The great brands didn’t get there by chance; they got there with a lot of thoughtful work, and let’s not forget about innovation. Ford wouldn’t still be around if they decided the Model-A was good enough, right? It doesn’t take a million dollar marketing budget to solidify a brand (although that certainly helps), but it does take dedication and strategy. Let’s talk about what successful brands do again, and again, and again to get and stay on top.

Build Upon Connections

Today, there are a myriad of different ways for a business to connect with their audience, online and IRL (that’s internet talk for In Real Life). Be sure you’re tracking customer service ratings in an effective way to gauge how those IRL connections are being fostered. Some organizations use secret shoppers to get the customer experience, others use receipt codes for surveys, and everyone should be making this a metric of each field visit.

Lucky for us, building upon online connections is a little easier. You can automate so much now! Automated emails, offers, smart device notifications, and the list goes on. Are you using email, social media, and online advertising optimally to build upon customer connections? You should be! Any simple act from your audience, like signing up for a newsletter, liking a social post, or Googling your business, should be reciprocated and encouraged.

Create Content

A lot of small businesses struggle with this. It’s understandable, if you don’t see hard numbers (conversion rates) coming out of your tweets, Facebook posts, newsletters and blogs, then what’s the point? Well, the point is that these things matter; unique, relevant content matters.

As we’ve discussed before, your brand is far more than your logo; a brand is comprised of several components, including your messaging, mission, and values. That is precisely why 60% of the most effective B2C marketers have a documented content strategy. While we’re sharing stats, it’s also important to know that content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing and generates about 3 times as many leads. Blogging, engaging on social networks, and creating newsletters can sound overwhelming. Start small, build and learn how to repurpose your content.

Innovate

In business, you want to be in the marathon, not the sprint, and a solid brand is a qualifier, but there’s more to it. Let’s consider Blockbuster. They were a huge brand, that seemingly did everything right…except continuing to innovate. Even the best, most recognizable brand in the world will go under if they aren’t pushing, growing, evolving.

This doesn’t mean you have to reinvent the wheel every quarter. This does mean you have to free up enough of your resources and talent to be able to look up and see what’s ahead. An iceberg can easily be disguised as Red Box.

Keep at it, is the moral of the story, here. Rome wasn’t built in a day, but a blog tab can be! It’s an exciting time to be a business owner, but remember you can’t do it all on your own. Tools like Action Card can help you measure and improve upon customer connections, as well as free up time to work on innovation and marketing. Take a demo today to find out more.