Tips on how to improve your branding and marketing

Titans in your industry often hit the headlines. This is because their products are marketed so admirably. So, why not relate what they do to what you do and take your company to the big league?

There are some basic things that almost every young entrepreneur knows about marketing or branding, especially when it comes to opening up a fresh business or starting your journey in commerce. They include logo, brand strategy, etc. 

But if those aspects are so widely recognizable, why doesn't everybody run a multimillion corporation? The clue to bigger horizons is to think globally. Thus, you can better reach customers and build a connection that will improve your branding and overall marketing efforts.

Of course, not everyone has such a powerful marketing team and huge budgets. But this article aims to change the angle from which you are looking at branding, in general. The point is that all those behemoths once were just unknown startups. Now, it's your turn to discover their path and adopt the best tactics.

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1. Begin with your brand personality

Typically, in this part, people tend to talk about logos. But think more about emotions. Emotions are the primary force that drives purchases and brands. There is no need to mention Apple and Coca Cola twice. Customers associate themselves with these companies emotionally.

Giants use archetypes to build that emotional connection and trigger a purchase.

According to The Hartford, there are 12 archetypes that represent people's desires and create the connection between customer and brand. For example, Nike appears to be a Hero type, whose main descriptive word may be 'inspiration', which is precisely what they deliver to their clients. So, now all you have to do is choose and adapt your marketing strategy to one of the types. Aligning to one of those archetypes, you will be able to connect with your customer on a deeper level.

2. Reveal your vision

What does your company stand for? Do you advocate changes to the world? A feature that makes a difference between industry leaders and other companies is their proactive position. You have to show the customers your impact. You are not just earning money, but you want to change society for the better. This way, people understand that they are not only paying for some brand but also support a bigger mission. 

McDonald's is one of the trendsetters here. They are steadily arranging various child support campaigns throughout the planet. For example, this year's 'Family is Medicine' in Canada highlighted the problems of sick children and their parents. Certainly, you can't arrange such a global movement, but if you show your interest in your local community issues, that definitely will attract new clients.

 3. Be responsive to the changes

Can you assume what happens next? Where is it all going? The key to running a successful image campaign is adaptation. You have to embrace the new possibilities and predict what they can bring to you. The best thing is that you can oversee how an item or notion will develop and create new associations with it among your customers. 

Here is an example of such a step into the future. Have you ever thought about how space may sound like? In their marketing strategy, NASA has gone further and made a fantastic collaboration with SoundCloud. They had launched a specific playlist with different sounds from all over the Solar System, including Sun Sonification and Saturn vibes. Auditorium impact was incredible, and costs were almost inconsiderable.

 4. Old-fashioned marketing still counts

Now, when marketing becomes an online space and is mainly oriented on things like search optimization and influencer's promotion, chasing clients, we forget about the actual customer service. Big companies never underestimate the power of global real-world courses of action.

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Ikea's strategy was genius here. Probably, you won't go to the furniture store every weekend, but you definitely will go out for a meal with your folks or friends. And that is a moment when buying a cabinet turns into a full-fledged experience for the whole family. It gives inspiration and fun. Analyze areas and context where your audience already exists, and find a way to reach them out there, even if it's offline.

Final word

A small business with limited experience and resources can successfully compete with mega-corporations. To get to the top faster, try to build emotional connection, find a purpose you believe in, and stay one step ahead of the other but don't forget about time-tested tools.