“What you see is what you get.” We’ve all heard this phrase before, but it hits a deeper meaning when you apply it to your business’s brand image. As a company, you want your brand to stand out in guests’ minds to keep them coming through your doors. How you present your brand can shift your audience’s perception of your company.
Your brand image influences guests’ decisions to return, make a purchase, and recommend you to their friends. You need to make sure what people “see” from your brand is as amazing as what they “get.” To help you showcase your brand to the fullest and increase customer retention, we’ve laid out our top tips for creating a positive brand image.
Tips for Creating a Positive Brand Image
1. Know & Show Who You Are
Knowing your brand’s image means you can better show it to others and create a positive impact on your business. So how do you create a brand image? Here are a few recommendations:
- Research Your Audience – If you know what your audience’s pain points are, you can shape your messaging to better communicate with them. Learn more about what your audience wants from a business in your industry and match your words to their needs.
- Know Your Value – Create a value proposition statement that lines out what value you offer guests and why they should choose you.
- Separate Yourself from the Competition – Know who your competitors are in the industry and see how you can differentiate yourself from them.
- Be Consistent – Once you have your messaging, value, and unique identity in place, make sure you stay consistent in how you present your brand. Lack of consistency signals untrustworthiness to the audience.
2. Build a Community of Loyal (and Vocal) Guests
Your loyal guests are the bread and butter of your brand. They’re more likely to do repeat visits, spend more, and speak highly of your services to others. If you put in the extra effort to build guest loyalty, those guests will stay invested in your business, which boots your brand’s image. Here are a couple of great ways to build your brand’s loyal customers:
- Be Personal – Your guests are more than a number. Getting to know their names, buying habits, and unique stories can help you create a special experience for them. You could start by sending personalized birthday messages with a discount for your services. Another way to provide a personalized experience is by sending guests emails that cater to their interests.
- Create a Customer Loyalty Program – Loyalty programs encourage guests to keep visiting your store by offering unique benefits, like a discount or a free product after a certain number of visits. Whether it’s a punch card, point system, or credit card program, loyalty programs motivate guests to keep returning. If you want to pair your loyalty program with the ease of text messaging capabilities, Check This Out lets you reward loyal guests with incentives of your choice and easily connect with them via text. Learn more about how Check This Out helps create lifetime guests here.
3. Increase Engagement
Creating a positive brand image can come down to your level of audience engagement. Boosting your audience’s participation with your brand is a great way to increase visits, purchases, and guest word of mouth buzz. If you connect with guest in a meaningful way, they’re more likely to keep coming back. Here are a two ways you can increase customer engagement:
- Provide Excellent Experiences – Quality guest experience is the top reason why people continue to return to a business. You want to ensure that every time a guest visits your business it’s the best one they’ve had. You can do so by offering new products, providing customer-centric experiences, or creating fun social media engagement opportunities.
- Hop On Social Media – It’s nearly impossible to run a business without implementing some level of social media marketing. Social media networks are full of people chatting about and interacting with brands, so it’s a great place to show you are part of the conversation, too. Regularly post interactive content that lines up with your brand identity and provides content that your unique audience would enjoy and share with others.
4. Leverage Word of Mouth Buzz
If you can get your current guests talking about your brand in a positive light, your brand’s image will skyrocket in the eyes of the public. Word of mouth is one of the most trustworthy forms of marketing around, as it relies on your loyal guests talking about your business to their friends. Reports say 92% of people trust recommendations from their loved ones more than other forms of advertising. To create word of mouth chatter about your brand, here are a couple of tips:
- Offer Discounts for Referrals – Discounts are a great way to not only reward your loyal customer base but generate new guests, too. Incentivize your current guests to spread the word about your brand with 10% off their next purchase or a free drink if they refer a friend.
With Check This Out’s Text Messaging Campaigns, you can easily send your customer base text message discounts for referrals and track referrals with the push of a button. Learn more about how our Text Messaging Campaigns can help you boost your word of mouth buzz here. - Host a Buzz-Worthy Event – People love to talk about great experiences with a brand, so encourage that chatter with a fun event. Whether it’s a social media competition or a Trivia Night at your restaurant, have fun being creative and engaging with your guests in a new way.
Start Creating a Positive Brand Image with Check This Out
If you’re ready to boost your brand’s image and expand your business’s reach, talk to the experts at Check This Out today. We harness the power of word of mouth marketing in a single platform to maximize your brand’s reach and generate more referrals. From text messaging communication to discount offers to tracking software, we’ve got the know-how and tools to grow your customer base. To learn more about how Check This Out can help in creating a positive brand image through word of mouth, chat with us today.