Let’s break it down into three phases:

1. Awareness (Top of Funnel)
2. Consideration (Middle of Funnel)
3. Decision (Bottom of Funnel)

Ensuring your brand’s visuals, tone, messaging, personality, and customer experience are consistent across these phases is essential to higher sales.

But what happens if, along the way, your brand becomes inconsistent? Does it really matter?

The short answer is Yes, it absolutely matters.

Because your brand should be building authority, trust, and emotional connection at every stage, any deviant in your brand will break this process for your prospect. And if that happens, you’ll either have to work twice as hard to rebuild or you’ll lose the sale altogether.

Navigating the Customer Journey 

The most common issue I see are brands that focus consistency efforts on only a few high-level (Awareness) channels.

Doing this creates missed opportunities and lost sales. Gone are the days where customers would purchase after one or two interactions with your brand.

In today’s world, their journey will lead them to encounter your brand across any number of touch points. Not just in the Awareness phase, but in the Consideration and Decision phases also. A comprehensive brand guide that covers tone of voice, how to use your visuals, and an overview of your brand strategy will really help here. 

Let’s dive into all the touch points within these phases: 

Awareness Phase (Top of Funnel)

During the Awareness phase, customers become familiar with your brand through several channels. Ensure consistency in the following touch points:

• Website: I call this your digital homebase and it needs to exude your brand, through and through
• Social Media: Your brand’s voice and visuals should be cohesive across all active platforms. It’s also a fabulous place to showcase your brand’s personality and authenticity 
• Digital Ads: Consistent messaging and visuals catch their eye and reinforce your purpose
• Blogs: Informative content that aligns with your brand’s tone and builds trust
• Print and Traditional Advertising: A unified message with customized designs so the channel you’re creating for is optimized

Consideration Phase (Middle of Funnel)

In the Consideration phase, customers evaluate your brand more closely. Consistency is crucial in these areas:

• Email Marketing: If it’s not personalized messages that reflect your brand, you’re just cluttering their inbox
• Tradeshows: The physical representation of your brand can go miles for brand experience
• Webinars: Educational content that showcases your brand’s expertise and also maps back to your brand messaging and purpose
• Review Sites: Future customers will care more about other customer’s feedback than anything you have to say. See Post-Purchase below for ideas on how to make this a stellar piece
• Community: How you engage with your community can reinforce your brand values

Decision Phase (Bottom of Funnel)

As customers reach the Decision phase, they need to trust that your company can not only get the job they need done, but that your brand is one they’re genuinely happy to work with. Key touch points include:

• Demo Calls: Your internal brand and employee satisfaction is going to be on display through personalized presentations
• Sales Rep Touchpoints: How often and the manner in which your sales reps ping customers sets the tone your customer will expect. If you’re delighting them now, they’ll believe your brand will do so long-term
• Signing Up: Of course pricing will factor in but at the end of this process, your brand needs to make it as easy and attractive as possible for your customer to sign on the dotted line

Post-Purchase Phase (Building Loyalty)

Here’s a bonus consideration: After the customer signs on, maintaining brand consistency is crucial. Don’t be that company who drops focus and leaves customers feeling like they’re nothing more than a sales number! Not only do these keep you Top of Mind but they help ensure positive referrals to future prospective customers. Focus on these areas:

• Post-Purchase Follow-ups: Regular touchpoints with consistent messaging will reinforce brand loyalty
• Loyalty Programs: Show your customer you value them through rewards that align with your brand’s personality and overarching purpose.

Once you have consistency, you’ll need to maintain it. 

Once you have consistency, the best way to maintain everything is to assign someone to oversee future messages and materials. Of course, the more channels you’re in and wider your brand, the more time consuming this becomes. Rather than saddle one person on your team who is already wearing a few hats, consider outsourcing this to a fractional brand manager (this is something I offer!) who can dedicate a couple hours each week – or month, depending on your needs.

Schedule a Discovery call today and let’s ensure your brand is being consistently implemented across all of these touch points. We can also explore whether it makes sense to bring a fractional brand manager who can maintain your consistency as you add new materials and communications.

The post Three Phases in Your Customer’s Journey That Require Brand Consistency appeared first on Olio Branding.

The Trilogy of Branding Success

Imagine your brand strategy as a three-piece puzzle, where each piece is crucial to the complete picture:

• Springboard: Think of it as the DNA of your brand—promise, positioning, purpose, vision, mission, attributes, and guiding principles. These are the immutable truths that define who you are.
  
  
• Identity: This is how your brand dresses for the occasion—logo, fonts, colors, patterns, imagery. It’s your visual handshake in both digital and physical realms.
  
  
• Story: Here lies the magic—the messaging. More than an elevator pitch, it’s the narrative that stitches your WHY together and resonates among your target audience.

