Branding your business or product is one of the most important decisions you’ll ever make. Great brands go down in history. Bad brands go up in flames.
Kleenex, Q-tips, and Scotch Tape are brands that became household names. Many people say “Kleenex” when they really mean facial tissue because the idea of facial tissue in general has been branded with the name Kleenex.
Kleenex has been the number one selling brand of facial tissue since 1924.
Effective branding builds name recognition and, more importantly, trust. Statistics show that trusted brands always outperform unknown or poorly branded products.
As Jack Fischman, owner of Todaysgentleman.com and Amazingbeltbuckles.com, says, “With eCommerce stores you are trying to create a relationship with the customer. A relationship that assures them of your commitment to quality service, satisfaction, etc… it’s important to be consistent with your image and branding so that when they see your brand something clicks in their head saying, ‘Oh! I recognize and trust that.’”
Your online success depends on what happens in the minds of people who visit your website. Positive brands create a trustworthy image in your customer’s minds, which is important when privacy and security are serious customer concerns.
A brand tells your customers what you promise to deliver: innovation, ease of use, quality, service, best price, etc…
An effective brand name is:
- Easy to remember
- Easy to spell
- Provides a positive mental image
- Brands that positive image into the mind of potential customers.
Not only does your brand offer a promise to your customers, it tells people who you are. What do you want to be remembered for? Is it the best quality? The best service? Innovation?
Based on experience, Jack explains, “Subconsciously through a consistent brand your customers get a familiar comfortable reassurance that will draw them back to your business. Additionally it builds credibility.”
“These concepts are even more important in eCommerce than with a physical brick and mortar store since the only way to establish a visual presence in a customer’s mind is through the branding.”
This is especially important when someone visits your site, but doesn’t buy. If your brand is memorable they will return and statistics show that a return visit has a 20% greater chance of resulting in a sale.
How did you decide on the brand for your business? Did a market research firm help you, or did you go with your gut? Are you happy with your choice, or would you change it if you could? Leave a comment and help the community better understand branding.
Written by Jill W.
Tags: branding, eCommerce, increase customer trust, internet marketing
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January 13th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
Creating the perfect ecommerce store to match their current brandinding and customer’s expectations of their website is key to online success. Any company with an ineffective or difficult to use shopping cart will find it difficult to suceed.