Consumers today – whether B2C or B2B – want authenticity when it comes to whom they choose to spend their dollars with. As a result, nurturing and strengthening your brand identity is more important than ever. After all, don’t you want the perception of your brand to be one that you confidently believes best represents it?
To help strengthen your brand identity as a wholesaler, consider this advice.
Get Social
While it’s no secret social media is a relevant way to connect with customers, it’s important to consider how you leverage social media to strengthen your brand identity. Beyond sharing product updates and company news, incorporate strategies that engage customers via social media. This could include sharing industry tips, asking thought-provoking questions, offering humorous yet brand related jokes (make sure this compliments your brand image, of course), and become a voice of authority within your niche category of products. The main takeaway here? Don’t just share on social media but rather become social via social media. Engage, comment, reply to others and get involved. These action oriented steps can help strengthen your brand from one that blends in with others, to one that stands out among the rest.
Give Back
Nowadays many consumers are motivated not just by inventory, but brands that go above and beyond within their communities, or even globally when it comes to “giving back”. From supporting specific issues such as women’s rights or helping to end hunger, consumers appreciate the extra TLC brands deliver on worldwide – or even local – issues. Globally recognized companies such as Wells Fargo and Google are among the most charitable when it comes to giving back, but don’t let their size and revenue mislead your own actions. Whether you think locally or globally, use your brand to do good… and along the way, win customer appreciation, as well.
Be Consistent
Nothing is more damaging to a brand than a bad reputation… yet it doesn’t always take terrible Yelp reviews or poor customer service to deliver this reputation. Instead, many consumers are influenced by branding that lacks consistency among all the touchpoints of their brand interaction. From social media, to websites, to email marketing, to packaging, to invoicing, and more, aim to have a consistent brand image so that your customers recognize you no matter where they may see your logo or other company details. Consistency in communication – including taglines, marketing messages and more – is also important. Don’t overlook brand factors that include updated logos, colors and contact details, as well.
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Build Loyalty
What makes you loyal to one brand versus another? Ask yourself this… then ask yourself if your wholesale company can improve in your loyalty efforts when it comes to retaining clients. The reality is that brand competition is tough – with few exceptions. If you’re attracting customers, that’s a great thing! Yet the real question is: are you keeping them? Aim to strengthen your loyalty efforts so that retaining customers is a constant priority, in addition to capturing new ones. As a result, you will benefit from stronger revenue and more improved client communication.
Set Standards
Wholesalers are tasked with a variety of responsibilities when it comes to marketing and selling their respective brands. Yet among the most critical factors in every step along the way is to have standards set in place so that no employee can sway too far from the expectations of your brand. By identifying core company messaging, to providing direction to employees on how to communicate with clients, to delivering step-by-step instructions for customer care, having standards set in place can help strengthen your overall brand reputation. Don’t overlook any details when it comes to setting standards in place and instead, be sure to cover all touchpoints that impact your wholesale company. Both internally and externally, having standards – and high standards at that – is a key factor in strengthening your brand success.
Finally, remember that every business deserves to be reviewed, critiqued and even adjusted in order to strengthen its own efforts. Don’t beat yourself up for setbacks or knock yourself down for poor performance. Instead, use this as the kick you need to move forward and aim higher when it comes to strengthening your brand identity.
