Why is Brand Awareness so Important?
If you want to know exactly why brand awareness is so important, you are in the right place. If you have searched and browsed the World Wide Web to reach this topic, you most certainly want to understand as to why everyone around is so desperate to spread brand awareness? What is its importance? And why are brands spending huge bucks on creating brand awareness? Well, you have clicked the right link. All your doubts and apprehensions about brand awareness and its importance would be clear by the time you finish reading this piece. So, let’s get started!
What is Brand Awareness?
Before we understand why it is important to create brand awareness, let us get a clear idea about what brand awareness really is. Brand awareness is the degree to which a company is recognized in the market and also the extent to which the consumers associate it with a product/service. For instance, Google as a brand is not only well known among the masses across the world but has become synonymous with search engines.
Likewise, McDonalds has become synonymous with burgers. This is the kind of impact brand awareness should create. This is an ongoing process. Brands need to make continual efforts to ensure effective brand awareness.
How is Brand Awareness Different from Branding?
Brand awareness is often confused with branding. You can read more about creating a brand identity prior to reading this post so you are completely clear on the difference. However, I will also try to explain.
It needs to be understood that though closely linked the two are completely different from each other. Branding means creating a strong and positive persona for a business. It includes giving it a name, a corporate logo and a punch line, and defining its guidelines and core values. Additionally, branding can also be created with your company web design and improved with consistent SEO. If you don’t know what is SEO, please do a little research so you can better understand the full impact of branding and SEO combined.
On the other hand, brand awareness, as mentioned above, is the extent to which the consumers are aware about a brand and its guidelines. Statistics reveal that only 25% of brands stick to their brand guidelines. Poor aesthetics shed a bad light on the brands and 52% of the consumers do not opt for such companies. This means if you stick to your principles, you shall be able to build trust among the masses.
While branding is a one time activity, creating brand awareness requires constant effort. One needs to invest in creative branding strategies and conduct regular brand activities and campaigns to create awareness about the brand. Around 80% of marketers believe that branding is essential for business growth and development. Creating brand awareness is equally crucial.
What is the Importance of Brand Awareness?
Here is why brand awareness is of utmost importance:
Be At The Forefront Of People’s Minds
Brand awareness is done to keep the brand on top of the consumers’ mind. This means that if a person wants to purchase something in the product category you are catering to your brand name should be the first to pop up in their mind. This can be done by consistently spreading awareness about the brand through different channels in addition to maintaining your product quality.
Build Trust
Viewing your brand over and over again in the market, on billboards, in television commercials, on social media and various other platforms familiarises the consumers with the company’s logo, name, punch line and more. This familiarity helps in building trust in the brand. Don’t you feel sure about purchasing a product from an established brand rather than going for one that you haven’t heard much about? Don’t you prefer going for a brand name especially when you have to make a big purchase such as an LED, a washing machine or a laptop? Most of us tend to dismiss the lesser known companies as we are unable to trust their products. Establishing trust takes a lot and brand awareness plays a substantial role in the same. Sources suggest that 31% consumers see trustworthiness as the most significant brand attribute.
Build Brand Equity
Brands with a high level of consumer awareness in the market enjoy a special place and get additional value for their products. Don’t we hesitate buying products from companies that do not have brand value even though their products are available with the same specifications and designs at a comparatively lower rate? Why is that so? It is because we haven’t heard about them and thus cannot trust them enough. The difference in price that the consumers are ready to shell for well known brands is referred to as brand equity. Brand equity results in increased sales and higher revenues. Research reveals that around 13% of consumers are ready to pay a whopping 31-50% more for brands that give an impression of making a positive impact on the world. So, you can capitalize big time when you create a strong brand image and stick to your values.
Build Customer Loyalty
Brand awareness plays an important role in building customer loyalty. If you are running a business, you may already be aware as to how difficult it is to acquire new customers. Retaining the old ones is comparatively easier. You can retain your customers and keep them coming back for repeated purchases by updating them about your brand through newsletters and messages. Sending them personalized messages about the launch of new products or schemes based on their buying pattern is an effective way to make them feel valued. This way when they think about purchasing anything new, they will give preference to your brand.
This, of course, needs to be coupled with high quality products and services and transparency in dealings. It has been seen that 94% of customers are loyal to brands that offer complete transparency. As per ISPO news, consumers take purchasing decisions subconsciously 90% of the time. We all tend to use mental shortcuts to skip the whole process of sorting and choosing between different brands. So, effective brand campaigns can keep the consumers hooked to a brand. Brand awareness impacts perception and helps establish brand loyalty. There is very less chance of repeated purchase without brand awareness.
Aid in Expansion and Growth
Once you establish an excellent brand image by spreading brand awareness, you will begin to do good business. You will not only be able to sell your existing products and services but can also be sure that any new product launched by you will be received well in the market. In fact, consumers look forward to more and more items from the brands they like and trust. Research states that around 59% of shoppers look forward to buying new products from their trusted brands.
