Why is a Fresh Brand-Building Strategy Required?
The world of business continually evolves year on year. This means that the approach companies take in terms of their marketing has to continually be effective to remain competitive.
In marketing arenas such as digital publishing and social media, steady evolvement is to be expected. After all, in these online landscapes every few months there can be monumental shifts with fresh new platforms being launched and various algorithms being altered (often countless times in just a few months).
But because another aspect of marketing – namely branding – experiences fewer changes, it is frequently overlooked in terms of finding and implementing new strategies. Nevertheless, it’s imperative to understand that the brand image of your company must also evolve so it closely reflects not only the current needs but also the current and future expectations of the consumer.
It’s Not Always About Being the Cheapest
You may believe that one way to succeed in building out a strong green brand is to embrace lower pricing margins. Much in the same way that Walmart does, for example. Depending on your market focus, this approach may or may not work too well. Even less so if your target market includes a large proportion of millennial buyers.
Younger-aged consumers are more than happy to pay more for a higher-quality product or for high-caliber customer service.
According to the US-based consultancy company, PWC, some 42% of consumers stated that they would be happy to pay more for a customer experience that was friendly and welcoming. And in the same poll, it was found that 52% (of millennials) would pay extra for a customer experience that was quick and efficient.
According to the Nielsen Global Corporate Sustainability Report, it was found that almost three from four millennials would spend more on products that come from a sustainable resource.
Because there are so many choices on the market these days, consumers (particularly millennials) are happy to splash more cash providing they receive something extra in return. Either that or they’ll spend more on a company’s goods and/or services if it’s going to benefit a good cause.
Too Many Faceless Adverts – Not Enough Personal Branding
Today, consumers are met with relentless advertising at every corner: when on Instagram; when riding the subway; when listening in on a podcast; when watching TV…
For most of these advertising interactions, the consumer is informed, over and over, just how important such and such a brand is. But because there’s so much advertising – faceless advertising – the average consumer is finding it harder and harder to trust the intended message.
This overbearing exposure to faceless advertising has, possibly so, dictated the rise in popularity of a different advertising strategy that companies can embrace – a much more personal branding experience that involves a human approach which does nothing short of adding value to your content, and thus to your product or service. It is a lot easier to place your trust in a human than it is to achieve any particular expectation from a logo.
It’s an approach that is now easier to accomplish given the spread of social media where ideas and concepts are able to circulate in viral fashion.
Through the publishing of valuable, highly shareable content, be that in the form of YouTube videos, Instagram stories, blog posts, posts on LinkedIn, or something else, there’s far greater opportunity to reach out to more people and to establish better awareness of your green brand.
Giving Back
The global marketing communications group, Omnicom, found that 70% of millennials are happy to spend more on brands that are supportive of charitable causes.
The success of companies such as Bombas and TOMS has shown us that the modern-day consumer truly cares and supports brands that are mission-driven.
It’s not so much about a business solely providing an excellent range of products or services these days – it’s now also about companies giving back in terms of supporting good causes.
There are various ways a company can ‘give back.’ The allocation of a portion of profits; the donation of a proportion of products made; permitting employees to contribute a certain amount of time to volunteering and so on.
What Will You Do?
Other aspects or processes within your business will evolve over time so as to reflect altering trends in the marketplace and consumer expectation and so should your company’s brand image.
Over the coming few months to years, applying the strategies discussed above could provide you with that all-important edge over your competitors.
