Maximizing ROI: How to Measure the Success of Your Branding Efforts

Maximizing ROI : How to Measure the Success of Your Branding Efforts (Demo)

by with No Comment BlogsBranding

Introduction

When it comes to marketing, understanding the return on investment (ROI) of your efforts is crucial for making informed decisions about where to allocate resources. However, measuring the ROI of branding can be a tricky task, as branding is not always directly tied to sales or revenue. In this blog post, we will discuss different ways to measure the ROI of your branding efforts and how to use that information to maximize your marketing budget.

 

1. Track Changes in Brand Awareness and Consideration

One of the primary goals of branding is to increase awareness and consideration of your product or service. To measure the ROI of your branding efforts in this area, you can conduct surveys or focus groups before and after a branding campaign. You can also monitor social media and online mentions of your brand. An increase in brand awareness and consideration can indicate that your branding efforts are having a positive impact, even if there is no immediate increase in sales or revenue.

 

2. Measure Customer Loyalty and Retention

Another key metric for measuring the ROI of your branding efforts is customer loyalty and retention. By measuring customer satisfaction and loyalty through surveys or customer retention rate, you can get a sense of how effective your branding efforts are at building a strong relationship with your customers. A high level of customer loyalty and retention can lead to repeat business and positive word-of-mouth marketing, which can be a significant driver of revenue over time.

 

3. Analyze Sales and Revenue

Of course, sales and revenue are the ultimate indicators of the success of your branding efforts. To measure the ROI of your branding efforts in this area, you can track changes in sales and revenue before and after a branding campaign. You can also compare sales and revenue for different target audiences or geographic regions to see how your branding efforts are resonating with different groups.

 

4. Track Engagement on Social Media

Social media can be a powerful tool for building brand awareness and engagement. To measure the ROI of your branding efforts on social media, you can track metrics such as likes, comments, shares, and followers. You can also track the engagement rate of your social media posts, which is the number of engagement divided by the number of followers. A high engagement rate can indicate that your branding efforts are resonating with your target audience.

 

Conclusion

Measuring the ROI of your branding efforts can be a challenging task, but it is essential for making informed decisions about your marketing budget. By tracking changes in brand awareness and consideration, customer loyalty and retention, sales and revenue, and engagement on social media, you can get a sense of the effectiveness of your branding efforts and make adjustments as needed. With the right metrics in place, you can maximize your marketing budget and achieve the best possible return on your branding investments.

The Role of Empathy in Design Thinking

Designing with Heart : How empathy is transforming the Design Thinking Process (Demo)

by with No Comment BlogsBranding

According to Frank Chimero, artist and author of The Shape of Design:

\”People Ignore Design That Ignores People.\”

 

That makes empathy a critical component of any successful company strategy.

Understanding how a user reacts to a product or interface is crucial; does this website\’s design cause irritation? When using this app, how does the customer feel?

Using the jobs-to-be-done empathy paradigm, designers can create products that appeal to the target audience and streamline their daily routines. Empathy is the safety valve that keeps the design process from floundering without it.

 

What Exactly Is Empathy, And Why Is It So Vitally Important?

To empathize is to \”understand, be aware of, be sensitive to, and experience vicariously the emotions, thoughts, and experience of another, without having the feelings, ideas, and experience completely transmitted in an objectively clear way,\” according to the Oxford English Dictionary.

When we feel compassion for another person, it motivates us to take action in a social setting. When we feel empathy for another person\’s plight, we are moved to take action to alleviate their pain.

To make the proper decisions, designers must develop empathy for their customers.

  • Does this website\’s layout make you feel frustrated as a user?
  • How may a user respond to a product or interface?
  • Which feelings does the user experience when making use of this app?

By putting themselves in their customers\’ shoes, designers better understand their needs and craft items that will delight and simplify their lives. Without this understanding of the user\’s perspective, the design process will lack the user-centricity crucial to a product\’s success.

 

Remember That Sympathy Is Not Empathy

A common pitfall in design thinking is mistaking empathy for sympathy. It\’s unnecessary to share another person\’s experiences to be empathetic toward them. You can recognize the difference now that you have a basic grasp of what empathy entails.

What\’s more, when we sympathize with someone, we frequently project our own emotions of pity and grief onto them in the act of superiority. These sentiments might upset others and be counterproductive while trying to create something new. Understanding the people you\’re designing for is more important than having a gut reaction to their present situation.

In order to develop a solution that addresses an issue faced by your target audience, you must first put yourself in their shoes by visiting them in their natural environments, observing their behavior, and conducting interviews. To do this, you don\’t need sympathy but rather empathy.

 

How Does Empathy Tie Into The Process Of Design Thinking?

Empathy is essential in the early phases of design thinking; the foundations of every design should be founded on empathy. At this step, the designer must:

  • Get acquainted with the customer/user.
  • Spend significant time with the user to get to know them and observe their feelings.
  • Get acquainted with the user to the point where the latter can sense the former on a psychological and emotional level.

