation and projects that require resources that you currently don’t have. For instance, while you're busy setting up your brand, you'll never miss a call with an answering service, which can keep your customer satisfaction levels high. Some big brands have used outsourced services at some point to get to where they are today.
The main benefit of outsourcing is that it allows companies to focus on their core competencies and save on costs by utilizing specialized expertise, equipment, and facilities. Additionally, outsourcing can also help companies increase efficiency and access new markets. For example, a digital marketing agency may offer a wide range of services, such as website design, social media management, and search engine optimization (SEO). However, if they don't have an in-house team of experts to handle link-building, they may outsource their link-building needs to a white-label link-building service. This allows the digital marketing agency to offer a complete service while still focusing on its specialized services.
7. Build a CSR policy
The community is made up of the very people that you are targeting. If your business is to resonate better with them, you need to be supportive of the community. Furthermore, most consumers feel more inclined to buy from a socially responsible brand. Big brands such as Coca-Cola, Google, and Wells Fargo among others have used CSR to build trust with their customers.
Build a CSR policy for your business and ensure that your business commits to it. You don’t have to donate financial help if you are not in a position to. You can volunteer as a company in community events or offer your expertise for free when needed. It’s also worth mentioning that for companies such as Coca-Cola, Google, and Wells Fargo, what has helped them build their brand on an international scale, is brand localization to specific countries. If you’d like to follow their example, you need to hire adequate translation services that will help you localize your brand for a specific target, especially in terms of language in a cultural context.
Conclusion
Building a business from a small to a big brand doesn’t happen overnight. It takes patience and hard work to get there.
In addition, it is a journey in that you have no idea what you will meet on the way. Even as you plan on the above lessons, leave room for flexibility. The secret is to implement, measure, and refine as you go.
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