Key Elements of Branding - How To Measure Success
By: Ryan Loder
Branding is a fundamental and ongoing component of any successful business's marketing strategy. Brand image is the building block and backbone of any business. It is what defines the company's image, expertise, and, most importantly, customers' perception of the business. Branding is essential to generating long-term growth and interest/credibility in your brand; not only from customers but also with the media and potential employees. When it comes to measuring the success and impact of a branding campaign it's important not only focus on the number of impressions but also the impression you leave on your targets.
Aside from tracking number of total impressions, measuring branding ROI is comprehensive and requires a deep understanding of your company and target. Whether your company is a Fourtune 500 industry leader looking to reinforce the brand as to not fall behind established competitors or a start-up looking to launch a unique initial identity in the industry amongst myriad competitors, it is important to first understand what your current brand identity is in the target market by comparing it with peer businesses. Regardless of size your team must be able to decide on specific objectives that you would like to achieve to be able to determine your company's Branding ROI.
After one sales cycle of branding, ask yourself these questions to help determine success:
- Am I able to raise prices compared to similar offerings of competitors?
- What was the precise number of potential customers I was able to reach?
- Did this campaign provide a focused message specific to the target customer?
- Has the length of the average sales cycle reduced due to awareness and trust gained from branding?
- Are incoming inquiries for our solution increasing, causing our reliance on direct marketing and lead generation to decrease?
When developing a branding campaign, use innovative tactics to engage and interest potential clients. Instead of simply linking banners and ads to your company homepage, develop a custom landing page for each target market. Try directing your awareness efforts to a viral video or webinar to keep prospects engaged with a dynamic message that is specific to their role and responsibilities. Of course, you would also be able to track click through rates, bounce rates, and average time spent on the page to help determine ROI. These creative efforts can go a long way in qualifying branding as a viable and necessary strategy by getting people talking and drumming up business through word-of-mouth.
