The Ultimate Guide to Brand Marketing in 2020 and Beyond

Keeping your brand consistent throughout your many marketing channels can increase revenue by up to 23%. An inconsistent brand, on the other hand, could cause you to lose customers.

In order to keep your brand consistent, you need to start with a thorough marketing plan.

Ready to learn how to plan and execute an effective brand marketing campaign this year? With a plan in place, you can expand your reach, build stronger business relationships, and make yourself an authority in your industry.

Here is our brand marketing guide for a stronger brand in 2020 and beyond.

Benefits of Branding

It can take five to seven impressions before people even remember your brand. With a signature color and a brand marketing plan however, you can boost brand recognition by up to 80%.

Those are only a few benefits of brand marketing. If you’re on the fence about taking the time and effort to build your brand, here are a few benefits of branding in marketing to consider. 

Recognition and Loyalty

If consumers have no idea who you are, they have to reason to choose your business.

Brand marketing will help you stand out from the crowd. Distinctive brand elements, such as a color palette, tone, and imagery, can all visually differentiate you from competitors. Once you stand out, you can use your unique value proposition to communicate the benefits of choosing your business.

Once you start building brand awareness, you’ll become more recognizable in the market.

Whether people see your store, your product labels, your website, or a social media post, they’ll know it’s you from a glance.

That recognition will save you time and effort. Customers will learn to associate your visual brand with your brand values. 

People trust brands they recognize. As you build brand recognition, you can also boost sales.

Over time, you can turn that brand recognition into brand loyalty. Brand loyalty will help you retain customers. You won’t have to spend money, time, and effort trying to convince people to buy your product or service.

Instead, they’ll already know how great you are.

Look Bigger

You don’t need to grow into a worldwide conglomerate to look big. Your brand can do that for you.

Strong brand marketing will help you create the image that you’re a large, established business. You won’t have to spend thousands of dollars on marketing and advertising. Instead, you can use your brand to make you seem big and successful.

Creating this image will assure customers. They’re more likely to trust a company that’s established and has maintained success in the industry.

Trying to attract more customers? Make sure to avoid these mistakes.

Kick Up Quality

You can also use these branding tips to project the image of quality.

Your brand can communicate your product or service’s quality and value. If you look cheap or flimsy, people won’t choose your product. Instead, they’ll take their business elsewhere.

Your brand can convince customers that you’re the higher-quality option in your industry.

Appear Reliable and Experienced

Brand marketing can also help customers perceive you as experienced in the industry. That experience can make you appear reliable and knowledgeable. Customers are more likely to choose a business they can rely on.

An unbranded company, on the other hand, won’t build trust.

Segment Products

Do you offer multiple products? Sometimes, it’s difficult for people to differentiate two very similar products without proper branding. You might also want to advertise your products to completely different audiences.

Brand marketing can help you segment your products and market to different customers.

Otherwise, you’re using one broad message that might not appeal to every customer.

How to Create a Brand

Now that you understand why brand marketing is essential for business growth, let’s discuss creating your brand. Here are a few branding marketing tips to help you create a unique, standout brand.

Know Your Audience

Research shows that 73% of consumers love a brand because of great customer service. The better you know your audience, the more likely you can provide them with the service they need. Then, you can turn those one-time customers into loyal customers.

Loyalty is sometimes worth ten times as much as a single purchase.

You won’t have to waste time and money advocating your brand. Instead, a previous buyer will already know they can trust your company.

In order to create an effective brand marketing plan, determine who your customers are. If you have a large audience pool, you might need to split them up into different buyer personas. Differentiate your customers based on their:

– Age

– Gender

– Marital status

– Household income

– Buying habits

– Interests

Next, determine what problems your customers are facing each day. How can you offer a solution?

The better you understand your customers, the easier you’ll find it is to reach them. Then, you can appeal to their interests and problems by crafting a brand that emotionally connects with your target market.

Make it Your Mission

Once you determine who your customers are, it’s time to create your mission statement.

Why did you decide to create this business? Your mission state defines your purpose and passion. By answering this question, you can create a brand that your mission in mind.

Think of your mission statement as a manifesto. It conveys why your business exists and why customers should care.

Then, you can use your mission statement to make sure your audience recognizes and values your purpose in the industry.

Otherwise, it might seem like you’re only in business to make money.

Once you determine your vision, you can make sure every element in your brand reflects that vision. These elements include your:

– Logo

– Tagline

– Imagery

– Voice

– Personality

Keeping your mission in mind will help you tie these elements together. Otherwise, your brand might lack cohesiveness. 

Define Your Values

Brand marketing helps you differentiate your business from others in the same industry or niche. One of the best ways to determine how you’re different from the competition is to consider your unique values, benefits, and qualities.

First, think about your unique value proposition. What can you offer customers that no one else can offer or replicate?

That’s the heart of your brand.

