What is Most Branding Missing?
In essence, it's the attributes of making your consumer a living, breathing, decision maker who needs to interconnect with what you offer in order to convert. What do I mean by that you ask?
As a business owner, you fall in love with your product and/or service so much that you forget to position what you're offering in a way that doesn't appeal to just you. Branding and overall marketing communications should leave your potential future customers, and existing customers, feeling the way you feel. Without this sense of familiarity, you lose sense of not only who your customer is but you also miss out of brand loyalty - and customer acquisition is a lot more expensive than customer retention, so that's a share you don't want to miss out on.
The first step to developing a branding strategy your customers can relate to, is to know who your customer actually is. I don't just mean age group, house-hold income, and education level - I mean how do they feel about your brand? Do they face any challenges in the context of what you are offering? What kind of messaging appeals most to them and on what device? Are they interacting with your advertising in a positive way? Figuring out what their perception is provides a significant starting point in your business.
Find out who they are and then tell them a story worth hearing. You are the creator of your brand and you are therefore the brand's biggest advocate, what makes you feel that way and how can you make sure they feel the same way? The goal is to make your customers feel like you know them on a personal level, that you know what they need and/or want, and that you are here to provide that for them. A good story will lead their inner voices to whisper a thought along the lines of "That's me they're talking about". So if you are an active wear company who loves reading long articles but you know your client base looks to Instagram for most of their following, include more images and/or videos rather than making your messaging text heavy. If they predominantly like morning workouts since they use your active wear primarily for yoga, send them morning email communications with inspirational quotes. Tailor your brand to fit the need of your consumer, not the want of your brand.
Last but certainly not least, you need to figure out the "what's in it for me?" factor. We all like to think of ourselves as selfless souls with immeasurable benevolence. In reality, we always want some sort of benefit in whatever we decide to pursue. Whether it be a small compensation (monetary or emotional), long term or short term, our motives are still our driving force and your customers are no different. Before launching your next big announcement or even before you roll out your product and/or service, ensure you are clearly communicating what will your customer benefit from signing up for your newsletter / opening your email / clicking your ad / attending your event / - you get the idea.
Adding that personal touch to your branding will ensure that your mind-share, market-share, and profit-share are not jeopardized in your marketing efforts. With a bit more research and a lot more customer feedback consideration, you can make killer branding for your company.