Did you know that 79% of United States shoppers do so online? It is becoming increasingly important to create a consistent brand to unify your social and online platforms with brick-and-mortar stores. A brand’s purpose is to showcase your unique differentiating factor and make consumers excited to shop at your store.
As a retail marketing agency, we understand what it takes to create effective retail brands. We thought it would be fun to analyze successful retail brands and provide some tips for branding your retail shop.
Successful Brands
Ideally, retailers should aim to be sources of inspiration to their target audiences. This can be accomplished through aesthetic social media photos and blog posts. The following retailers have successfully crafted a strong brand.
Tory Burch. Tory Burch began working in the fashion industry under designers such as Ralph Lauren and Vera Wang. In 2004, Burch started her own brand and has since been ranked as one of the most powerful women in the world, according to Forbes. Tory Burch opened her first shop in Manhattan’s Nolita neighborhood and now has over 120 boutiques globally. Her products can be found in more than 3,000 department stores.
Aden + Anais. After moving to the United States and becoming pregnant shortly thereafter, Australian native Raegan Moya Jones couldn’t find muslin swaddles. Jones partnered with Claudia Schwartz to form Aden + Anais in 2006. Since then, the products can be found in over 60 countries.
Paper Source. In 1983 in Chicago, Sue Lindstrom began selling artisanal papers she had been collecting across the world. Now, Paper Source has grown to over 80 stores in 23 states. In 2007, Sue Lindstrom sold her company to Brentwood Associates. The group grew the sales of Paper Source by 25%.
What do you think the similarity is among the above retailers? One of the connecting factors is that the brands have realized that they really need to focus on consumer experience online and offline. Using this knowledge, they were able to analyze what their target audience connects with and implemented their findings within their brand.
Brand Tips
In today’s digital world, consumers are choosing to be selective as to what products they select and brands they purchase from. People want to be valued, engaged, and connected to brands. They want to receive unique experiences that make them feel good about shopping from a particular retailer. This can be accomplished by following the tips below:
Give consumers a personalized brand experience. As we mentioned above, consumers want to feel connected to brands. One way this can be achieved is through crafting unique experiences for your target market. The experience ultimately needs to bring consumers into your brand’s story. In order to create personalized brand experiences for your audience, you need to understand them.
Where do they spend their time? What social platforms do they use? What other brands do they like? When are they in the market for your product? The answers to these questions will help you design an experience that reaches your audience at the right time and place.
Connect with customers and stand out from the crowd. In a world with numerous brands and shopping opportunities, it is crucial that you figure out how to stand out from the crowd. Not only will this gain you customers, the shoppers will be loyal to your brand.
When you truly connect with customers, you pave the way for a relationship to be formed. The benefit of loyal consumers is that they will spend about 33% more than new shoppers. Similar to providing a personalized brand experience, you need to understand your audience to connect with them.
What does your audience care about? Answering this question will help you craft social posts that can create conversations and connective experiences within your audience. Remember that you do not want to advertise your products too much on social media. This will make consumers feel as though they are just an object on a path to purchase your goods instead of forming a relationship with your brand. Posting about things that your audience is passionate about will help provide a different dynamic to your social channels.
Above all, understand your customers. The main point that we want you to take away from this article is that you need to understand your customers. People do not want to be sold to, they want to feel valued. If you try too hard to sell to your customers, you may actually end up turning them away from your stores.
Do you want to revamp your branding? Kraus Marketing specializes in retail branding. We conduct in-depth interviews to understand your company. Afterwards, our team of creative designers and copywriters work to create a brand that represents the direction you want your company to go in. Contact our team for more information.