Branding is not about what your logo or name of the company is, nor is it some press release to the world or giving a notification to the people that you exist. It’s not even merely a strategy laid out in a Google doc. Branding is something that cannot be seen- but only felt.
Think about most of the companies you have ever seen through:
Where does that enthusiasm to try on the latest collections Adidas shoes come from?
Why do Apple products despite being so pricey, alleviate stress, and allow for a state of pride and luxury?
What made you engage with ALS Association’s #IceBucketChallenge and post your video of it?
How is it that you click on every single Uber email they send you to check for any coupon code, even though no giftable holidays are coming up?
Now that’s what branding is supposed to be like.
Branding is where you mix emotions, engagement, and expectations with the business. The mission of a business and customer participation incorporated into one will form a robust branding. This can encompass your communications, products, and even web presence. It is seared into your product details, shopping cart checkout page, and customer emails.
Building a great branding is the most valuable currency a company can ever have to get a competitive advantage in the market. People will want to purchase a product from you only if you build your brand story by making an emotional connection with the consumers.
Since e-commerce is booming and one of the most effective ways to become a big brand exponentially, building an engaging platform is the most critical achievement. It is kind of like a KPI that is not tangible, but if done right, every single goal can be knocked down like a domino.
Know Thy Customer
The needs and wants of the consumer always keep changing, which means the actions that dictate your company will help you set on a path knowing timely what your customer wants at the right moment and at the right time.
At times, companies, in the beginning, are unsure about who their audience is. Also, even at times, people stop focusing on their consumers’ behavior patterns and instead start concentrating more on the product or the catalog, which may make them miss out on valuable information that might help increase sales.
It is not a problem that cannot be solved. You can take time to reflect on the past buyers and their patterns. Assemble a tool for analytics that can help look for trends and reflect on the experiences you have with your customers.
Analytics and insights in buying behavior can help you understand your customer and their relation with your products and brand. Analytics include purchase funnel, abandoned cart recovery data, regional sales orders, most bought products, etc. which can be helpful to understand who the customers are that are buying from you. This, in turn, will help you provide personalize customer experience.
Share Your Underdog Story
Storytelling has been popular throughout the history of humankind. As humans, we are better suited to remember and emotionally connect with others through stories than any other medium. Especially, stories based on how an underdog got his way to the top are more relatable as everyone somewhere in their life goes through that phase at least once.
So, you must tell the story of your brand. Tell it in a way that helps you build trust among your prospects and allows them a peek into the often hidden life of your business.
- Why do you exist?
- Why are you even in business?
- There are millions of online stores. Why should someone choose you to buy your product and give money?
Customers connect with the Why of your business. As per a famous quote by Simon Sinek in his book Start with Why:-
People don’t buy what you do; they buy WHY you do it.
These are some serious questions, and every customer on your e-commerce site is going to ask them. Some items or offers from you might make them fall in love with you and win their conversion long before they care about who you are, but for the most part, customers want to know you just the way you want to know them.
So, tell them through different online mediums they most often check you at. Tell them:
- Why you started the business
- Who you are
- What you care about
- What you stand for
- Why you stand for it, and
- Anything else that matters
The answers to these questions should be fed into your online branding strategy. It will help you position your business as different from others. Try pitching your story to journalists for extra media coverage and brand awareness.
Champion Cause
Every company is built around a particular set of ideals and ethics. You need to convey this clearly to the world and make your customers understand what your brand promise along with it. You need to communicate why it matters and build a fan following of faithful customers and well-wishers dedicated to your cause.
People always join in a fight if they find a vision that matches or signifies some meaning in their lives. Hence, they will get to associate with your brand with more hope and in turn, become well-wishers who will spread the news of your brand as the best brand than the competitors in the world.
So, be sure to mention this change not just on your About Us page, but reflect it in your online footprints – that is a part of branding. Start small with such causes, and it will turn viral soon over time.
Extreme expectations
Over-promises are destroying any new e-commerce that is trying to bring attention to them. People hate disappointment and are too quick to discard any supplier or seller if they cannot deliver or take back the package on time. So, you do not want your branding to be associated with false promises in anyways.
Creating an indefensible situation where you assure more than you can always deliver will offend your audience and destroy the confidence you worked so ardently to win. And this is most noticeable in return and shipping activities. Firstly, be honest and forthright about your capabilities on policies. You might not be able to deliver in a super lightning speed like Amazon can, which might cause an accident (because they have invested huge capital in shipment and third-party carriers). However, still, honesty will take you much further than a negative review, which is why to have an excellent post shipping experience by the customer is necessary.
Shipway has a multiple solution power packed in one single system, which can help you stabilize any catalytic problems regarding the shipment, return, and attending customers with the tracking.
Not only should your return and shipping policies be fancy, but you can even fancy your bulk activities and workload by automating your e-commerce shipping overall.
Focus Exclusively on Defined Market
This is possibly the most powerful action you can do to direct your branding flow. By custom-tailoring your solution, you can only focus on marketing, targeting, and messaging to the customers that are possible to get converted. This process will instantly eliminate the hassle and cash-burn of pleasing all (digital marketing isn’t cheap after all).
You need to define or redefine your market and then speak to the customers in a way that your branding will resonate with them. Develop your brand persona in a way that will help you understand who they are.
Since not everyone is your target market, and not everyone needs to like your messaging,
Shipway is a fantastic automation software that helps you focus on customer feedback and NPS (Net Promoter score). It can help you even brand tracking pages (targeted videos, product displays, optional polls, and feedback, etc.) so you can personalize the experience of a customer with you and cross-sell. This will keep the existing customers glued to you in the best possible way.
Get advice, Reflect & Refine
Even if you manage to embed tech-savvy software to monitor your tracking, accounting, shipping, and other things, you need to work in refining your ideal customer by placing yourself in their shoes.
You will need to ask what challenges do a customer faces?
What makes them buy only once and not visit again?
What makes them not open your email?
What kind of marketing needs to be done to attract them and make them loyal?
Use these questions to figure out how you can build dependence and add value to their lives. With a centered view of your target market, this becomes exceptionally manageable and more successful.
Indirectly, refining your brand can be the single most impactful action you can take to improve your conversion rate. So, take the customer feedback and NPS score seriously to make progress; otherwise, the negative reviews will keep piling up and ruin the business in a short time.
Conclusion
Building an excellent e-commerce brand and creating a close relationship with the target customer is an art in-and-out of itself. This crucial piece of information about the e-commerce puzzle is what separates the “haves and have nots” in the industry.