2 Ways to Drive More Business Through Your Door: Geofencing Marketing & Branding

You’re a local or small business. You want to drive business growth, raise your profile, and create a following. Whether your dream is the equivalent of a Starbucks on every corner, your product on every store shelf, or drawing iPhone-release lines outside your door, you need integrated strategies that will support an upward trajectory.

We’re here to tell you about two: One long-standing – branding and brand awareness – and one fresh and modern – geofencing marketing. Read on to see how these can take your enterprise to the next level!

Branding: Essential Strategies

Distinctive branding isn’t just for international conglomerates and box store chains.

A strong brand identity is essential for any business that wants to succeed. It sets your brand apart from the competition, makes it memorable, helps build customer loyalty, and drives sales.

Here are 7 tips on how to build a strong brand identity:

• Define your brand values. 

What are the core values that your brand stands for? What do you want your brand to represent? Once you know your brand values, you can use them to guide all of your marketing and branding decisions.

• Create a strong visual identity. 

Your visual identity is what people will see first, so it’s important to make sure it’s strong and memorable. This includes your logo, colors, fonts, and overall design aesthetic.

• Develop a unique voice. 

Your brand voice is how you communicate with your customers. It should be consistent with your brand values and visual identity. Are you fun and quirky or professional and adept? Use language that is clear, concise, and engaging.

• Define your audience.

Closely related to the above is understanding your target audience. Who are you trying to reach? What are they like? What are their interests? What are their needs and wants? Knowing your audience should help guide your voice and branding.

• Be consistent. 

Consistency is key when it comes to branding. Make sure your brand identity is consistent across all of your marketing efforts –  from your website to your social media pages to your advertising.

• Be authentic. 

People can spot a fake from a mile away. Be authentic in your branding and marketing efforts. Let your personality shine through.

• Be creative. 

Don’t be afraid to be creative with your branding. The more unique and memorable your brand is, the more likely people are to remember it. One way to do this is to use storytelling in your brand strategy. People love stories, and you can use them to connect with your customers on an emotional level.

5 Branding Mistakes to Avoid

• Inconsistency:

Basically the opposite of #5 above. Implement brand guidelines and stick to them. Beyond the visuals and voice we mentioned above, this includes font type and size, spacing, grammar, etc. Find out more about brand guidelines in this Ironistic Rambling. 

• Neglecting Regular Housekeeping:

Regular audits and updates for your website will help you protect your brand and improve customer loyalty. Making sure that your customers have a great experience in-store and online is vital. SEO, site, and content audits will ensure your branding is consistent, you’re using the best digital marketing tactics, and that your website is optimized and functional.

• Lack of Team Spirit:

Brand management and protecting your reputation starts with your team. If you don’t have everyone on board with your mission, vision, and goals, things will start to fall apart. Educate your team on what it means to maintain a strong brand identity and give them the tools to support it. Even better, turn them into brand ambassadors. Having your team invested and helping raise brand awareness is a big boost to your overall business goals.

• Not Investing in Content Marketing:

Content marketing is an incredibly effective way to attract new customers and build relationships with existing ones. It can also help improve your search engine rankings.

More Brand Management Tips

After you invest time and resources into creating unique branding, you want to ensure that you protect it and your reputation – especially online. Brand management on the world wide web is the process of creating and maintaining a positive online reputation for your business. It involves things like:

• Creating a strong website that is informative and easy to use.
• Managing your online presence on social media.
• Responding to customer reviews.
• Monitoring your online reputation for negative content.
• Taking action to remove negative content.

Here are some tips on how local and small businesses can protect their brand online:

• Register your trademarks. This will give you legal protection against anyone who tries to use your brand without your permission.
• Use strong passwords and security measures. This will help to protect your website and online accounts from hackers.
• Monitor your online presence. Keep an eye out for any negative reviews or comments about your business. Respond to them promptly and professionally.
• Be active on social media. Use social media to connect with your customers and promote your brand. (Remember to be consistent with your brand identity!)
• Be responsive to customer feedback. Listen to what your customers have to say and take their feedback into account when making decisions about your business.

How to Build Brand Awareness

We mentioned a couple of key strategies above that help build brand awareness as well as create a strong brand identity: These are maintaining consistent social activity on platforms that cater to your target audience and empowering your team as brand ambassadors.

Here are some additional brand awareness tips for local and small businesses:

• Get involved in your community. This is a great way to build relationships with potential customers and show them that you’re invested in the area where you work and live.
• Partner with other businesses. By cross-promoting, you can reach a wider audience.
• Attend Chamber of Commerce and industry events. This is an effective way to network with other business owners and learn about new trends.
• Get involved in online forums and discussion groups. This is a great way to connect with potential customers and answer their questions.

The Latest and Greatest Brand Strategy for Local Business: Geofencing Marketing

Geofencing is a location-based marketing technology that allows businesses to send notifications to mobile devices when users enter or leave a designated area. 

This can be a very effective and powerful tool for local businesses to reach new customers who are nearby. There are many ways that geofencing marketing can help. Here are a few examples:

• Increase brand awareness: 

Geofencing can promote your business to people who are already in your area. You can send notifications with information about products, services, special offers, or upcoming events. This is a great way to get people familiar with your business and what you have to offer.

• Drive people to your door: 

Geofencing can be used to send targeted messages to people who are close by. This can encourage them to check out what you have to offer. For example, you could send a notification with a coupon code for a discount on their first purchase. 

• Better customer service: 

Geofencing can help provide better customer service. By sending notifications, you can help customers easily find what they’re looking for. You can also use geofencing to send notifications with business updates, such as new products or services, upcoming events, or changes to hours of operation.

• Improve customer loyalty: 

Geofencing can be used to send personalized messages to your customers. This can help you build relationships with them and keep them coming back for more. For example, you could send a notification with a birthday greeting or a reminder about their upcoming appointment.

Here are some specific ways to use geofencing marketing for your small business:

• Send a notification to customers who are nearby with a coupon code for a discount on their purchase.
• Send a notification to customers who have visited your business in the past with a reminder about an upcoming sale or event.
• Send a notification to customers who have been following your business on social media with a special offer.
• Send a notification to customers who have been searching for products or services like yours with a message about your business.

Geofencing is a great and cost-effective way to target your marketing efforts, increase brand awareness, reach new customers, and engage with existing ones. With a little ingenuity and creativity, you can use geofencing to make your small business stand out from the competition.

Ready to move forward with effective integrated marketing strategies? Ironistic has the team and the tools to help you raise your business profile, complement and support your mission and branding, and generate real growth. Connect with us today to explore the possibilities and solutions.