Your brand is made of elements that are uniquely yours. Take the time to write down everything that sets your company apart from the competition. Don’t think about product features.

Instead, think about the intangible parts of your brand.

Maybe you’re environmentally conscious and want to help the world. Maybe your brand values connecting people throughout the world. How does your brand improve other people’s lives?

Take the time to make an outline of your unique values and benefits. Then, place these elements at the heart of your brand. Focusing on your value will help people trust your brand and choose you over the competition.

Create a Visual

For some people, this is the fun part of creating a brand marketing plan.

Now that you understand a little more about the heart of your brand, you can move onto the visual design. That includes your:

– Logo

– Fonts

– Color palette

– Iconography

– Other visuals

These elements will differentiate your brand on-sight. As you create these elements, make sure to keep track of them. Creating a document that lists these elements out will help you keep the brand consistent. 

You might need to hire a graphic designer that’s experienced with brand development to help you with this step.

Find Your Voice

Voice and tone are as important to your brand as your logo and color palette.

You don’t want to sound robotic. You also don’t want to sound like you’re parroting your competitors. Instead, think about what your brand would sound like if you were having a conversation.

How you communicate with your customers is an important part of your branding campaign. You want to create a voice that resonates with your audience. Otherwise, they might fail to understand you.

Use your audience research to determine how your customers speak.

Are they super professional? Do they use a lot of industry-specific jargon?

Maybe your audience is more relaxed. Do they use a lot of emoticons in their social media conversions?

You want to make sure your tone is consistent throughout your social media content, advertising campaigns, and website language. A consistent personality will help you stand out and resonate with your customers.

Put it All to Work

Once you’ve developed your brand, make sure to utilize it correctly. Make sure your brand is obvious anywhere your company reaches customers.

First, check your website. make sure your color palette and typography are consistent on every page. Then, add your logo in the right places. 

Make sure your web copy, call-to-action buttons, and product descriptions fit your brand voice and tone.

Your website is your company’s digital storefront. Sometimes, it makes the first impression when customers are researching businesses. If your brand is inconsistent across various pages, you might confuse visitors until they leave.

Next, check your social media. That includes your profile photos, color art, and the imagery you post. Adding your logo to your social media will make it easier for people to associate your website with your Instagram.

Don’t forget to update your packaging, too. If your brand has changed on your website, you also need to update your products. Otherwise, you’re using an inconsistent brand.

Speak with your sales and customer service teams about any changes you make to your brand.

After all, they bring your brand to life. Let them know about any changes to the mission, vision, tone, and voice. The better they understand your brand, the more likely they’ll represent it properly.

Brand Marketing Tips and Tricks

Now that you know how to build a thorough brand marketing plan, there are a few tips to help bring your brand to life.

Keep Your Style Guide Handy

Studies reveal that 95% of organizations have branding guidelines. However, only a fourth have formal, consistently enforced guidelines. If you’re not enforcing your brand guidelines, you’ll end up with an inconsistent brand.

That inconsistency could cause consumers to confuse you with someone else. 

First, collect inspiration for your brand guide. You can make a Pinterest board or collect photos online. Take a look at your own marketing materials, too.

What elements looked best? Which visuals represented your brand properly?

After drawing inspiration from other sources, start outlining your brand. That includes your:

– Brand story

– Logo

– Color palette

– Typography

– Imagery

– Voice and tone

Your brand story introduces your brand to the world. Summarize your brand by focusing on the heart and soul of your company.

Then, look at the approved versions of your logo. You should also note the logo:

– Size

– Space

– Color variations

– Ways you don’t want to use your logo

These notes will ensure your logo is used properly.

When making a note of your color palette, make sure to write down the:

– PANTONE name and number

– Print/CMYK color

– Digital color/RGB and HEX codes

Include swatches of your brand colors in your brand guidelines.

For the typography, include the alignment, spacing, and sizes you use. Then, make a note of the imagery you want to use for posts, including examples.

A thorough brand marketing plan will make sure your brand remains consistent on every platform.

Bring Your Brand to Life

As you review these branding tips, think of your brand as a person. How would your brand introduce or describe itself?

How would your brand describe your products or services to a new customer? Think about the words and attitude they would use.

Thinking about your brand as a real person will help you bring it to life in your marketing materials. 

Keep it Consistent

Don’t forget to prioritize consistency. You can always use your brand guidelines if you’re unsure about a certain detail. Once you establish how you plan on using your brand, add examples within the brand guidelines.

If you add someone to your marketing team, they can use your brand lines to keep your brand consistent, too!

Brand Marketing in 2020: Your Guide to Boosting a Brand

Ready to give your brand the boost it needs this year? With this brand marketing guide, you can make sure your brand speaks for you. A consistent brand will help you forge connections with your customers, increase sales, and more.

Eager to boost your brand? Request a free Digital Marketing Review today.