In today’s world, names like Google, Apple, and Nike aren’t considered as mere companies but big brands. These enterprises have become so popular and big that they are easily recognized by people across the globe. The question is- what are some of the things that make them so memorable and unique? In this blog, we shed light on 9 important ingredients of building an unforgettable brand. So, let’s get started, shall we?
1. Logo
Visuals play a huge role in the memorability factor. When you visit a store of a popular brand, then you may not necessarily remember the products that are on display, unless they are radically new for the time, but the logo is something that settles downs in the back of your mind almost permanently. To take an example, the burgers of Burger King, McDonald’s and KFC aren’t disguisable for most people. However, it’s easy to recognize any of these restaurants by the logos.
If you want to build a brand that’s instantly recognized around the world, then you must create an attractive and unique logo. You can do it using a design agency, a freelancer designer or one of the advanced logo design programs that are commonly used by small businesses, allowing you to create professional-quality logos in a matter of minutes!
2. Loyalty
If a brand has a loyal fanbase, then it can also qualify as a memorable and powerful brand. This is because a brand can only be powerful when it has a massive army of loyal patrons who love it and admire it. With strength comes authority and that eventually leads to market dominance and memorability.
There are various ways you can promote loyalty in your target demographic. Engaging with your customers can be one of the first steps that you take in that regard as that can create a strong sense of community among them. So, you can turn to social media to run contests and giveaways, and offer discounts, special deals, etc. You can also try to take customer feedback more seriously. Remember- the happier your customers are with their relationship with your brand, the more loyal they will be.
3. Reputation
With money, you can bolster your staff, buy more equipment, expand office space, and open new locations. However, one thing that you can’t directly buy is reputation. To build a good reputation, you have to earn it the hard way. You have to instill trust in your fans and followers, and for that, you have to ensure that there is no room for toxicity in the company culture, and you maintain integrity and respect your patrons.
There is no dearth of brands that teach us how reputation can be managed successfully. For instance, when KFC ran out of chicken in 2018, it forced the company to shut down as many as 900 restaurants in Ireland and the UK. However, rather than playing the blame-game or dodging the media altogether, the company instantly owned up to its mistake. It even used full pages in newspapers to apologize for the massive disaster that it had become a part of. The result? It worked! The fans, as upset as they were, were also empathic about the situation and understood where the company was coming from. This taught other brands an important lesson- transparency and openness in branding can go a long way in building a reputation.
4. Mission Statement
One major difference between a company and a brand is that the former aims at just selling more and more goods, while the latter has a mission statement as well. This mission statement is the heart and soul of a brand. The employees understand it well, and it drives them to work harder and stronger. As a result, the company has a powerful culture and even the people who buy its products and services feel the enthusiasm and passion the mission statement provides.
5. Originality
It’s not hard to understand why something that’s generic would be easily forgettable. This is why memorable brands are truly original. Their logos, advertisements, communication and marketing style, or rather everything is original! Can you think of any logo that’s similar to Coca-Cola? Or do you know any brand that “gives you wings” (Redbull)? These creative and unique branding entities are what that makes these companies memorable.
To make your brand 100% original, you can check other brands first, especially those from your own industry. This will help you understand what’s working for them, and what’s not. You can draw inspiration from the logos, copy, social media content, etc. of some of the biggest rivals and use the information to create something that’s nothing like what’s out there.
6. Consistency
You can’t try different kinds of things with your brand and expect it to stand out. What you need is consistency- in messaging, visuals, and communication. If you want to be a fun tongue-in-cheek brand, then show that kind of personality in your logo and social media posts. Similarly, if you want to appeal to highbrow professionals, then you should stick to a formal tone and sober colors like black and white. Remember- you can’t achieve memorability if you are one thing today and another tomorrow.
7. Influencers
Influencer marketing has become incredibly popular lately. However, it can also help in making your brand more memorable. For instance, you can get more reviews for your ecommerce products from your customers by securing reviews from top influencers first. You can also leverage the engaging personalities of the influencers, especially the micro-influencers to portray your business as an interesting brand.
Contrary to popular belief, finding the right influencers and establishing business partnerships with them is pretty easy. For instance, you can use appropriate hashtags to locate the top influencers that are using them. You can also set up Google Alerts so that you can find people who are mentioning certain keywords about your brand online. If even this seems too much of work, then you can use blogger outreach platforms like BuzzStream and BlogDash to contact relevant influencers directly.
8. Target Demographic
A common mistake that budding entrepreneurs make is that they try to sell to everyone. Powerful branding and marketing don’t work this way. You need to define your target demographic and shape your messaging around it. The more detailed you are about the definition of your target audience, the better. Once you have nailed that, you can expect to create a unique identity in a world that’s crowded with big and small brands.
9. Brand Voice
Brand voice is the uniformity in the attitude, values, and words that a brand uses in public. It’s how a brand connects with the target demographic and it’s present at every customer touchpoint which is a point where the company interacts with a customer (collaterals, emails, packaging, etc.).
You can think of brand voice as the personality of your brand. So, if your brand were a human being, then the way they would talk to others would be the foundation of your brand voice. In other words, their style which can be formal, informal, witty, etc. can decide how your business communication takes place.
In today’s world where you have tools for almost anything, a brand voice generator can help you with finding your own consistent tone.
Bottom Line
A memorable brand isn’t memorable because of its product line. Sure, no one can’t deny that quality products and customer service are important. However, to be one-of-a-kind, you also need all the right ingredients that are discussed above. So, be sure to conduct a thorough self-review today and add the remaining ingredients to your brand, if there are any. Good luck!
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