Long before the advent of smartphones, laptops, and tablets—you could say (and you’d be absolutely correct) that life was a lot less distracting. Think about it, when was the last time you could remember doing an activity—and not checking your cell phone for at least an entire hour? Don’t feel bad, you’re certainly not alone in that aspect.
Social media, texting, Google, and even online shopping—has most definitely demanded an absurd amount of our accumulated hours on a daily basis.
But modern technology, for all of the complaints that it may receive, undoubtedly helps us save an innumerable amount of time as well.
Don’t believe me? The next time you take a road trip to an unfamiliar destination, use a paper map instead of your Google Maps app—and tell me how much more time it took you to arrive at your destination than it would have if you had simply used a GPS device instead.
Having the ability to be guided or directed towards a destination will always make life so much easier for those taking a journey to an unfamiliar destination because having a clear and precise direction helps us save time by avoiding getting lost and having to find our way back in the right direction.
That same logic applies towards your brand. Your brand is on a destination to go somewhere that it has never gone before; which makes it an unfamiliar destination to you. Regardless of the particular place that you’d like to take your brand to—the most efficient route to take is by adhering to this direction.
Branding: An act of love
Branding, despite the criticism that it receives from its naysayers (those who still cannot bring themselves to realize its impact on a company’s bottom line) is actually a very meticulous process.
Unlike other facets of marketing that justifiably—could be accused of utilizing questionable tactics to yield instant microwave style results; brand building is a lot like baking a meal. Except for the fact that when it comes to branding, you’re never really done.
That’s because branding is a never-ending process that requires daily actions which are solely focused on the objective of bringing your audience closer towards your brand—while also avoiding any missteps that could cause your audience to distance themselves from your brand.
Essentially, branding is a lot like entering a romantic relationship with someone. First, there’s the courting process. After that, there’s the dating process. Then, after some time, you eventually fall in love with your significant other to the point that the mere thought of them not being in your life forever gives you anxiety.
Also like a romantic relationship, if you take your significant other (your target audience) for granted when branding, you could very well easily lose them forever.
The question that should direct your branding actions
Whether it’s taking a trip to an unfamiliar location; or developing and maintaining a romantic relationship—your chances for success doing both would increase significantly if you had a guide directing you where to go and what to do.
Fortunately, as it pertains to branding, there is a north star for which every decision that your brand makes should be directed by. That north star appears in the form of the following question, “How would this action affect our target audience emotionally?”
At their core, all of the greatest brands in the world are simply emotional ideas. Formed intentionally by concerted branding efforts to influence an intended perception within an audience. And in order for an emotional idea to appeal to someone and keep them stimulated in a way that they wouldn’t even consider looking elsewhere—the emotional idea must satisfy a want or a yearning within them in a way that no other could.
Why is this question so important?
Speaking of stimulation, here’s a statistic that you may find interesting. According to a consumer survey, only 15% of customers admit that they fell in love with their favorite brands at first sight. While up to 80% say that they, “Grow to love,” brands that they purchase over time.
What these stats tell us is that when it comes to consumers—you should not expect them to fall in love with your brand instantaneously.
It is for that reason, it is imperative that you allow the answer to the question, “How would this action affect our target audience emotionally?” Direct all of your startup’s branding decisions.
As is the case with most romantic relationships, consumers rarely fall in love with brands the moment they’re first introduced to them. Rather, they fall in love with brands after a series of exposures and interactions.
Keep in mind that branding your startup is a never-ending process. And much like a fulfilling relationship, a series of conscientious actions are required in order to keep your target audience stimulated.
By keeping the emotions of your audience top of mind in every decision that your startup makes—your brand will always be heading towards the direction of what controls most consumers’ purchasing decisions—their heart.
Let’s discuss your startup
Branding is a very tedious process. As a marketing firm that specializes in helping startups like yours devise and orchestrate winning branding strategies, our team at Decryption would love to hear about your startup and how your branding efforts have been going.
So be sure not to hesitate to contact us and tell us how things are currently coming along.