Why Your Brand Story Matters (More Than You Think)

Did you know people are 22x more likely to remember your brand story than mere facts about your company? That’s not just impressive; it’s a clarion call to action. Your brand story shouldn’t complicate things; it should enrich your connection with your audience through context, authenticity, and relatability.

The Art of Storytelling: Crafting Your Narrative

Every great story needs an outline:

• Provide Context: Share the origins, the who, the why. It’s the heartbeat of your narrative.
  
  
• Be Authentically You: Authenticity isn’t just a buzzword; it’s your story’s soul. Ditch the fluff for the real stuff.
  
  
• Principles as Pillars: Your brand’s promises and principles are the storyline that supports your narrative arc.
  
  
• Speak Human: Drop the jargon. Your story should feel like a coffee chat, not a corporate memo.
  
  
• Empathy is Everything: Relate, resonate, connect. Aim to create the feeling of a shared journey, not a monologue.

   

The Narrative Mosaic: Short Stories of Your Brand

You have more than one story to share. Consider the mosaic of mico-narratives you can craft based on your company’s specific details: 

• Origin Story: The why, the when, the who. The spark that ignited your brand’s flame.
  
  
• Process Story: Your secret sauce. The unique HOW that sets you apart.
  
  
• People Story: The heroes behind the logo. The minds and hearts that fuel your mission.

Together, These stories celebrate your uniqueness and build an emotional bridge to your audience.

Fine-Tuning Your Brand’s Voice: The Litmus Test

Are your stories hitting home, or are they echoing in an empty hall? Testing and refining your narrative is key:

• Know Your Audience: Understand their perception of your brand. Align your stories with their expectations and interests.
  
  
• Engagement Is Everything: Deploy, observe, tweak. Look for leads, conversations, and engagement as markers of resonance.

Pro Tip: A talented copywriter can make all the difference here, weaving emotion and authenticity into every word while keeping jargon at bay.

Your Story, Your Brand’s Legacy

Crafting your brand’s story is an invitation to your audience to embark on a journey of discovery, connection, and growth. It’s about creating a legacy that resonates, engages, and transforms. Remember, in the heart of your brand lies a story waiting to be told. Make it one that not only captures imaginations but also encapsulates the essence of who you are and why you matter.

So, what’s your story?

The post How to Write a Brand Story That Will Resonate appeared first on Olio Branding.

Luckily, December is typically a slower month for providing services and slogging through meetings – which makes it the perfect time to plan for how to enhance your branding efforts for the following year! To get you started, here are 10 brand ideas you can use to grow your business in 2024

10 Brand Ideas for 2024

1. Develop a brand message: Create a brand message that communicates your brand’s identity and USP in a clear, concise, and memorable way. Use this message consistently across all marketing channels. This will help you differentiate your business from competitors and create a clear and consistent message across all marketing channels.
   
   
2. Create a brand voice: Develop a distinctive voice for your brand that resonates with your target audience. Consistency in tone and language can help your brand stand out and build brand loyalty.
   
   
3. Build a strong visual identity: Create a visual identity for your brand that reflects your brand’s values, personality, and goals. This includes your logo, color palette, typography, and imagery. Consistency in visual identity can help your brand stand out and build recognition.
   
   
4. Create a website that reflects your brand: Your website should reflect your brand’s identity and visual identity. It should also be easy to navigate and provide clear calls to action that drive conversions.
   
   
5. Use social media strategically: Social media can be a powerful tool for building brand awareness and engaging with your target audience. Develop a social media strategy that aligns with your brand’s values and personality.
   
   
6. Leverage content marketing: Use content marketing to provide value to your target audience and build brand awareness. This can include blog posts, videos, infographics, and more.
   
   
7. Develop strategic partnerships: Partnering with other businesses or organizations can help you reach a wider audience and build brand awareness. Look for partnerships that align with your brand’s values and goals.
   
   
8. Attend events: Attend events that are relevant to your industry and target audience. This can be a great way to build relationships with potential customers and partners.
   
   
9.  Step up your thought leadership efforts. Speaking presentations, blog writing, white papers, and guest podcast appearances all help raise your brand awareness, while positioning you as an expert in what your company offers.
   
   
10. Measure and refine: Use data to measure the success of your brand strategy and refine your approach as needed. This can include tracking website traffic, social media engagement, and sales data.

It’s important to note you do NOT have to implement all of these at the same time. If you’re starting from scratch, we recommend you begin with the first three on this list. Get your brand foundations in place and then choose where to begin implementing your messaging and identity. 

Looking for more information or want to brainstorm specific ideas for your business? Get in touch today to get started! 

The post 10 Brand Ideas Small Businesses Can Use to Grow Their Business in 2024 appeared first on Olio Branding.