This is an age when customers are spoiled for choice. In this kind of situation, what mostly informs customer decisions is their perception of the business brand. That is why the smartest businesses differentiate themselves with branding to connect with their customers better. As I mentioned in a previous blog, you must connect with your customer’s story before you can introduce your brand. Consumers want to know more about how you can help them solve their problems before they decide to learn more about your company and your brand. There is already an understanding that products are not just products; they represent experiences. Therefore, the most successful branding efforts are those that communicate the authentic experiences connected to the product or service.
But good branding is also about adapting to the changing needs and experiences of consumers. These days, brands are not only known for products, solutions, and experiences but also personality, social values, and authenticity. Today, a brand needs to build an identity around trust, transparency, and credibility to be accepted, especially by the younger generations, Millennials and Gen Z.
Another growing strategy for building authentic connections with your audience is by encouraging user-generated content. This is often a precursor to or a product of strong communities. For one, user-generated content influences the purchasing decisions of 90% of shoppers. Much of this is due to the authenticity that relying on trusted sources leads to ‘humanizing’ the brand. For once, individuals can view a brand and its products from the lens of other human beings. If this perception is positive, it brings new customers. This form of social proof has proved highly effective. Why trust the word of an unknown source when you can be more informed and have a better quality recommendation from those you know and trust.
Marketers are starting to take notice that consumers are now relying less and less on traditional advertising and more on user-generated content to learn about products and services they seek out. With that being said, there is a noticeable trend of companies spending less money on traditional direct advertising and starting to look at other customer engagement/marketing methods such as: conversational marketing, user-generated content, marketing automation, influencer marketing, micro-marketing, brand differentiation and community-based marketing. If you notice all of the aforementioned involve a more personalized experience instead of a mass message approach. The best marketers are constantly looking for new digital marketing trends based on the evolution of technology, and platforms, to identify new opportunities that they can tap into… if they’re looking in the right place and know the right questions to ask…
Change and adaptation are part of life, nonetheless that of marketers, one of whose unsung duties is watching the trends of market behaviors, customer habits, and technological adoption, and then integrating insights from these trends to refine their strategy for greater success. Some of the brightest minds in the entrepreneurship game are stating that you should be about 3 to 5 years ahead of market trend in order to become a market leader when the market starts to adapt to a new way of doing things. Dealium, will be a new referral marketing and social commerce platform that connects small business owners with the consumers in the communities in which they serve. Ninety-two (92%) of small business owners rely on referrals and eighty-nine (89%) of consumers are willing to refer small businesses to their family and friends that they have a great customer experience. Dealium will bring those two parties together, with a easy to use and intuitive app, creating a win-win situation for all. Please stay tuned…
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