As one year ends, another year begins — and with it comes new opportunities for businesses to get the most out of the 12 months ahead. 2020, in particular, looks like it’s going to be an uncertain year for lots of reasons, and businesses will want to instil confidence and trust within their customers.
According to a study by Altimeter, increasing brand awareness and ‘brand health’ is the primary goal for many businesses in 2020 — followed by lead generation (26%) and customer experience (20%). Strong brand awareness not only builds trust and authenticity, but it also means people can easily recall who you are and what you do.
If you’re not already making brand awareness one of your primary goals in 2020, then that’s the first thing you need to really ought to change. To that end, here are a few more creative resolutions that will help you on your way.
Tell your brand story
With so many companies vying for our attention, it’s difficult for businesses to cut through the marketing chatter, much less strike a resonant chord with customers. In order to stand out distinctly and effectively, businesses need to reconnect with audiences on a much deeper level. They need to administer brand storytelling.
For thousands of years, people have used stories to convey themes, ideas and to evoke feelings in ways that are memorable and experiential. Brand storytelling is essentially the same premise. We can all think of campaigns featuring powerful messages that weave together important facts and emotions indicative of a particular brand.
To celebrate 25 years of Playstation, Sony delved into the platform’s history, telling the story of how far the brand had come through beloved games, pop-culture iconography and the most important aspect — the players.
Shout about sustainability
that businesses in 2019 should do more to demonstrate Corporate Social Responsibility — mentioning, at the time, that 86% of UK consumers expect companies to consider their impact on society as much as their own business interests.
Unilever reports that a third of consumers are now buying from brands based on their environmental impact, and more than one in five will actively choose brands that are transparent about their sustainability efforts. With the global issue of climate change being what it currently is, the agenda for most businesses looks pretty set.
Already brands are making a point of adopting greener ethics, doing everything they can to prevent further damage to our natural world. And while some organisations don’t have the knowledge or resources to implement sustainable practices themselves, partnerships with companies that do is a strong way of delivering that same message. French sportswear brand Lacoste released a limited run of polo shirts replacing the signature crocodile logo with animals facing extinction. Not only was the campaign positively received by customers, but it also helped increase awareness and raise funds for The IUNC.
Make experiences hyper-personal
As mentioned earlier, customer experience will be one of the primary concerns for businesses in 2020. But how can brands constantly on top of their game continue to make things even better?
The answer, it seems, lies in hyper-personalisation.
According to Accenture, 75% of customers are more likely to purchase from a company that understands their needs and recommends relevant products / services. You could say this is symptomatic of living in an age where data is king and smart devices tailor the shows we watch and the music we listen to, according to our preferences and behaviours.
Thanks to the digitisation of nearly everything, it’s not difficult for companies to personalise customer experiences. Email, social media and content marketing all play huge roles in delivering experiences that feel tailor-made, while developers are continually pushing the level of customisation users can expect when browsing a website.
Dark Mode is the latest example of website customisation that can dramatically improve an individual’s browsing experience. The feature has now become a staple on most browsing devices, switching the OS background to black to reduce eyestrain and, in some instances, extend battery life. 2020 will see more websites adopt this functionality, enabling users to adjust the visibility/aesthetic to their own liking.
Koobr is a creative agency specialising in branding, web design, graphic design and digital marketing. For more information visit their website here
