In a nutshell, your brand is what your company stands for in the mind of the consumer. You, your employees, your website, your social media, your logo, and your brand promise all set up a customer’s expectations. For example, if you say you are Fast, Friendly and Affordable, a potential customer is going to expect a prompt response to their request, and they’re going to expect you to sell your product or services at the going rate, or less. If you don’t consistently deliver on your brand promise, the customer experience will be unsatisfactory, because you didn’t meet customer expectations.
Customer experience (CX) is the result of the interactions between you and your customers – a one-time experience, or an ongoing relationship. A great customer experience means that the customer’s experience at every point of contact matched or exceeded their expectations. The customer experience is more about how the customer feels about the experience and your company after the interaction.
Good branding helps set up realistic customer expectations. Branding tells your story to your customers in an engaging and consistent way. Like any service, branding services begin with questions and research. Some of these questions are existential – Who are you? What do you stand for? How do you want your customers to see you? Other questions are more easily answered. What products or services do you provide? Research may involve delving into your current customer base, looking at your web traffic and conversions, and more.
Armed with those answers, a branding company such as Brand3 will help you develop your brand message.
Elements of your brand development may include:
Your brand promise is just that – your promise to the customer. Developing a strong, sustainable brand promise you can stand behind with pride is important. Consistently delivering on that brand promise in every interaction with a client is what makes a great customer experience.
Marketing author and consultant Philip Kotler defines brand positioning as “the act of designing the company’s offering and image to occupy a distinctive place in the mind of the target market.” In other words, brand positioning is when we create brand associations in your target customer’s minds to help them perceive your brand in a specific way.
This can only be done if you understand what your customers want, what your capabilities are, and how your brand position is different from your customers.
A tagline is a phrase that pairs with your brand name and provides customers with an idea of your brand identity in just a few words. A good tagline is short, memorable, and says what makes you different from the rest.
We need to identify who your customers are, where you want to expand your customer base, and if you are providing what your customer really wants. Understanding your customer and identifying your ideal customer goes a long way in branding your business so that you appear as different, credible, and in a favorable light.
Even after your branding project is complete, Brand3 is here to serve you as a consultant. We offer a number of customer experience services to help your organization get a completive edge and build brand loyalty. We understand that great brands deliver great customer experiences, and our mission is to increase your bottom line and brand value every day.
We provide CX Design to your team at 3 different levels:
Consistency is key in branding and the customer experience. The customer experience needs to be consistently great, so that you build brand loyalty, and your customers will recommend you to others. CX design training ensures that all levels of your organization are delivering a great customer experience every time.
Your branding and marketing efforts need to use the same logo, color scheme, tagline, brand promise, etc. Your tone and message need to be consistent throughout your website, social media and in-person interactions.
