If the world of ecommerce wasn’t competitive already, it became even more competitive in the year 2020. More brands than ever before have appeared online selling in various niches, and it’s become harder for brands to shad out and become established. This makes the need for strong branding strategies more vital than ever which is why we look at the primary components you need to survive and thrive.
Know Your Buyer Persona
Your buyer persona is the target audience you will market to, it will be defined by demographic, as well as a geographical region and other analytical data. Your buyer is always a work in progress and will be adapted as you run your business. Creating a buyer persona is very important as it defines the type of customer you’re selling to and narrows the angle so you can more effectively sell to the right people.
Determine Your Brand Positioning
Your branding position is your unique selling point. It’s the thing that differentiates you from others in the marketplace. Since ecommerce is a particularly fierce market, your branding position can be viral to your success. Without this differential, your carefully created brand identity will likely sink into obscurity. Prevent that from happening by asking the right questions at the right time. What does your product do differently, and do you have a competitive edge on price or elsewhere. Try to inflate your brand differential.
Be Consistent in Everything
When you establish a brand, you want to make sure your brand is consistent across all platforms. This is important because your brand contains your values and position, it is targeted to a particular audience, and that audience needs to see the consistency when they engage with the brand on or off line. You can find this consistency by creating a style guide that influences the brands look and feel regardless of where it is presented. It also contains the brand tonality if you want to hire receptionists in a Virtual Headquarters.
Establish Your Vision
Your brand vision is more than what you sell to your target audience. Your vision contains your code values that should resonate through the entire company. It is the underlying structure on which your brand identity and service is built, and it will influence your customers at a deeper level. To find your vision, you will first have to draft a mission statement that outlines why you do what you do. When you have your mission statement and your core values, you can establish your vision with consistent marketing.
Establish Your Mission
Your mission statement is vital to establishing your brand’s core concept. It will likely be different for different brands, but you may find similarities to other brands in your niche. Research the market before establishing your mission statement; it’s important to be true to what you’re doing but also try to distinguish yourself from the competition. To determine your mission statement, ask some basic questions about who you are and what you do. Refine these until you come up with between five and ten lines of succinct intention.
