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When you think of convenient, affordable, fast food (we didn’t say healthy), you generally think of McDonald’s. That is because one goal of the McDonald’s franchise is to establish brand loyalty in its customers at an early age. They achieved this by strategically choosing their locations, such as near churches and schools, to ensure the highest volume of young visitors (not to mention bringing in a beloved happy clown to be the brand’s mascot). Likewise, time and money pressed parents are more inclined to bring their children there to eat because of the convenient locations (i.e., try to find an airport or mall without a McDonald’s close by), and their affordability (hello, dollar menu!). McDonald’s used a variety of facets that were consistent with one another to create their identity and elicit a particular emotional attachment and response from its consumers.

From an early age, Ronald McDonald sure was the king of turning your frown upside down. Pure joy is the only way to describe the feeling of sitting in the back seat of a car as a child, looking out the window, and seeing those big golden arches approaching. After all, nothing could make you happier than a happy meal. But that warm fuzzy feeling that was a lot like love that you got just by seeing the McDonald’s sign? That was branding success. 

WHAT IS YOUR BRAND?

On the surface, your brand can be a type of product you sell, a symbol, your company name, or your logo design. But your brand makes a much more profound impact than what you look or sound like. Your brand is what you are recognized for, the impression you leave on the customer, your reputation, and what makes you stand out. Your brand is an emotion that the consumer associates with you or your product or service. It’s the mark you leave on more than just a product, but on the world. Put, your brand is your company’s identity. So, is your brand conveying what you or your company stands for, who you are, and who you want to be remembered as?

BEFORE YOU CAN SUPERSIZE YOUR BRAND YOU MUST DEFINE YOUR BRAND

  • Determine how it is that you want to be known.
  • Analyze the products and services that you offer.
  • Realize the core values of your company (i.e., what drives your business).
  • Specify the focus concerns and needs of your target audience.
  • Identify your area of expertise, your talents, and your best qualities.

3 WAYS TO AMPLIFY YOUR BRAND 

  1. Build A Website. The value and importance of having a website cannot be overstated. A website is your brand’s biggest asset, not only as a marketing tool but as a way of establishing credibility, and subsequently, trust between your brand and your consumers.
  2. Create A Blog. Blogs keep your readers in the know about new developments involving your brand. However, you should also be writing things relevant to what your readers are interested in or articles that answer their most asked questions. Additionally, having a blog will increase your website SEO and provide you with great content to share on social media. More importantly, a blog will establish your brand’s authority in your area of expertise. When a brand writes educational articles that are relevant and informative, consumers put more weight on their knowledge and know-how. They will more easily trust them to solve their problems (i.e., purchase from them to satisfy their needs).
  3. Socialize. Engage. Repeat. Social media is so big right now that consumers expect brands to engage with them on there regularly.  72% of consumers expect a response within an hour to complaints posted on networks such as Twitter. If you want your brand to be known for genuinely forming relationships and resolving your customer’s issues, your social media presence (i.e., what you post, how you speak, and how you handle any problems on there) should reflect that. Social media is also a fantastic networking tool used to connect with complementary businesses that will strengthen your company by linking up to share resources or even collaborate. Moreover, you can easily keep up with competitive brands so that you can drum up ways to stand out from them and get your potential consumers to choose you instead.