Likewise, if you are doing great in a particular city and have established a brand name for yourself, you stand a high chance of getting a good response as you launch in other places. So, effective branding and brand awareness campaigns give a good scope of expanding the business.
Attract Investors
Brand awareness does not only attract consumers but also attracts investors. As investors see the popularity of a brand among the public and their trust in it, they also begin to believe in it. Reportedly, 82% of investors want to invest in companies that have strong brand value. They are ready to invest a good amount of money in such brands and look forward to collaborating with them. So, if you are seeking business investors and rely mainly on them then you know where to put your effort.
Create Strong Employee Base
Another reason why you should invest in creating brand awareness is that it attracts industry experts. Big brands recruit the most talented and hardworking people around with minimum effort. This is because everyone wants to be associated with a brand name. Working with a brand gives a sense of job security and stability. Companies with strong brand value reportedly witness 43% decrease in hiring cost. On the other hand, those with poor branding give 10% higher salaries. Besides, 50% candidates decline job offers from companies that have negative brand value even if they are ready to pay more. Companies that have one star rating on employer review website see just 21% of candidates applying for work.
The craze for working with a good brand is so high that the majority of professionals do not hesitate to leave their current job if offered a position in a company with outstanding reputation. So, brand awareness helps you attract talented professionals from lesser known organizations. This way you do not only bring down your hiring cost but also the training cost.
Build Emotional Connect
Consumers tend to establish an emotional connection with brands. This kind of connection is provoked by running strong brand awareness campaigns. It is but natural to trust and feel connected with something that we see over and over again. Those who have already used products and services from these brands feel a stronger connection and this goes a long way in building loyalty towards the brand. Research shows that as many as 68% men and 64% women feel an emotional bond with a brand. They tend to make their buying decisions based on it. Moreover, 94% of people have reported that they are likely to recommend brands they are emotionally connected with.
Effective Ways and Channels to Spread Brand Awareness
Now that you know the importance of brand awareness, here is a look at the ways to spread it effectively:
Use Social Media Platforms
Social media is undoubtedly the best medium to spread brand awareness. This is because the majority of consumers are active on these platforms and thus it ensures good visibility. It has been observed that consumers tend to trust brands that are more active on social media. Most of the consumers even share online deals from their trusted brands with their friends and relatives via these platforms. This increases brand visibility further.
Create Online Communities
Online communities serve as a great medium to spread brand awareness and establish credibility. 77% of brands back this theory. It has been observed that around 37% of users stick to a brand when they form a part of a community.
Maintain Consistency across Platforms
Maintaining consistency while running branding and marketing campaigns helps in creating a greater impact. It ensures effective brand awareness. Market researchers claim that brands that are presented consistently are likely to witness 3.5 times more brand visibility compared to those with inconsistent brand presentation.
A recent market study reveals that presenting a brand consistently across different platforms increases revenue by 23%. It has been seen that if your online banners, website, social media posts, product packaging, emails, pamphlets and other offline and online promotions send out a uniform message about your brand and its values, you stand a high chance of building brand awareness.
It is also a great idea to create customized brand awareness campaigns targeting specific audiences. 78% of consumers trust brands with custom content rather than generic one.
Use Video Content and Infographics
Video content and infographics are a great way to draw attention and promote brand awareness in the current times. Companies using these mediums have reported a rise in their brand’s popularity. A HubSpot study shows that more than 50% of consumers want to watch more video content from their preferred brands.
Create a Blog
Creating a blog and providing useful information related to your brand as well as the industry in general also helps in increasing brand awareness. Read this article to learn about how blogging boosts SEO.
This ultimately helps in generating sales. Research reveals that brands that create a blog and update it regularly generate 67% more leads compared to those that do not.
Offering freebies, partnering with local businesses and running referral programs are few other strategies to spread brand awareness.
All in one, brand awareness is of utmost significance as it creates trust, increases market share and raises brand equity. You must run repeated brand campaigns through different channels to create an impact in the market. Research shows that people must see your logo more than 5 times to be able to remember your brand. So, you must make consistent efforts to make sure you remain on the top of their mind. Your marketing and advertising strategies will only work if you have created a strong brand image and successfully spread awareness about the same.
It takes high creative thinking ability, thorough industry knowledge and a good amount of experience to create brand awareness. You must employ a trusted digital marketing company to help you with a top notch branding strategy.
Author Bio
Author’s: Hrishikesh Deshmukh
About: Hrishikesh is a technopreneur who successfully leads software and digital marketing company in Pune. He has 7+ years of experience in Digital Marketing/ Software development and has worked at various levels i.e. Digital Marketing Manager, Digital Marketing Head at various reputed startups such as CommonFloor.com, Wheelstreet.com, etc.
