We can all agree that building a customer base would be extremely difficult if no one in your target group knew your business existed, yet many companies neglect to develop their brand awareness. Creating brand awareness is about much more than consumers’ knowledge of your existence, it’s the first step in the marketing funnel, and it determines how your target will recall and recognize your business.
Why is it Important?
As a business, you should be looking at brand awareness as an ongoing process because it’s important to be continuously reaching a wider target and working to stay relevant in the minds of your current consumer base. Increasing your brand awareness also increases the odds that your target will choose your products or services when faced with a purchasing decision. Brand awareness campaigns have a far reach, and they allow you to cultivate leads, boost your web traffic, and improve your brand identity, but they have several benefits behind the scenes as well.
Brand Equity
The driving force behind increasing brand awareness is that it improves your brand equity, which is essentially the value your brand holds in the eyes of your target group. Many brands make the mistake of only viewing their brand equity as a reflection of their stock price, but it’s so much more than that. It establishes your brand’s standing in the industry, which in turn, determines how you are able to price your goods and services.
One of the best examples of this is ketchup. Most consumers couldn’t tell you the difference between the various ketchup brands on the shelf, but they will likely tell you that Heinz is their favourite. Consumers choose that brand even though it is more expensive, and more or less the same as the other brands, because of the value their brand equity has created.
Trust
Take a moment to reflect on your purchasing habits. If you see an excellent deal on a product or service, but it’s attached to a brand you’ve never heard of, you’ll likely pass it up. Increasing your brand awareness directly correlates to how much consumers will trust your brand, and in turn, how comfortable they feel purchasing your products and services. You wouldn’t trust a brand you don’t know about, and neither will your customers. So, you need to establish a bond of trust by increasing your brand awareness in order to develop brand loyalty, which over time will result in repeat business.
Increase Sales
Ultimately, the point of any marketing strategy, including improving brand awareness, is to increase the sales of your products or services. As we mentioned earlier, brand awareness translates to repeat business, and studies have shown that returning customers have a much higher conversion rate, and on average, they spend three times more than new customers. It’s still important to consider how increasing your brand awareness can expand your customer base, but you can see why your primary focus needs to be on retaining those new consumers and developing a following of regular clients.
So, how can you increase your brand awareness?
We’ve discussed the importance of increasing your brand awareness and the positive impact it can have on a variety of aspects within your business, but generating brand awareness can be difficult, and even more so when you have a specific target in mind. Google Ads are an excellent tool for increasing brand awareness through the Google Display Network, which has an expansive reach for a relatively low investment. If you aren’t overly familiar with the Display Network, not to worry, our recent blog post comparing traditional search ads to display ads has all the information you need to decide which is best for your business.
At the end of the day, your goal should be to reach the widest audience for the lowest cost, and that means Responsive Display Ads are the way to go. The RDA format has the capacity to fit within more website inventories than traditional banner ads, which means your cost per impression will remain low.
Remember, whether your goal is to promote new products or reach a wider audience, it’s important that you understand that increasing your brand awareness isn’t just about creating high traffic and engagement. When implemented correctly, it can increase sales, promote new business opportunities, and illuminate fresh target insights that can improve your marketing strategy.
Need assistance increasing your brand awareness?
The team at idig Marketing has the solutions you’re looking for!
idig Marketing is a full-service digital agency that generates meaningful website traffic and drives high-value leads to your organization. By optimizing organic content with paid advertising our custom methodology is adapted to meet your requirements and exceed your objectives.
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