Most of us are rather arrogant because we view other people and their emotions through our own eyes. Creating a distorted representation of others based on our own preconceived assumptions. It is critical to break this behavior since it may impair our capacity to empathize. This is particularly important for designers, who must put aside their personal perspectives before trying to grasp the psychology of the user. Making good observations and connecting with them on a personal level contributes significantly to developing successful knowledge.

 

The 4 Phases of Research in Empathy

Discovery – Identifying and contacting the users is the first step in the discovery process. The phase\’s goal is to recognize user behavior and excavate the unspoken factors that influence their actions and decisions.

 

Immersion — Stepping figuratively into the user\’s shoes is an absorption into the empathy phase. In order to comprehend the people for whom you are addressing the issue, it is necessary to repeat the users\’ experiences, engage in the same activities, and immerse oneself in their world.

 

Connection — In this stage, the goal is to connect with the user\’s life via observation, involvement, and experience to better understand their wants, issues, and obstacles. Here, you may connect with the users and develop empathic insights.

 

Detachment — Detach and practice what you learned through empathizing to define and come up with ideas with a better grasp of the user\’s life.

 

It\’s always possible to learn something new about users. Following the four stages above may help you do thorough, well-planned research that can provide insightful user information that can be used to help you:

  • define,
  • ideate,
  • prototype, and
  • test your design as you go through the Design Thinking process.

 

Putting Empathy to Use

Various methods and processes are required to really understand the individuals we are designing for. I will discuss some of its features and advantages below.

 

Gain Empathy from Talking to Actual Users

User interviews are the most influential research tool for tapping into empathy. This is based on the well-established principle that \”You are not your user.\”

You may roughly classify user interviews into three distinct types:

  1. Questionnaires and other types of structured interviews;
  2. Semi-structured, to provide some direction in testing theories;
  3. Informal in-depth interviews. Users are mostly left to their devices, with little or no supervision or interruption. The situation in which no prior design work has been completed;

At this step of the Design Thinking process, Empathize, we need to conduct in-depth, unstructured interviews. Avoiding leading users might help them avoid having their views skewed. To listen attentively and make notes is our mission.

 

Ways of Expressing Understanding via Visualization

Both our users and our colleagues need our empathic attention. Accordingly, in keeping with the principles of empathetic design, we should also show the data in a way that considers the audience\’s perspective. Both \”design thinking\” and \”design\” may benefit from this.

 

a. Empathy Maps

Empathy maps guarantee a more profound comprehension of our consumers\’ requirements and are essential for creating effective design choices.

Says, Thinks, Does, and Feels are the usual categories used in empathy maps. However, these divisions are not required. Because of its layout, you may investigate the user\’s persona in a way that isn\’t strictly sequential.

 

b. Journey Mapping

I can empathize with my users at every point of interaction thanks to journey maps. They provide me insight into the words and thoughts that consumers may have when they engage with different parts of my product. I can now foresee their actions and adapt my designs appropriately.

Remember that you may easily adjust customer journey maps to suit your needs. Understanding the user\’s perspective requires attention to the user\’s words, thoughts, actions, and emotions.

 

c. Storyboards

Similarly, storyboarding is an expansion of empathy maps. A user\’s experience with your product may be improved and anticipated with their help. In most cases, they are comic-like pictures showing the many steps a user must go through to complete a task on a website or application.

This user analysis is significantly more efficient and user-friendly than reading a 40-page study on the same subject. I witness users in realistic settings to add to the humanization and the potential for empathy.

 

The Bottom Line

Empathy is an important skill for designers since it helps them understand how their audience acts and feels. To correctly answer your customers\’ demands, you must thoroughly comprehend their challenges. It helps solve complex, ill-defined, or unknown challenges by re-framing them in human-centric ways.

 

Hopefully, this post has given you a better understanding of the importance of empathetic design and its impact on app user experience.

The Role of Storytelling in Branding

Brand Narratives: The power of Story telling in Building Strong Brands (Demo)

by with No Comment BlogsBranding

Brand storytelling is no longer nice to have. It is an ABSOLUTE NEED.

Humanity is becoming the new premium in today\’s fast-paced, highly automated, and digitally-driven culture. The human touch is becoming rarer and rarer and treasured due to the internet\’s constant power to reward us with ease and immediate gratification.

In this environment, businesses can no longer afford to be anonymous. Businesses need to engage customers on a level never before seen, to touch their emotions and pull at their heartstrings.

This is where brand storytelling comes in…

Brand storytelling is the unified narrative that ties together the facts and emotions that your brand elicits. Stories are the best way to engage an audience and tell them why your brand is worth their time, money, and attention.

In this post, you will learn: What is Brand Storytelling? Why it is so important for brands now? How to create a story that works for your company?

Let\’s get started!

 

What Exactly Is Brand Storytelling?

Brand storytelling is a tactic for growing your audience by establishing an emotional connection with them. Your brand narrative is a synthesis of the following:

  • Who you are,
  • What you do,
  • What do you care about, and
  • How you assist others.

It\’s a narrative about your brand\’s existence and why people should connect with you.

 

Why Is Storytelling So Crucial For Brands Now?

\"Why

Because people are more likely to buy from someone they like, trust and feel connected to. If a story resonates with your audience, it can make the difference between them buying from you or not.

