Are you looking for brand recognition strategies? Staying in the mind of the consumer is a challenge, but it is not impossible.
Before delving into all these strategies, it is important that you know the 3 stages in which a product is positioned in the mind of the consumer:
- Top of the mind or number one place: It is the first brand that comes to mind for that consumer when talking about any product or service. For example, if you think of bread and your first thought is Bimbo.
- Spontaneous recall: The first brand that the user remembers when asked about a series of categories and products. They can be more than one.
- Induced recognition or recall: Your product is among millions of other products. Even so, the user knows how to catch the eye immediately and chooses what already generates pleasure. For this stage to consolidate well, you must work on a solid branding strategy and good packaging that is fixed in the mind of your consumer.
Table of Contents
12 Brand Recognition Strategies
What would you think if I told you that human beings only want to relive over and over the moments that once made them happy? Surely, among so many brand recognition strategies, you would not believe that everything starts from simplicity.
We live in a world saturated with information, where the human being establishes a limit. And unconsciously you just need to connect with the simple. For this reason, you do not need to take out a brand that differs from the competition, or that is something new.
You need to know your target audience and what their most precious treasures are. So here we go with a series of simple strategies, but if you don’t hit the nail on the head they can become more complex along the way and in some cases even lose their shape.
1. Create a strong visual identity
This is the first and most important step. You must develop a logo with psychological characteristics powerful enough to get caught in the mind of your consumer.
The logo and name of the company are what will set your way in the industry. In addition to the fact that it has to be durable over time, it is advisable not to modify its appearance every six months.
How can you develop a strong visual identity in front of your competition?
- Think about the values you want to share in the world: Traditional brands have focused exclusively on promoting respect, but they don’t work on the value system. What emotions do you want your target audience to identify with?
- Colors that are in relation to these values: Colors also emanate unconscious emotions. So if you are going to choose, for example, the surprise, you cannot choose, for example, the color green. You must be consistent with company values and brand colors. For this to have the exact blend be sure to work with a good graphic designer. And why not? With a Psychologist. This one could give you the final go-ahead.
- The intuitive isotype: Many brands use letters and the symbolic element. The more minimalist this isotype, the greater the probability of penetrating the consumer’s mind. Remember that the human brain avoids the complex.
- The brand name: To position yourself in the market and for the competition to take a backseat, you must choose a name that is strong and at the same time generic for what it is used for. For example, if it is a skincare brand “Soft care” or “gentle care” is a rather subtle and identifying name for this brand. Also using the initials helps to give free rein to the imagination.
2. Play with the polarity of emotions
While it is true as emotional human beings we are not always happy, motivated, inspired among others. As a user, we consume content based on the mood we currently have.
If your brand reflects happiness, what can you use when your users are not so happy or connected with this emotion? One similar to this is hope. The hope of being happy again.
Do you see how, although they seem different, they complement each other?
This helps you maintain the emotional balance of the brand and consequently the emotional variations of your potential client.
3. A shocking story or storytelling
It is not the first time that we mention that we are full of stories: In the academic, school, family, love area. These stories are loaded with emotions that at the time have been significant and that help us move forward.
Emotions are not judged by brands, they are all valid and through them, we release repressed anguish. What would you like your story to focus on?
- Coca-Cola, for example, is betting on family moments. And that happiness can only be consummated if it is shared.
- Starbucks bets on a comfortable space. When you enter its facilities you feel at home and it is one of the favorite establishments of freelancers or entrepreneurs who only need a computer to fulfill their duties.
The stories are real, every day, and human. There is no better way to develop belonging in a consumer than through stories.
4. That has a social interest
In addition to a story that connects with the user, how can your brand collaborate with the world? There are various world problems that you may not suffer from, but it is a reality that they exist.
For this reason, in some cases, McDonald’s always asks its customers for a donation for children with cancer, those who are in the process of adoption, or even homeless.
Also, the shoe brand TOMS for each pair of shoes purchased gives a pair of shoes to a child in need. And not only this, they use a campaign of “a day without shoes” with the idea of raising awareness about how it feels to be one day without shoes.
5. Accessibility in your product or service
It does not matter if your product or service is online or offline. Have you thought about how to create proximity between the product and the user? When there are many obstacles, the user will simply choose to go with your competition.
And what do we mean by accessibility?
- Have a fast shipping system. Or also the delivery option for your region.
- If you are an e-commerce do not overlook human contact. By this we do not mean that you have to have a physical space. Get an ally where customers can purchase your product physically.
- Create face-to-face events to involve the user with the brand. We know that we are in difficult times for this, but you can organize a small event for those users who have shown interest in your product even in these times. So they can invite a new person and this new person become a loyal customer.
