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Developing a stronger brand is a shared goal among entrepreneurs worldwide, as many business owners recognize its importance to company success. With about 5.9 million private sector businesses in the UK alone, your organization needs to differentiate itself from competitors through visibility and a solid reputation for success. So, if you want to learn more about implementing a successful brand development strategy, then consider the following points.

1. Review your overall business strategy

It is common knowledge that firms that experience enviable growth establish a robust and well-differentiated brand that makes growth easier. Therefore, many expert strategists advise that you define your business strategy clearly to obtain a fair idea of what your brand development strategy will look like. What type of firm do you want? Are you aiming for internal or organic business growth? Answers to these questions will provide a clear context for your brand development strategy, so this is an essential starting point to begin from.  As such, prioritize clarity and direction concerning where you want to take your firm, as this makes it simpler for your brand to help you get there.

1. Consider your company’s logo, name, and tagline

Logos, names, and taglines are also central to your brand development strategy, so it is vital to put in effort into getting these right. Many existing firms may not require a name change, but you should consider it if your current name no longer suits your positioning.  New firms and businesses undergoing mergers also need the perfect new name, logo, or tagline. Regardless of your firm’s status, consider changing one or all of these aspects of your brand identity if you deem it necessary. These elements communicate and symbolize your brand, so it is undoubtedly vital to find the right brand strategy agency to craft these elements to perfection, ensuring that they communicate effectively.

1. Identify your target clients

Many entrepreneurs want their goods and services to appeal to everybody for optimum success. However, experts opine that identifying everybody as your target client is a huge mistake that can prove costly for your company. The last thing many businesses with high growth and increased profit do is appealing to everybody, focusing instead on clearly defined target clients. It would help to also clearly define your target clients to position your firm for success. Defining your target market helps you narrow your focus, leading to faster growth. On the other hand, appealing to a more diverse target audience weakens your marketing efforts, so prioritize picking the right target clients for the best results.

1. Conduct market research

ESOMAR’s 2019 Global Market Research valued the market research sector at about $47 billion in 2018. This sector is increasingly valuable because more firms realize the importance of researching their target client groups before honing an effective brand development strategy. Research helps you understand your customers’ priorities and perspectives. This way, you can craft your message in a way that resonates with them. Research can also reveal how customers perceive your company’s strengths and current brand, lowering your brand development’s marketing risk significantly.

1. Develop your brand positioning

Your brand positioning is simply the space your business occupies in customers’ minds, and how it differentiates itself from competitors.  Therefore, it is crucial to determine your company’s brand position for a wide range of beneficial reasons. Brand positioning must address how different your firm is from competitors, and why potential customers within your target audience should pick you over alternatives. You can do this through a brand positioning statement, which must capture who and what your company stands for, and how different it is. Effective brand positioning boosts your business’ visibility and top-of-mind awareness in consumers’ minds, so prioritize this for optimum results.

1. Craft your messaging strategy

The next vital step towards successful brand development is developing a messaging strategy to translate your brand position into messages that resonate with your target audiences. Your target audiences here include potential employees, clients, partners, etc. Experts suggest maintaining a high degree of uniformity across the messages you send to these specific audiences but also emphasizing particular points based on which audience you are engaging. For example, messages intended for potential partners should emphasize mutual benefits, while those for prospective employees must prioritize company values.

1. Develop and implement your content marketing strategy

According to Statista data, a whopping 86% of marketers in the UK reported using content marketing as part of their overall marketing strategy! Content marketing is beneficial in modern times because it is more efficient than traditional marketing strategies. Rather than merely advertising to people and convincing them to patronize your business (visibility), content marketing uses helpful, educational content to attract and inform prospective clients (visibility and reputation). Therefore, develop and implement a great content marketing strategy to increase visibility and reputation, making your brand more relevant to target audiences.

1. Have a website

A great business website is undoubtedly a must-have for the modern company, so it is vital to have a website. For many firms, a website can even be the most crucial brand development tool if utilized correctly. It is the go-to destination for your target audience, informing them about what you do, how you do it, and who your existing clients are. Your website also houses your content, which is the focus of any Search Engine Optimization (SEO) efforts aimed at putting you out there to be discovered by prospective clients, employees, referral sources, etc.  A reported 75% of customers believe they can judge any business’ credibility through their website, so it would be best to put in maximum effort to create a great one.

1. Track your progress

The final, and one of the most critical aspects of your brand development strategy, is measuring results to determine how well your company is faring.  You can implement a great brand development strategy alright, but it is common for companies to get so distracted with client work that they relegate brand development to the background. As such, it is essential to track your strategy’s implementation and results to stay informed. For example, implementing a website is vital, but how is this website faring regarding web visitors and search traffic? By tracking progress, you quickly know which adjustments to make moving forward, so keep this in mind for the best results.

