As a small business, getting your brand noticed is crucial to stay in the minds of your customers. Amid countless brands vying for attention, differentiating your brand in this information-rich world can be challenging.

A customer’s attention span is short – you have only about 8 seconds to make an impression. So, to maximize your marketing efforts, you need to push out high-quality content. At the same time, you need to make sure you’re using effective marketing channels to get your message across to your audience. Using the right marketing strategies is key to performing well in the market.

But how do you determine which branding strategies to use? What tactics should you use to increase your brand engagement? How can you add more value to your customer experience?

Though brand-related decision-making can be challenging, you can create space for your brand in the market. Fortunately, there are many ways to get noticed. This article covers different strategies you can use to differentiate your brand and get your customers to remember you.

1. Optimize your website

Building a strong website can improve your professional credibility and generate leads. This makes it a great way to grab a sizable market share.

An easy way to optimize your business website is to provide your customers with high-quality content. Offering your customers value-adding and SEO-rich content can increase traffic to your website.

Another strategy involves improving your website experience with better UI/UX and faster mobile responsiveness. While making your website more user-friendly, streamline the payment process to boost sales.

2. Be personal with your customers

While your aim is to increase the profits of your business, don’t just be transactional with your customers. 70% of customers want brands to connect with them on a personal level.

If you have a retail store, focus on being conversational in face-to-face interactions. If you have an exclusively online store, be active on social media and respond to positive and negative reviews quickly.

Building moments of personal connection let your customers know you care, strengthening your individual relationships with them. This will foster brand loyalty and set your small business apart from the competition.

3. Tell your brand story

When building a brand image, nothing beats authenticity and relatability. The more real you are with your customers, the more they trust your brand.

An easy way to build this trust with your customers is to tell your brand story. Why did you start your business? What are your brand’s mission and vision? What challenges did you face in the beginning? How did you overcome these obstacles? By addressing these questions and sharing both the highs and lows of your journey, you can make your brand story compelling and relatable.

4. Don’t follow the herd

If you truly want to stand out from other brands you compete with, you need to be unique and original, both in terms of your products or services as well as with regard to your brand identity.

Offer something that other businesses in your niche or sector don’t provide. For example, if none of your competitors offer eco-friendly products, you can introduce a green product line to grow your customer base and increase your sales. This will help you capture market share that no one else is after.

Look at brands that have a strong grasp of the market despite the constant evolution of trends and intense competition. Study their brand journeys and draw lessons you can apply to build your own brand identity.

5. Automate your marketing game

Traditional marketing methods simply don’t work like they used to anymore. And in 2022, it’s time to abandon them in favor of using top brand marketing strategies that improve visibility and attract customers.

One of the easiest ways to take your marketing to the next level is by setting up marketing automation. With several software platforms like Paystone, SharpSpring, and Omnisend offering different types of automation tools, you are spoilt for choice.

Opt to use services that let you market your brand on multiple channels. By automating repetitive tasks and freeing up your time to focus on strategy, marketing automation can be a game changer.

6. Improve your customer experience

73% of customers consider their experience with a brand as a crucial factor in their purchasing decisions. While 43% of customers would pay for greater convenience, 42% would pay for a more friendly and welcoming experience. These statistics point to one thing: customer experience is more important than ever, and it is the future of marketing.

You can improve your customer experience in several ways. Start with a mindset change: treat your customers as individuals with distinct preferences and build personalized relationships to make them feel valued. Another way to enhance your customers’ experience is through the use of technology to streamline the shopping process.

7. Show your customer reviews

If you are a small business, online reviews and testimonials are a great way to expand your customer base.

With 77% of customers ‘always’ or ‘regularly’ reading reviews for local businesses, you can leverage positive reviews to help your business stand apart from the competition.

Since most customers won’t make an effort to leave reviews or testimonials, you will need to find ways to entice your customers to do so. You can ask for reviews in-person, via phone calls, messages, and emails, or through receipts and invoices.

Though you might invest time and effort in getting reviews and referrals organically, your strategies may not always work. An easy way to get more reviews is through NiceJob’s Reviews feature. This service can help your small business build the stellar reputation you seek.

8. Outsource your Digital Marketing to Stand Out

In a competitive market, using effective digital marketing strategies is key to getting your brand noticed. However, digital marketing can be difficult to master.

By using Animas Marketing’s professional digital marketing services, you can spend more time refining other aspects of your business. We offer SEO, website design, social media management, email marketing, social media advertising, graphic design, and more.

With our top-of-the-line marketing services, we can help you reach your business goals faster. Contact us today to discuss your marketing needs so that we can conceptualize and implement a marketing plan that’s right for your business.