Your firm could be completely transformed by developing a powerful brand, but how? A brand is so much more than a logo. “All the reasons someone buys a product or service” is how we define the brand. This covers a variety of topics, including as reputation, cost, promotions, and communication strategies.

Companies frequently doubt the benefits of strategic branding. However, well-known brands throughout the world attest to the value of brands; we often use Apple as an example. Nevertheless, there are innumerable other instances of companies that offer experiences, communities, emotional bonds, and relationships in addition to goods and services. In the end, they enrich our lives by supporting this with every facet of their brand.

What is Value Tagging?

Value tagging, a component of selective attention, is the weight your brain gives to each and every item of information it encounters, including people, locations, odors, memories, and more. It is an unconscious process that directs your subsequent response to a stimulus by coming before any action.

As the New York Times example points out, the problem a new model must address is the age of information overload. We are all bombarded with information. For the brain information goes well beyond what you read and is everything you see, everything that you smell, feel etc. All the senses require attention from the brain, everything you experience. Due to this, the brain has mechanisms to protect us from that overload; the brain filters out certain bits of information e.g., you don’t constantly feel the clothes on your body. This is called selective filtering.

In the context of Marketing and Advertising let’s imagine walking down a street. You will filter out the shops, the people, the bus shelters, and the world around you. Anything your brain does not deem to be important is lost. This is where selective attention comes in; summarizing things you are attuned to. Ultimately, what’s important earns attention. In a famous study conducted by Simons and Chabris, they demonstrated this by asking participants to watch a basketball game and count the number of times the ball is thrown. 50% of participants didn’t notice a girl in a Gorilla suit walking through the players midway through the game.

Enter value tagging – putting those things you attune to in order of importance to survive and thrive. There are two paths of the brain that this relates to – the logical element (survive), and the warmer element, aspirations, people I love, etc.(thrive). The more we see information as irrelevant to either our human desire to survive or thrive the less likely we will be to attune to that information.

How Brand Will Add Value To Your Business

Businesses are quite often skeptical of the value of strategic branding. But global household names are a testament to the importance of brand – Apple is the example we love to use. However, there are countless other examples of businesses that don’t just sell a product or service, but sell experiences, communities, emotional connections, and relationships. Ultimately, they add value to our lives by using every aspect of their brand to support this.

Read Also: Understanding Brand Cycle

But how else can a brand make a difference?

1. Awareness

The greatest value of effective brand and marketing practices is awareness. Your business and your offer don’t exist in the eyes of potential customers if they’ve never heard of you. Building awareness is one of the greatest challenges for businesses. But it has the potential to have a huge impact on the bottom line.

2. Price

An effective brand has the power to influence the market price of its goods or services because of the reputation it has developed in the minds of customers. Why do we pay twice as much for Starbucks coffee when we could get it much cheaper from a local independent? Perhaps the ingredients may be different and the recipe more precise at Starbucks. But, fundamentally, their reputation and supporting brand is responsible for the premium we’re willing to pay.

3. Engagement

Every business has a target audience with which it needs to engage. The more you positively engage with your audience, the more likely you are to sell more often, to more people, at a higher price. The best brands engage with their audiences so well that they develop a following of brand advocates. These advocates become powerful sales tools for brands and, the best bit is, that they’re free! Word of mouth can be the most effective marketing channel.

4. Communication

At the heart of every communications strategy are core messages, that need to be communicated to the right audiences; what sets you apart from competitors, how you add value, the benefits of your product/service, the values that are instilled within the business etc. These will all increase the chances of engaging with consumers in a meaningful, relevant way. Having a story to tell is one thing. Not telling it effectively or not connecting with the audience can mean your messages fall on deaf ears.

5. Consistency

When it comes to building a great reputation, consistency is key. You need to be delivering in line with your promise to customers across every touchpoint they come into contact with; customer service, product quality, communications, staff members, packaging etc. all need to deliver a consistent message. Developing your brand, getting everyone on the same page, and weaving these values into all aspects of your brand is vital.

6. Personality

Business can be a cold, transactional world. At the end of the day, a successful business will sell more than it spends and most will aim to maximize profit, hit financial and customer targets and, ultimately, outgrow its competitors. Brand and Marketing help to soften this laser focus, adding color to what is fundamentally a black-and-white practice. The best brands do this so well. Consumers are falling over themselves to buy what they’re selling because they can engage with the brand in an emotional way.

Fundamentally, we believe that powerful, meaningful and engaging brands help businesses sell more products or services. They are sold to more people, more often and probably at a higher price. Get the brand right and opportunities will follow!

How do You Attract People to Your Brand?

Gaining new clients is a goal shared by all small business owners. Here are ten tried-and-true strategies to help you attract “new blood.”