If you are a landlord in 2021, you might be experiencing some issues. The coronavirus pandemic has forced many people out of work, putting strain on tenants who are bound into rental contracts. But of course, the situation has been hard on homeowners too; mortgage payments are still due, and if tenants can’t pay, this creates a difficult situation for everyone.

If you are a buy-to-let homeowner or looking to become one in 2021, here is your definitive guide to navigating this difficult financial period. Let’s get to it!

Coming To An Arrangement With Tenants

Tenants have struggled during 2020 and into 2021. While they made a legal commitment to pay rent for an allotted period, nobody could have predicted how a pandemic would devastate people’s personal finances and employment situations. Plus, those who can access Universal Credit are still bound to be far worse off in this position than if they were working full time.

As a landlord, your position is simple: you also have a mortgage to pay, and you can’t grow money out of thin air. However, evicting your tenants will not solve this issue: then you’ll have no tenants to potentially pay rent for a long time, leaving your mortgage still unpaid. So what should you do?

It is time to knuckle down and come to an arrangement with your tenants. If both parties behave reasonably, you can come to a partial payment arrangement, or suitable arrears. This is a far more lucrative situation for all involved, so if an agreement can be met that suits both parties at least partly, it is better to go down that route than the route of eviction.

If you do feel you need to evict tenants, make sure to hire reputable enforcement agents to handle the situation sensitively but firmly. You will need grounds in order to evict tenants, so it is important to discuss this with a lawyer before proceeding.

Can You Really Afford This?

If you are looking to buy a home in order to let it out, consider if this is the right time for you. Investing in property is a long-term process that requires lengthy thought and extensive research of the area before diving in. Property in the UK is still selling reasonably well, but due to the COVID-19 and Brexit occurring simultaneously, the housing market is likely to be volatile. 

Plus, we have no idea truly how this pandemic is going to pan out. While vaccinations are taking place around the world, nobody can say for sure how the ramifications of COVID-19 will affect us long-term. If you are looking to invest in property but are on a tight budget to do so, think very carefully about being able to afford this venture right now. 

Final Thoughts

If you are considering a buy-to-let investment, make sure to use this guide in order to properly assess all potential risks. Being a landlord is a great way to make easy money, but in this day and age, further considerations are required to see if this is a sensible choice for you.

Welcome to your post-pandemic strategy! 

We have to acknowledge the fact that even with a covid-19 vaccine, businesses are unlikely to go back to the way they used to operate. As a result, you need to rethink the way you market your presence. In a world where face-to-face interactions are feared, being seen in a crowded digital place can be challenging. The priority for businesses of all sizes is to stand out and be noticed in a crowded space. The digital competition has grown dramatically since the beginning of the pandemic. Additionally, the audience is bombarded with digital data at all times of day and night, whether they are working, reaching out to friends, or planning their grocery shopping. Inevitably, the mental focus has dropped. There’s only so much information your audience can digest at any given time. In other words, post-pandemic strategies need to walk away from lengthy written pieces. 

Differentiate packaging for meaningful display

First of all, while digital channels have become prominent during lockdown, it doesn’t mean that shops can’t be successful. Essential shops are still open. We can also expect retailers to open their doors in the next few months. As a result, it makes sense to consider how impact packaging can be. With social distancing likely to remain in place until the end of the year, visible packaging with details that stand out such as gold foil stickers or bold colours can stand out on the shelf. Rather than reinventing products, lively packaging can give brands a competitive edge. 

Show your story for instant appeal

Your audience doesn’t have enough headspace to read long articles. But they are comfortable with video content, which is more digestible. Creating effective and engaging videos is no easy task if you are not familiar with the challenges of this medium. Ideally, small businesses should steer away from a cost-saving DIY approach, as it could make your video appear amateurish. Video marketing is not something to take lightly. Ideally, businesses of all sizes need to partner with a professional video production agency that can maximise quality, engagement, and message delivery. Saving money would be a false economy. 

Entertain, don’t promote

With more brands switching their activities online, social media platforms are more active than ever. Yet, being active on social media is not quite the same as being engaging. Hootsuite warns marketers on how to measure social media engagement, listing comments, likes, clicks, mentions, and many more metrics. Are all metrics equal? The answer is no, but which works best for you will depend on what you’re trying to achieve. While many brands are using social media for commercial purposes, an abundance of commercial messages could backfire. With a limited attention span, your audience needs brands that reassure, entertain, and support them during the pandemic. Brands that are aggressively trying to sell with every tweet could lose their social media influence. 

Maximise digital technology

When the digital sphere becomes the primary platform of contact between businesses and their audience, you need to diversify your digital tech use. For example, the addition of a chatbot can tackle visitor queries rapidly. A smartphone app can enhance transaction and customer service experiences. Invest in digital tech and solutions that can help your audience. 

Being seen when everybody else is fighting for audience attention can be challenging. Businesses need to learn alternative approaches that convey their brand messaging without increasing digital fatigue for their audience.