The biggest challenge for any growth business is to build awareness – you need to make more people aware of your brand in an increasingly crowded consumer world where the average person is exposed to 5000 brand messages every day. The same challenge applies to the world’s biggest brands when launching new products, but they usually have the budgets to shout about it. So how do you cut through the noise on a budget?
1. Use your assets to spread the word
It was a foggy early morning recently that I was reminded of this by a Sofa.com van; in short, they turned my rather grey morning commute on its head by making me laugh out loud at their van. Clearly it really appealed to my slightly quirky sense of humour – but by doing this it made an impact and I will inevitably think of them next time we need a sofa. Now ask yourself how many other people have read the side of their delivery van, laughed and will inevitably remember them?
2. Build your ‘brand love’
If you can create a personality that people love they will by loyal to you and are more likely to talk about you. The classic example is of course Innocent – where the humour and character exists all over their little bottles: whenever a smoothie drinker takes a moment from their busy day to read the small print they come away a little bit brighter. They did it in the early days – spreading their unknown brand with their ‘grassy vans’ – and they still do it now, using every touch point to build their brand love.
3. Use every opportunity to make an impression
Stationary business Moo have revolutionised how a B2B business can use compelling branding: Their friendly brand talks you through their simple online ordering process making the whole experience a breeze. But they don’t stop there. Every automated email going to a customer of Moo comes from their endearing ‘Little Moo print robot’. It is a simple business necessity, but they make their emails leave an imprint and if you are making an impression, then people will remember you and tell their friends about you.
4. Never miss a chance to generate your next sale
All too often businesses focus on acquiring new customers and forget to nurture existing ones. If a product or service is being bought you have the opportunity to encourage repeat purchase there and then, and incentivise that customer to tell others. Healthy snacks company Graze does a great job of this – with every box delivered including unique codes to give customers’ friends a free box in reward for £1 off your next box – simple and effective.
When it comes to spreading the word we work up detailed marketing plans, based on who you want to reach, where you can reach them and what you want to say. It might include advertising, PR, PPC, even events – subject to budget – but we love to create the most ingenious options that can be used to spread your brand like those above. So when you think about increasing awareness of your brand – don’t get caught up in the lack of budget. Instead look at every touch-point in your business to spot the opportunities where you can add some branding. Use our touch-points tool here to spark your thinking. Then have some fun with what you say and how you say it to build the impression of your brand with your customers.
Christina Richardson is a business marketing specialist and Founder of The Nurture Network , the on-demand marketing department for ambitious SMEs. With a proven track record in leading high profile marketing campaigns for entrepreneurial brands, The Nurture Network are an partner of Growth Accelerator, helping high growth SMEs reach their potential through marketing and innovation.
