Brand loyalty is the elusive elixir that fuels commerce. Sure, you might get someone to buy your product while it’s on special offer, but opening the door to repeat purchases and loyalty to your products is another thing altogether. This post will explain what your brand can do to improve customer buy-in from the very start – ensuring that your small business gets off the ground as fast as possible.
4 Ways to Cultivate Customer Buy-In
1. Create an Introductory Offer
Let’s face it, a new product on the block is going to be entering a crowded market, as chances are that you’ll have some formidable competitors in whatever field you might be seeking to shake up. To really make a splash, you should consider an eye-catching introductory offer that blows your competitors out of the water, in order to turn some heads in the industry.
Take Harry’s Razors is a great example of getting customer buy-in. They started out in a market dominated by established names such as Wilkinson Sword and Gillette – and took them on directly by offering a razor, shave gel and blades for a low price. They won thousands of customers as a result, who swiftly abandoned their major-brand affinity.
Your own introductory offer needs to present consumers with a substantially lower price than your major competitors, but it shouldn’t be too far under your regular price. Firstly, you could run the risk of your company being seen as untrustworthy, but secondly, you want to ensure your pricing structure is sustainable in the long term to allow you to maximize profit margins.
2. Get the Brand Voice Right
A friendly brand image can work wonders for creating an affinity for your product and quickly getting customer buy-in. Whether it’s light-hearted, zany copywriting on your packaging or a friendly email marketing strategy, there should be fun at the heart of your brand – especially if your product lends itself well to a bit of eccentricity.
However, not all brands can be playful. If your industry is a serious one where quality is desired above all else, then you’ll need to have an authoritative brand voice rather than one that detracts from the importance of the product.
Instantly finding the perfect brand voice is a difficult task, but once you’ve found one that resonates with your target audience and aligns with your brand values, your product has won half the brand loyalty battle.
3. Invest in Eye-Catching Packaging
Ultimately, the store shelf is where your brand is going to win or lose against its competitors, and a huge part of winning this particular competition is choosing eye-catching packaging for your new product.
Opting for a boldly different color from your competitors could be the key to attracting that initial interest from your desired consumers. However, you shouldn’t just jump into this decision without doing your research first – the wrong color choices could make you stand out on the shelves for all the wrong reasons, as some colors have the power to conjure up preconceived perceptions of what a product is or isn’t.
To avoid potential pitfalls, consult the palette of colors and branding styles that your competitors are using to make sure your own choices fit within the product market and won’t be confused for the wrong product entirely. For example, you won’t get a lot of interest in a new cereal that is packaged in an all-black box, in the same way, you’re unlikely to see customer buy-in when you put a luxury product in a cartoon-style packaging.
4. Be Responsive to Feedback
If you wish to be truly refreshing in an industry dominated by established names, then you should consider how your customer service drives this culture forward. By being friendly and going the extra mile for customers who have complaints and feedback, you’ll come across as a more approachable and trustworthy brand.
This will also have the effect of improving your brand image in both the eyes of consumers and the quality of the product itself. By shutting yourself off from reviews and feedback, you may well end up being subject to some negative PR, which can spell disaster for any small business.
In addition, using customer feedback – both the good and the bad – can help you hone your customer service for the better, allowing you to create products and services that will keep customers satisfied and coming back time and time again.
So, whatever product you’re bringing to market, make sure you have brand loyalty at the heart of every marketing decision you make. By strategizing about how to best get customer buy-in, you put yourself on the path for long-term success.
Author bio: Alex Jones is a content creator for Kendon Packaging. Now one of Britain’s leading packaging companies, Kendon Packaging has been supporting businesses nationwide since the 1930s.
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