How to Build a Standout Brand
Building a successful brand requires more than just a great product or service. To truly stand out in today's crowded marketplace, you need to focus on three key elements:
- Visibility
- Credibility
- Relevance
Visibility
The first step is to ensure your brand is visible. If you're not being seen, you're invisible. 81% of consumers need to trust a brand before they will purchase from it, and visibility is a key factor in building that trust.
Being visible means finding ways to make your brand stand out, like a "flamingo in a flock of pigeons." This could involve bold branding, strategic marketing, or simply being more active and engaged with your target audience. Once you've established visibility, the next step is to build credibility.
Credibility
Consumers are more likely to purchase from a brand they recognize, even if they don't have personal experience with it. 70% of consumers are more likely to buy from a brand they are familiar with. But credibility goes beyond just name recognition - your brand also needs to be seen as trustworthy and reliable.
This means focusing on consistent, high-quality messaging and delivering on your promises to customers.
Relevance
The final piece of the puzzle is relevance. Even if your brand is visible and credible, it won't matter if it's not relevant to your target audience. 82% of consumers feel more positively about a brand that is relevant to their interests. To achieve relevance, you need to deeply understand your ideal customer and ensure your brand's messaging, products, and services align with their needs and pain points.
Achieving this trifecta of visibility, credibility, and relevance is the key to building a truly standout brand.
But how do you actually get there? Here is a four-step process we do at Odom Design Company:
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Craft your brand story. This starts with understanding your "why" - the deeper purpose behind your brand. What is your mission? What are your core values? Answering these questions will help you define your brand's authentic identity and voice.
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Find your target audience. You can't be all things to all people, so it's crucial to identify your key customer. This may involve creating detailed customer personas or segmenting your market based on demographics, psychographics, or behaviors. The goal is to deeply understand your ideal client so you can speak directly to their needs.
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Define your positioning. How will your brand stand out in a crowded market? What is your unique value proposition? Careful positioning is what will make your brand memorable and relevant. This may involve staking a claim to a specific "one word" identity, like "reliable" or "performance."
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Bring your brand to life through design. The design process is where the strategic rubber meets the road. Through research, ideation, refinement, and expansion, you'll translate your brand's essence into a cohesive visual identity that resonates with your target audience.
Let me emphasize here the importance of consistency. Your brand's personality, tone of voice, messaging, and visual elements must all work together seamlessly to create a unified, recognizable presence.
Building a standout brand is no easy feat, but the payoff can be significant. Consumers are more likely to trust, engage with, and purchase from brands they are familiar with and find relevant.
By focusing on visibility, credibility, and relevance, you can cut through the noise and make your brand impossible to ignore.
Of course, this is just the beginning.
Once you've established a strong brand foundation, the real work of scaling and growing your business can begin. This may involve expanding your digital presence, creating compelling content, and partnering with complementary brands - shameless plug: Odom Design Company for all your merch needs!
Ultimately, building a standout brand is an ongoing process of self-discovery, customer understanding, and creative expression.
But by keeping those three key elements - visibility, credibility, and relevance - at the heart of your efforts, you can position your brand for long-term success.
-Matt Odom