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If you want to create a brand then you will need to put in a lot of work. You need to make sure that you are maintaining your brand image and that you are taking steps to create an experience your customers can be proud of. This is easier said than done, and sometimes, the way you want to be seen, isn’t how your customers see you. If you want to do something about this or if you want to make sure that your brand isn’t experiencing any kind of disconnect then all you have to do is take a look below.
You Have No Customer Data
How much do you know about your customers? Do you have an idea of when they work? How often do they go shopping? How much money do they have? Where do they tend to spend it? The point here is that the more you know about your customers, the better experience you can provide. The best thing you can do in any instance would be for you to collect as much relevant information as you can about the people you serve. If you can do this then you will soon find that you can tweak your value proposition, so you can feel more confident in your brand. If you ignore the issue then it will only cause a brand disconnect later down the line.
Marketing in a Vacuum
Let’s say you’ve been talking with your marketing department and they come up with a great campaign that builds up your customer service. It might have a big budget and it may even have great visibility. You may even find that customers end up flocking to you, but then they find that your service and the way you treat your customers is nothing short of disappointing. If you want to help yourself here then you need to be on the same page as your marketing team. You have to make sure that any claims are verified and that you also negate damage to your campaign. Warranty claims have to be justified and service coverage needs to be monitored too. If you can’t do this then you may find that you end up promising things that you just can’t deliver and this can be very damaging to your campaign overall. Sometimes, the repercussions can be dire, to the point where your company cannot recover from it. All in all, the best way for you to avoid this would be for you to chat with your marketing team and make sure that you are all on the same page. Make sure that your marketing team is not making promises that you can’t deliver on and that they are supporting you in your journey. If you can do this then you are bound to see an improvement.
Your Product Lines are Not Consistent
Businesses normally do have a lot of product lines that are consistent with the core strengths. If you are a distributor for aquariums, you should not be selling car parts. If you decide to sell products that don’t relate to your offerings, then you may find that this ends up coming back to hurt you at a later date. If you have an idea that is for a new and unrelated product, and you feel as though it could work for you then you might want to try and set up an alternative stream for it. If you can do this then you will soon find that it is easier for you to promote your new line without you having to worry about it clashing with the ideas or the core brand image that you have now.
Your Marketing Isn’t Targeted
Is your marketing message somewhat diluted? Are you speaking to anybody in particular? If so then this is a sign that you are not getting much mileage. General statements tend to be filtered out as they are noise. This is the last thing you want, so make sure that you are mindful of this. If you can, you also need to make sure that you take steps to speak to a specific audience, so that you can cater to people’s specific needs. If your message connects with the customer then this is great, you have just established to them that you can offer value and this is something you can’t underestimate.
You’re Not Listening
It may be that your customers are speaking to you but you aren’t listening. If what you happen to value is vastly different from what your customer values then this is a sign that something has to change. Invaluable feedback doesn’t just improve your brand name, it helps with your brand image too. It improves your performance and it also helps a lot with customer satisfaction. This will all reflect on your bottom line, so make sure that you keep this in consideration if you can.
You’re Taking Things as they Come
Do you think that you are taking things as they come? Promoting and releasing content without any kind of unifying theme is a major mistake. Making decisions on the fly, without any consideration for your market or even your company’s performance is a major rookie error. You may also end up with a disjointed brand identity that is simply all over the place. If this is the case then you need to do something about this. Marketing plans have to be flexible and they also have to be planned. Special consideration has to go into marketing shifts, along with trending pop culture. You also have to take into account changing technology. If you don’t then you may find that you end up struggling over time and that you end up with a weak brand. If you can capitalize on things like this though then you will be able to strengthen your brand more than you realize and this will work in your favor. If you want to strengthen your brand and your marketing then one thing you can do is invest in a Salesforce consulting firm. When you do, you can then count on them to give you all of the support you need regarding your investment.
What Happens as the Result of Brand Disconnect?
If you speak to anybody then they will not argue with you if you tell them how important it is to sell on Amazon and other major sites. The issue arises when niche brands struggle to establish a relationship that goes beyond just the sale. You need to build relationships and you also need to make sure that you reach out to your customers. If you do not capture repeat business and if you lose out on trust and identity then this will impact your trust and loyalty, when in reality, all of this can be avoided.
Brands that rely on selling through marketplaces often lack the data they need to reach their customers after they have made the sale. Signing up for a reward card is easy when you run a storefront but if you sell through a third-party site then it can be difficult for you to establish this kind of connection. You may find that it is difficult to establish a connection with customers and that you are not able to send them as many useful offers as you might like. If you don’t have an opportunity to create a customer connection then you also miss out on the chance to generate repeat business. If you have a niche brand then having a repeat business base is the key to long-term success. Another issue that comes with brand disconnect is there is nothing that sets your brand apart from the rest. Even though there might be unique features with your brand, it is hard to convey them if you are a small site or if you are relying on a third-party site to ship your goods for you. The issue of brand disconnect is very real for niche brands, as well as small companies. Even though challenges like this can be incredibly frustrating, small companies and niche brands do have tools that they can use to bridge the gap.
One of them would be SMS messaging. For small businesses, this gives you the chance to open dynamic dialogue and even conversation about your products. You can do this with ease if you simply have the right messaging platform. Put a focus on being engaging and also make sure that you open the right kind of conversation about your product. If you can do this then there’s no reason at all why you shouldn’t be able to bridge the gap. For brands, having this kind of service can turn a customer who has bought from you through Amazon, into a loyal advocate of your brand and this is worth more than the price they might have paid for your product in the first place. If you can keep things like this in consideration, it’ll help you out a lot later down the line as you `build your business.
