In today’s competitive marketplace, companies must endeavor to build value to their brands and translate that value into a strategic communicative effort to their customers. The democratization of the marketplace means brands must continue to distinguish themselves from their competitors, which is a challenging feat unto itself.
A crucial way that brands can build positive brand perception is to build a brand identity strategy through the shared experience. Brands and consumers participate in this shared experience through expectations, memories and relationships.
While primarily a mental creation, brand perception drives consumer decision to correspond to a particular brand, product or service.
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Measuring brand perception
To measure brand perception, it is important for companies to understand that this mental creation is built by the consumer. Brands can better understand what people think and say about their products or services by analyzing social conversations.
Analyzing social conversations helps brands identify which sentiments consumers associate with their products or campaigns. Social metrics offer valuable insights that can highlight strengths and weaknesses, reshaping and positively reinforcing market perception. For further strategies on understanding consumer sentiment, check out Bitmoji.
To build consumer trust in this competitive landscape, brands must strategically shape the market perception, identifying and targeting opportunities to “own” a marketing niche. To carve out a respective market share, here are some ways for companies to create stronger brand positioning.
1. Market research
Perform analysis to better position your brand within the competitive landscape.
A thorough analysis will identify strengths as well as challenges to address. Effective market research will also identify present/future threats to your brand’s market perception, highlighting direct and indirect competitors and opportunities to better serve your customers.
Market research will provide invaluable information on how effective your marketing campaigns are. Gathering data on marketing campaigns will enable your brand to design marketing initiatives that reach your target audience(s) where they are.
When looking to strategically scale the business, market research will identify which new channels (physical stores, new product features, enhanced services, etc.) will optimally grow the business.
2. Brand identity
Measure brand perception to develop a strong brand identity that will resonate with your target audience(s).
Effective branding is crucial in building your brand’s market perception. Your brand identity is how you portray your business, products or services to the world and respective competitors.
Your brand communicates through various platforms:
- Logo
- Tone of voice
- Signage
Developing a strong brand identity that resonates with your target audience can positively influence purchasing decisions. It will also serve to help audiences differentiate your company, appropriately positioning your brand against its competitors. An effective brand identity ensures your audience can connect with your brand, instilling customer loyalty and trust.
3. Multi-channel engagement
Know how to effectively communicate your brand stories to build trust and favorably sway your brand’s market perception.
The continuously evolving digital landscape has created new avenues for brands to engage in social conversations. In today’s internet-driven era, embedding your brand in social conversations can only be effectively done through multi-channel engagement.
It has become increasingly important that brands are present where their customers are.
Awareness and accessibility are intangible to market perception. Today’s consumer looks to form bonds with a brand before employing their purchasing decision. Connecting on the right platforms, whether that’s on social media or targeted email campaigns, tailors your brand’s market perception, creating greater influence on a consumer’s purchasing decision.
Using a consistent, content-driven and multi-channel approach to shape the market’s perception of your brand can result in a seamless customer experience, influencing purchasing decisions favorably towards your brand.
Understanding your USP
Positively shaping market perception starts with identifying your brand’s unique selling point (USP).
Having a clear USP provides the following advantages:
- Distinguishes your brand from its competitors
- Provides a clear direction for your brand
- Enables you to favorably sway customers towards your products or services
- Assists your brand in bringing value and building consumer trust — two key drivers to shaping market perception.
Applying the strategies highlighted above will enable your brand to carve out a unique identity, creating positive brand perception in a competitive marketplace.
AUTHOR BIO
Stuart Harris is the Creative Director at Yellow, a Dubai branding agency, digital partner and advertising company working with progressive businesses to build bold, meaningful brands.