According to a study by The New York Times, stories help us understand one another and create connections that lead to empathy.

That means your audience must understand who you are, why they should care about you, and what they may have in common with you. But how can you do it efficiently? By telling your brand\’s narrative in every piece of content you create.

If you\’re on the fence about sharing your brand narrative, here are three reasons why you should.

 

  • Brand narrative distinguishes you.

What distinguishes you? There\’s a reason you\’re different—whether it\’s your product design or service features—and consumers want to know what it is.

You may think it\’s self-indulgent, but the most important aspects of your brand\’s story—how it came to be, grew, learned to perform excellent work, and chose what it stands for—are more engaging to others than you think.

You may easily beat out your rivals if you aggressively highlight the qualities that set you apart in your content.

 

  • Stories transform the imagination into a virtual reality tool.

With the power of the human imagination, who needs virtual reality technology? In the sense that they stimulate brain regions that affect how you perceive what you see or hear and contribute to your ability to form your own opinions, stories operate as brain fuel. Create a narrative that will stay in the minds of your viewers, and their brains will take care of the rest.

 

  • It brings your brand to life.

People desire to talk to other people. Fortunately, your brand is made up of people (ideally). By revealing that portion of your brand\’s narrative, you make it easy for consumers to know who you are and, more crucially, trust you. (The 2019 Edelman Trust Barometer Special Report found that just 34% of individuals trust the brands they consume.)

Too often, companies neglect the power of narrative in favor of focusing on product features, which means they pass up an immense potential to make an impact. Sharing your brand\’s story is the most effective method to bridge the gap, establish transparency, and create more meaningful interactions.

 

Examples of Brand Storytelling

Some businesses have a meaningful narrative inherent in their company and product DNA (e.g., TOMS shoes). In contrast, others must create a creative tale to make their product significant (e.g., most enterprise SaaS companies).

Here are some instances of some of the world\’s finest brand storytellers.

 

  • Warby Parker

Warby Parker revolutionized the eyeglass market by making designer eyeglasses cheap, environmentally friendly, and simple to try on at home. Their brand is also built on a compelling tale. One of its founders missed the first semester of graduate school because he misplaced his spectacles on a backpacking trip, and they were too expensive to replace. He and his team decided to address the issue using a plant-based frame structure that is healthier for the environment.

 

  • Coca-Cola 

Coca-cola’s legendary Santa ad is an excellent example of brand storytelling. For example, after the brand\’s \’Give and take, say I\’ promotion, children began putting Cokes outside their houses for Santa. Their Santa figure is so well-known that simply seeing his face recalls their tales.

 

  • Nike

Nike built itself in people\’s imaginations in the 1990s with superb storytelling.

In 1999, they produced a stunning ad to remember Michael Jordan\’s career. At a time when everyone was pressing a hard pitch, Nike let Michael Jordan’s story speak for itself. At the conclusion, \”Just Do It,\” the swoosh emerges, and that\’s all the space their brand took up. The tale created an emotional connection between the fans and the player – Nike was just a tiny part of the transaction.

 

Getting Started with Your Brand\’s Story

Fortunately, you\’re in better shape than most people if you have a great story and a desire to share it. It\’s time to actively spread your message by coming up with creative ways to do it.

 

Start with the core of your brand. 

Your brand\’s purpose, vision, mission, and values make up its brand heart. The base of your brand narrative is built on these guiding ideas.

 

Be distinct in an ocean of similarity.

Having a high-quality product or service is not enough; you also need to know how to market it in a way that sets you apart from the competition. That is why brand storytelling is so crucial.

Focus on building a meaningful, enduring, and authentic brand rather than bombarding your audience with figures, facts, and testimonies. Put your point into a narrative that engages audiences, clarifies facts, and elicits a feeling. Share your brand\’s history, difficulties, triumphs, and value propositions through narrative; no other brand can replicate YOUR story.

 

Make it resonate.

The ultimate aim of every tale is for it to be memorable, resonating with customers for days, if not years. With its Budweiser advertisement during the 2014 Super Bowl, Anheuser-Busch successfully did just that.

An interaction between a puppy and a Clydesdale is depicted in the advertisement. A group of Clydesdales rushes in front of the vehicle to stop the puppy\’s adoption and prevent it from being driven away in a car. A brilliant slogan — \”best buds\” — appears on the screen, connecting the bond with the Budweiser brand. In the end, the puppy is allowed to live on the farm with the Clydesdales. According to a TIVO survey, it was the most-watched Super Bowl commercial in the past 50 years.

 

Be helpful, not hype-full.

Instead of being excessively promotional, telling true, honest tales will connect with your audience more. Think about the correspondence you get from your preferred brands. Do they make empty promises? Presenting implausible or impossible goals? Most likely not. Find narratives that show your audience how you can assist them. Being human will go a long way in your marketing encounters.

 

What’s your story?

In a congested marketplace, when everyone is focused on doing things quicker, more effectively, and automatically, be the brand that dares to BE HUMAN. Show your consumers that you care, even if it means (gasp!) slowing down or doing things differently.