Building your Brand Equity

There is a big difference between building brand equity and just getting branded. Many people have spent thousands of dollars on branding yet their business still doesn’t take off. That is because there is a component missing! What’s the missing component? There are several factors that contribute to this missing component. First let’s take a look at what actually makes a brand.

There are two parts to create any successful brand: Brand image and Brand experience. Brand image is the way your brand is perceived by the public. This could be the logo or slogan, word of mouth or having a website, all which contribute to the brand image. Brand experience is what your customers experience while they are buying your product or using your services. This could range from their first conversation with the company to the final product they receive.

Essentials to create your internet brand image:

1. Create your color scheme which will be consistently used across the board for everything.

2. Have a logo designed for you including your color scheme.

3. Get professional business cards made.

4. Make a website using the same color scheme.

 

5. Create accounts and brand yourself on the Big 4 (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn).

By following the 5 steps above it will have a great impact on the way you or your business is perceived.

Creating a brand image on the internet is crucial as more and more people become tech savvy and start using it. Having a website is pretty much a staple for any business now and it is becoming more common to even see individuals creating websites as a central hub to market themselves for future job opportunities or to promote their professional services. Either way having a website and brand image is not enough to see tangible results from your efforts. You need to be able to market your brand image and convert customers and that is all covered in the Marketing section of this blog.

Essentials to creating an internet brand experience:

1. Customer service

2. Quality information

3. Easy navigation

These 3 steps may seem simple but they are the back bone to building a customer base. The brand image may initially attract people but unless you can provide them value then they will just be visitors and never convert into customers. The brand experience is what sells a visitor and turns them into a long-term customer.

Customer service is a given.. People want to get their problem solved immediately and by having a 24hr response guarantee this will greatly help your customers experience.

Quality information is what the visitor will see after digging into the meat of what you have to offer.You should always provide potential customers with high quality information brochures or packages via e-mail to help them make informed decisions.

Easy navigation means that visitors can easily find what their looking for on your website without having to get additional help. This will make life much easier for both you and your visitors and will increase the overall experience. Brand experience creates returning satisfied customers and puts you or your company a step above everyone else.

This article can be summed up by stating that a Brand Image will initially attract visitors, a Brand experience will create a relationship with your visitors and turn them into paying customers. Both are required to substantially build your Brand equity year after year. This Brand equity can then be beneficially used to your advantage in various avenues which we will talk about in another post.

Take it to the next level.

- Jon Brodzik