Here we are! Your e-store is finally online and optimized for search engines to help your business grow. You'll finally be able to experience the joy of selling your products and developing your brand, thanks to branding !
Branding, what is it?
Your brand
Far be it from us to confuse you with omnipresent anglicisms, branding is the management of a brand, with its identity and essence. Thus, there is a whole process to put in place to make your brand identifiable, recognizable, and unique.
Your branding to represent your brand
Branding refers to the management of your brand. It brings together two aspects: your brand identity and its image. This involves writing its story, in line with its values and visual identity (its logo and graphic charter). All these points must come together to form a single entity and represent YOUR brand.
To develop this branding, you must intervene in the continuity of your brand , in a thoughtful and coherent way on the design of your e-commerce site, your logo, your communication media and your way of communicating. You must control as much as possible all the information and representations which concern your brand and its products to guarantee the effectiveness of your branding.
The advent of a brand and its development
From now on, you must consider your brand as a living entity in its own right, with its own unique identity, appearance, personality, and specificities. At its core, your company is a vehicle for its own purpose, with its own values, for one or more defined targets. It is from this story that the products you sell stem.
An impactful and engaging brand story
First, you'll have to rewind the entire journey since your beginnings. Indeed, if today you want to sell your own products on the web, it's because originally, you had an idea and/or a need that required the creation of your products (such as the products of the Aluvy brand, one of our clients, a Lyon-based DNVB ).
This is where your brand's story begins! Often passionate, it exudes the motivation and passion of the beginnings. It's this story that tells the story of your project, the purpose of your brand, and its mission. And it's this story that your prospects want to know before committing. They need to identify with your values. Internet users want the "real" and want to discover the human behind the product.
Storytelling
The most appropriate way to capture your visitors now is to tell them this story with your eyes, we're talking about storytelling . Always more English, you might say. But storytelling is of capital importance here, since this system of narration will allow you to reach your target - and even beyond - in a more subtle and delicate way.
Storytelling is a narrative communication tool that often appeals to your prospects, as they connect with it and are able to be touched. It involves telling a story—usually your brand story, through your journey—in a very simple and accessible way, to capture attention and arouse emotion.
A story of emotion
This story often resonates with people, who can relate to your journey and ideas, and even be inspired by them. And according to Paula Conway, president of Astonich Media Group, “The brand story is the message that creates a powerful emotional connection between your company, your customers, and the general public.” In fact, your visitors need to feel that you’re passionate about them to connect with you.
A life story
To truly connect with your consumers' needs, wants, and desires, you'll need to start thinking like them. They're often looking to solve a problem they've faced and need to be able to identify with your story. From then on, you're no longer just a salesperson; you're more of an advisor, helping them better guide their decisions.
But after the why, comes the how. How will you communicate beyond these ideas and experiences? Now you need to think about how to communicate intuitively and subtly to your targets, while remaining consistent.
Creating a relevant visual identity
This visual identity involves a fluid and coherent link between your logo, your graphic charter and the values of your brand. It will then allow you to develop your brand image in a rewarding way . This is, for example, essential in the creation of a luxury e-commerce store. The latter is crucial since it will later determine the place that your brand occupies in the minds of consumers and will allow your company to assert its identity and distinguish itself from the competition. This is a real added value.
Your logo as a spearhead
Based on this observation, you'll need to create a logo that aligns with your brand's personality and values. This includes choosing a font and colors to bring out your brand's energy. It's important to know that color choices can have a significant impact and influence your visitors. You should think of them as a marker of identity and differentiation.
The influence of colors
The choice of colors can have a considerable impact on your prospects, see our article: the psychology of colors . It is therefore important to pay attention to it when creating your logo . Indeed, colors have a real impact on our perception, our moods, our decision-making and our productivity .
It would seem, then, that colors are a quick persuasion tool to convey an idea, a message and/or an emotion. Moreover, according to a study conducted by the Seoul International Color Expo in 2014, 92% of consumers believe that colors play a role in their purchasing decision and 85% of them say that the color of a product is the main reason that pushed them to make a purchase.
Translated table of the influence of colors. Credit: Adeomarketing
It is therefore important to integrate this point into your communication tools, especially when it comes to differentiating yourself from the competition .
This topic is so vast that we will publish an article this week on the **impact of colorimetry in marketing**.
Choosing fonts
Choosing your font is crucial because you'll use it in every communication tool : website, blog, advertising, and social media campaigns—when possible. Also in keeping with the font chosen for your logo, you'll need to select a maximum of two fonts: one for your body text and another for titles and headings. Ideally, they should be recognizable and identifiable to the public, but above all, readable even on mobile!
For example, the Comic Sans MS font should be avoided according to design experts. Indeed, like the color and what you want to convey through your visual identity, Comic Sans MS is aimed at the world of entertainment. Historically, this font was created for a playful setting.
It has since been misused by FAR too many companies. Furthermore, from a technical point of view, it has visual irregularities: spaces between characters, thick characters and a large amplitude of curves. It is therefore difficult to achieve something "square" and credible with this type of font. (It is really not a popular typeface in the world of graphic design.)
The design of your site
When it comes to your website's colors, keep in mind that simplicity and harmony are key . You don't need to be flashy to be noticed. On the contrary, the more harmonious your website design, the more pleasant it will be to read and navigate.
If you're stuck for inspiration, you can always use a color palette generator, or call on our Pikka e-commerce experts .
But remember that everything must be coordinated with what you want to convey as a message to your visitors, prospects and customers.
Strategic issues
A constant presence on social networks
For a brand, it's always beneficial to be talked about. The best thing to do, however, is to always talk about your brand in a positive way. The most difficult thing with social media is to systematically provide rich content, always in line with its history and original values. Consumers constantly need to be reassured and to see that the initial energy is still present. This will allow you to maintain your customers' loyalty and their commitment to your brand.
From then on, you will be able to achieve the Holy Grail: succeeding in making your brand engaging, with customers who not only consume your products, but better still, recommend and defend your brand.
An economic objective for your business
Of course, you're not doing all this just for the glory. All of these processes—once implemented—will help sustain your brand and contribute to the growth of your business. They will also serve as a guarantee to consumers, reassuring your customers.
As you can see, branding plays a major role in building your brand awareness and growing your business. A well-constructed, solid, and well-delivered brand message can therefore win the sympathy of consumers and allow you to reach a wider audience. Shaping your brand and its values will always bring you added value compared to your competitors. All that's left is for you to perpetuate and retain these prospects with the customer experience you offer.
And Pikka in all this?
Feeling completely overwhelmed by all these tasks? Don't worry, our e-commerce experts are here to help you, from creating an e-commerce store to promoting your brand to managing your marketing. So, don't hesitate to contact us; it's this way.