1. Ask for referrals. Referrals are one of the best ways to get new customers—but if you sit back and wait for your current customers to refer their friends and family members to you, you could be waiting a long time. Take charge by implementing a system for actively soliciting referrals from your satisfied customers. Build referral-generating activity into the sales process. For example, send a follow-up email asking for a referral after a customer has received their order from your e-commerce site. Have your B2B salespeople ask for referrals when they follow up with customers to answer questions after the sale.

2. Network. Generate good old-fashioned word-of-mouth by participating in networking organizations and events relevant to your industry and your customers. Be sure to approach networking with the attitude, “How can I help others?” rather than “What’s in it for me?” By thinking about how you be of service, you’ll build relationships that lead to new customers.

3. Offer discounts and incentives for new customers only. Introductory offers, such as a two-week course at your karate studio for $100, can lure curious customers in your door by providing a low-risk way to try your products or services. Track which customers redeem the special offer, then target them with a marketing message encouraging and enticing them to keep buying from you.

4. Re-contact old customers. Everything old can be new again—including old customers who haven’t done business with you in a while. Go through your customer contacts on a regular basis and, after six months or a year without interaction or purchase, reach out to dormant customers with a special offer via email, direct mail or phone. They’ll be glad you remembered them and want to win them back.

5. Improve your website. These days, consumers and B2B buyers alike find new businesses primarily by searching online. That means your website has to do some heavy lifting to attract new customers. Give your website a once-over to make sure that the design, content, graphics and SEO are up-to-date. If this isn’t your strong suit, it’s worth enlisting the services of a website design company and/or SEO expert to help.

6. Partner with complementary businesses. Team up with businesses that have a similar customer base, but aren’t directly competitive, and strategize how you can target each other’s customers to drive new business to each other. For example, a maternity clothing website and a baby products website could pair up to offer discounts and deals to each other’s customers.

7. Promote your expertise. Generate interest—and new customers—by publicizing your expertise in your industry. Participating in industry panel discussions or online webinars, speaking at industry events or to groups your target customers belong to, or holding educational sessions or workshops will impress potential new customers with your subject expertise.

8. Use online reviews to your advantage. Does your business get online reviews from customers? Cultivate your reviews and make the most of them. Link to reviews on your website and post signage in your location urging customers to check you out on Yelp (or wherever the reviews are). Social proof is powerful, and new customers are more likely to give your business a try if they see others praising it.

9. Participate in community events. All else being equal, most people like to support independent businesses in their communities. Raise your profile in your community by taking part in charity events and organizations. Sponsor a local fun run, organize a holiday “toys for kids” donation, or supply a Little League team in your city with equipment. It gets your name out there, which helps bring in new customers.

10. Bring a friend. Offer 2-for-1, “buy one, get one free” or “bring a friend” deals to get your “regulars” to introduce new customers to your business. For instance, a restaurant could offer a “buy one entrée, get a second for free” special to attract more customers. You can even get specific: “Invite a friend to try our new happy hour specials!” to let customers know you’re looking to introduce your business to a wider customer base.

By integrating your selected brand values into every facet of your enterprise, you will have the chance to establish a robust and identifiable brand. By putting these strong and relevant core principles to use, you not only strengthen your brand identity but also get more market share.

Your brand values can help you do this in a number of ways. 

• Incorporate brand values in order to help you make decisions and focus your sales and marketing activities in order to align your brand’s mission. 
• Brand values help you to boost your employee engagement. When your staff feel proud to work for you and associate with your brand the likelihood of increased employee productivity and loyalty rises.
• Having values incorporated into your business makes your brand more memorable for your customers. 
• Outlining brand values allows you to build deeper relationships with your customers and target audience.
• Including values in your business strategy helps you to keep your brand authentic and unique.
• Core brand values allow you to boost brand consistency across all marketing, communications and sales activities. 
• Brand values can help to inspire brand loyalty and customer retention. 

your brand’s story is essential for customers both new and existing to get an understanding of who you are and why you do what you do. It is important to communicate this to your audience. Use your brand values to illustrate to your audience exactly who you are and what you stand for. People like to work with and purchase from brands that they know, like and trust.

According to the New York Times, creating a narrative around your business has multiple benefits. Narrative can activate a variety of elements in the brain which helps to solidify and fortify the consumer’s experience with the brand. A positive experience with a brand has the power to alter consumer decisions and buying behaviours.  

Utilize your brand values to create this narrative. Inform your audience about your interests and apply these values across your business to ensure a positive experience. You would be surprised at how significantly one experience can impact a cohort of people, especially when it comes to word-of-mouth marketing, both traditionally and digitally!