Differentiating Your brand in a crowded market

Everyone wants their business to stand out and be noticed. In a crowded market, this is harder than it already sounds.

 

Your brand might compete with dozens, possibly hundreds, of other brands – some of which may be highly established already. What can you do to stick your hand up so people notice you?

 

Differentiating your brand in a crowded market won’t happen overnight. But, with the help of this guide, you can take baby steps towards a brand that shines and attracts loads of attention.

 

Here’s what you can do…

 

Focus On The Customer Experience

If you truly want to stand out, your brand should be built around the customer experience. There’s a PwC consumer survey that reveals 73% of shoppers place customer experience as the most important factor when making purchases.

 

This means three-quarters of the consumer market cares most about the experience they get. So, if you want people to notice your brand, focus on delivering a better customer experience than everyone else.

 

When people think about your brand, you want them to associate it with exemplary customer service. You want to be the company that’s always responding to customer emails the moment they come in. You’ve got multiple communication channels so even the most shy consumer finds a stress-free way to contact you.

 

If the customer experience is top-tier, people will start flooding in.

 

Develop A USP

A USP is a unique selling point/proposition that basically sets your brand apart from all others.

 

Ask yourself, what makes your business unique? Why should consumers pick you over other brands?

 

Developing a USP is important as it literally gives you a way to differentiate your brand in a crowded market. Look at your rivals and see what they’re doing – is there anything you can do differently?

 

It doesn’t just have to revolve around your products/services – it can relate to your branding too. There’s a good article by Growth Business that explains how brands use a USP to stand out. One example it gives is Ford vs Rolls Royce. Two automotive brands, but it notes how Rolls Royce markets its brand as a luxury, high-end company that’s a cut above the rest. It sets the brand apart from huge ones like Ford and makes consumers want a Rolls Royce if they’re opting for a luxury car.

 

The point is, your brand persona can help you stand out. Think about what you offer, look at your competitors and develop a branding strategy that shifts away from the norm and focuses on elements of your business that other brands don’t have.

Generate More Brand Awareness

Often, the best way to differentiate your brand from others is by making more people aware of it.

 

Some brands do this incredibly well, using a marketing strategy that isn’t so much geared towards direct leads as it is towards raising awareness. What we mean is, the primary focus of a marketing campaign will be to get your name out there. Will this help generate leads? Yes, but that’s a secondary goal.

 

You want people to notice you! Establish a strong social media presence, take out online ads to plaster your brand everywhere or work with influencers. Influencer marketing is highly effective as you can send people products and they’ll talk about them to thousands of followers. Just like that, a massive portion of your target market knows you exist.

 

We also believe that printed mugs can be super helpful in raising brand awareness. As a company, we create printed mugs that can display your company logo, slogan – or whatever else you want on there. You can take these printed mugs and send them out to customers after they make a purchase. Or, give them away via street stalls or trade shows. They’re very practical gifts as people can use them every day when drinking tea or coffee. You could have people in offices or universities drinking from your mugs, proudly displaying your brand for all to see.

 

It gets your name and branding into people’s minds, meaning they’re subconsciously more aware of you. If they ever need whatever you’re selling, there’s a high chance they’ll look you up because they’ve got your brand in their heads.

 

Create A Stronger Visual Identity

Your visual identity is part of your overall brand identity. It refers to all the images, graphics or videos that express what your brand is about.

 

Sometimes, rebranding with a stronger visual identity will help you stand out from the crowd.

 

Pick a colour palette that’s visually appealing and jumps out at the audience. Better yet, look at your main competitors and check their visual identities. They could all use the same boring palettes and logo designs, giving you a massive opportunity.

 

Flip from the norm and create a visual identity that makes your business stick out in a crowded market. Use different typography, a cleaner logo design, brighter colours and so much more. Again, printing on mugs come in handy here as they reflect the visual identity and tie the whole branding strategy together.

 

We’ve actually got a guide to creating a compelling visual identity that’s well worth reading if you’d like more information on the topic. We explain why this is important and provide five simple ways to develop your identity from scratch.

 

Start Standing Out From The Crowd Today!

Make no mistake about it, you will struggle to jump out from the crowd in a saturated market. Applying the ideas above will help you make small steps towards more recognition. But, if you keep at it, you will slowly start seeing people turn their heads towards your brand. You’ll go from an unknown entity to one that can rival some of the biggest and most well-known brands in your sector.

 

It’s all about focusing on the customer experience, developing a strong USP, building more brand awareness and creating a killer visual identity.