6. What are users really buying?
One of the ways you can position yourself is through the market you chose. You must have primarily evaluated the following:
- The motivations of the consumer.
- Create a psychological segmentation: Values, personality, emotions, needs to be satisfied.
- Social class.
Your price has to have an added value. Users are currently buying experiences. What does your brand have to offer? It is also necessary to play with prices, since if you bet on a luxury brand the prices should not be so accessible because you will lose this sector long before you have mastered it.
7. Betting on positioning
It is difficult to stay in the mind of the consumer if you do not have established the usefulness of your product. For example, a product that is used inside the home is not the same as one outside of it.
Or something that you would order to eat at home as opposed to what you would like to taste in a physical establishment. To position ourselves as a brand we must understand the needs of our target audience but also know our usefulness.
Are you an expert in summer clothes? Are you the choice for home decorations? Establish your sector.
It also helps you to position yourself in your sector to evaluate the weaknesses of your competition
1. Positioning by tail or impulse
When a brand has positioned itself in the mind of the consumer, if you are skilled enough, you offer that proposal but in another size or in another modality. So if for example Coca-Cola is the number one option in soft drinks, what is the closest alternative? The 7up brand!
8. Use any of the five senses
One of the many ways we release anguish is through pleasure. Are you betting on the five senses?
The senses catch us and if we don’t pay enough attention they might be able to control our entire life. Even many users are carried away by their own impulses to find satiety.
- The view: We know that if you have developed a good marketing strategy, you are betting on at least one direction. In most cases, the first impression DOES count.
- Touch: This sense can be developed in packing or wrapping. If it is covered with a soft and light layer, the user will associate this experience with your product.
- Olfactory: Food establishments bet on smell. McDonald’s loves to provoke its users in establishments with its peculiar smell of French fries. So it is almost impossible not to order a portion of them.
- The ear: Creating a catchy and fun catchphrase allows users to get caught up (even against their will) in this sound. Some brands also use music to evoke feelings such as relaxation, calm, among others.
- Taste: The fusion between smell and taste is undoubtedly another of the most fascinating human pleasures. How can you develop it in your brand? Add elements that are in line with your brand values. So if, for example, your thing is happiness, why not increase your consumer’s serotonin by adding chocolate to their order?
9. Real and edifying content
This is the most enduring brand recognition strategy over time. You have all the time in the world to show your audience through words, videos, and images what you are made of.
One of the most relevant ideas of the contents is that they are chosen by the users themselves. That is if you are planning content that your audience likes, they themselves will magically land on your blog, and if they like what they read they will stay forever.
Or at least they will read a couple of articles until the magic happens (The purchase of the product). The better you use words, the more you connect them to emotions and sensations that satisfy a need, the more you will stay in his mind.
Content marketing is one of the strategies chosen by brands that are committed to customers who are willing to buy experiences, the best version of themselves or reach their ideal self every day.
In addition to this, it is a conversation from you to you where the client does not feel that you are starting from a generality, but that you are addressing him directly.
10. Create expectation
The expectation generates surprise. Sometimes we are happy with the change of season, that festive dates are approaching, that holidays are coming soon. The expectation is that anxiety of approaching an event that could go well and generate pleasure.
How can you create a successful expectation campaign?
- Know your target audience. What are you talking about on social media? How could you surprise him?
- That this expectation has intentionality. What is the final emotion that the user will experience? Make sure they are lasting positive memories that you want to repeat.
- Make samples and have your audience participate in this transition. Belonging is also part of the expectation.
11. Social networks for direct communication
Another brand recognition strategy is social media. We are socially connected through these platforms and with increasing frequency.
Through them, you can ask questions and ask for opinions about what they expect from your product or service.
For example, Instagram stories are an excellent channel for doing these types of surveys. Users are sincere and transparent in them.
In Tik Tok, you can generate valuable content in 60 seconds that you are sure that if you make a difference, you will position yourself quickly.
Make your users part of your history and growth. Since without them the brand would not exist.
12. A satisfying shopping experience
We cannot ignore how the customer felt at the time of purchase. And it is that he may have read your information, feel attracted by your values and therefore go shopping.
But … What if you are inconsistent with any of these steps? You automatically lose the sale and therefore the solidity as a brand.
A customer can never perceive the following:
- A disinterested, little educated and pleasant treatment.
- That the payment process is slow and must take many hours to purchase your product.
- That he is treated like any other person, does not promote a sense of belonging.
- Purchase and return policies are cumbersome.
At this point your brand will be seen as unfair and incongruous. And what that customer will experience will be disclosed to their friends and family.
A satisfying shopping experience is the memory of well-being, and everyone wants to tell happy stories.
We help you position brands through digital marketing strategies. Contact us and tell us your plans in mind: [email protected]