How Forward-Thinking Companies are Rethinking Branding in 2017

Smart businesses and brands are continually evolving and restrategising their branding and marketing approach, with evolving user behaviour as their major template.  As technology advances and new and the consumer market expands, consumer psychology become so intricately wired that modern businesses are realising that they have to do a lot more than just create new products.

Actually, most retailers sell what consumers can get elsewhere. So, to stand out, forward-thinking retailers are focusing on customer experience and adding greater zest to their brand expressions.

The new thinking among top business leaders and entrepreneurs is that how a company’s brand personality is presented is just as important as the products and services it sells. The philosophy is that if you can’t achieve obvious uniqueness and differentiation in your service or product offering, you should at least do so in the way you sell it.

According to statistics, the average customer in an online or brick and mortar store spends about 80% of the time navigating through the shelves and looking for their desired goods, and just 20% doing the actual shopping. What this translates to is that consumers have less interaction with the brand and consequently, bottled-up frustration.

So, modern and savvy brands now pay more than lip service to the “enriching customer experience” mantra and are presenting their brands or company as having a soul that cares, interacts and serves with a smile. Actually, customers now demand it and are quick to migrate to organisations that look after them, look authentic, and make their shopping experience fun. No more boring brand personality.

What is it according to?

For example, according to a recent Nielsen survey, 57% of consumers said they consider that visiting a mall should be more than just a shopping trip. They also want to feel a sense of a fun outing and get more friendly and helpful guide from store assistants before buying a product.

A part of making the company or brand have a caring, interactive personality that the modern buyer loves is developing an aesthetically satisfying brand expression to create legitimacy and reinforce consistency. Several scientific data proves that consumers engage more with brands that are more visually appealing.

Not doing so will be like watching a gripping movie and then suddenly being interrupted by commercials or the feeling you get when someone said they would do something but didn’t do it. That annoyance you felt at those moments is similar to the way consumers feel when your company’s brand expression is incongruent or inconsistent with what was promised. It makes them wary of the brand and its authenticity.

For example, every futuristic company never fails to include acrylic point of sale displays and slatwall accessories as part of their aesthetically appealing brand expressions. One of the most renowned names in that niche is PAC, who in addition, to their extensive range of standard slatwall displays and shelves, also offers “a bespoke design and manufacture service to provide retail display units to our clients unique requirements and budget.”

Conclusively, top brands in the modern understand they need to cultivate and nurture trust and belonging with their consumers and gain an emotional advantage. It is much like the feeling you get when you walk into a coffee shop and the coffee guy calls you warmly by your name and serves you your regular order without even having to mention it yet. This is often the winning edge for some of the most popular brands.

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