10 Proven Ways to Build Your Business’ Brand Recognition and Improve Recalls

According to reports, 77% of B2C consumers purchase products based on a brand name. This clearly shows how crucial branding is for the success of a business.

Nevertheless, branding requires the right strategies with more time and effort than you might calculate. It requires that initial push in the right direction to attract your target audience to your brand. Fortunately, there are many methods you can follow to build your business's brand recognition.

One of the most effective ways is to get a custom vanity phone number for business. The vanity number includes the brand name or keyword directly related to your business, which makes it easier for people to remember your brand and drive customer engagement.

Besides this, there are other proven ways to improve the brand recognition of a business.  In this article, you'll find 10 powerful ways to build your business's brand recognition and improve recalls.

What are brand recognition and brand recall?

Have you ever loved a TV advertisement but couldn't recall the advertiser? If yes, the brand’s marketing campaign is good, but isn’t helping you recognize its brand. Unless your target audience recalls your brand along with your marketing campaign, they’ll never really convert into customers.

Brand recall is the probability of consumers instantly recalling a brand name when prompted by a service or product or other association with it. Consider the following brand recall example: Coca-Cola or Pepsi might be the first thing that comes to mind when you hear someone say "cold, fizzy drinks".

As part of brand awareness, brand recall measures how quickly customers recall the brand when the product category prompts them. Recall of a brand can take two forms.

• Aided brand recall: The ability of a customer to recall a brand name after being given an external hint, such as the brand name, products, packaging or brand logo.
• Unaided brand recall: An individual's capacity to identify the brand name on their own, without the assistance or hints of anyone else.

Brand recognition refers to how your brand can be identified without mentioning your company name. Consumers can recognize the identifying characteristics of one company over another.

Creating brand recognition begins with the logo, slogan, packaging and other visual features of the brand. If a consumer can recognize the company from a visual or auditory cue alone, even without hearing its name, then the company has successful brand recognition.

The decision to buy your product depends on the customer once they recall your brand.

However, brand recall and recognition are like the horse and its carriage – no recall can take place without recognition.

Why is brand recognition important?

By branding your company, you share your brand values with your customers and establish a trusting relationship with them.

Businesses strive to be the first brand customers think of when they need a product or service. So today, many firms invest heavily in brand awareness campaigns.

Since brand recognition sets your business apart from the competition and allows consumers to recognize your product and services, it’s an essential aspect of any business.

Brand recognition can be achieved through various marketing techniques, such as advertising, public relations and social media.

Here is a more detailed description of why having solid brand recognition is essential.

1. Boost market share

The study shows that 71% of consumers tend to purchase from those they are familiar with – if people recognize your brand, they will buy your product.

Brand recognition directly correlates with the likelihood of actual purchases of a brand's products or services. Recurring purchases are made easier due to it.

2. Creates a competitive edge

Brand recognition is a factor at the top of the marketing funnel that influences the buyer's journey.

Moreover, it establishes familiarity and trust, making you more competitive.

3. Simplifies introduction of new products

When your brand gets recognized, you’ll have a loyal customer base. So, when you launch a new product, your loyal clients may want to try that too. Doing so increases your reach and creates a buzz in the media.

4. Brand recall builds credibility

Brand recognition enhances your credibility across industries, markets, and target audiences. There is a direct correlation between credibility, loyalty and recognition.

When customers know, like and trust a company, they’re more likely to do business with it. The goal of building a trustworthy brand is critical; otherwise, you may lose customers.

How can you build your business’ brand recognition and improve recalls?

When you visit a brand/vendor website, do you feel instantly confused? Maybe the exact nature of the service they provide isn’t clear.

Many companies struggle to explain what they do and how they do it, and nobody wants to purchase something they don’t understand.

While there are numerous methods to to enhance brand recall that differ for different industries, here are 10 proven strategies to build your business’s brand recognition.

1. Invest in developing your brand profile, proposition and purpose

Any business person should develop an intelligent brand profile first to increase brand recall. The report shows that 82% of investors believe that name recognition is crucial in guiding them in their investment decisions.

The brand profile encapsulates all the decisions made by the marketing agency regarding:

• Communication
• Brand values
• Preferences
• Web presence
• Packaging
• Graphic design
• Etiquette in the office
• A brand's position on relevant socio-economic issues

By creating a solid brand profile, consumers easily recognize the brand's concrete and abstract characteristics.

Customers need to know why your brand is better than other similar options. Here are some guide questions that a business person can explore while working on creating a brand proposition or refining their brand identity:

• What is the purpose of your brand? Who is it? What is its purpose?
• What unique benefits do you offer that can benefit your clients?
• How would you explain your brand's idea or proposition in a single word?
• What type of messaging, tone and personality does your brand convey?
• What kind of impression do you want to make on prospects and clients?
• What are your brand's core values and attributes?

Answers to this preliminary brand profiling process help lay the groundwork for upcoming marketing decisions.

The answers to these questions play a vital role in determining the long-term success of your brand, even though the first step may seem easy to establish.

2. Be easily available to your customers

The best way to serve customers is to offer exceptional customer service. In a survey (PWC, 2018), 73% say customer experience is an essential factor. You can take a few extra steps to ensure that people remember your brand more easily:

• Encourage more calls with a toll-free number

Toll-free numbers can also enhance the credibility and professionalism of your business. A toll-free number allows your clients to reach you whenever they need you without having to pay any fees.

That’s why a toll-free number is essential for any business that wants to be available to its customers. It shows that you care about providing excellent customer service. Because of that very purpose, most businesses these days are adopting 888 area code toll-free phone numbers.

• Leverage custom vanity phone numbers for brand recognition and recalls

Additionally, business owners can get a custom vanity phone number for business from a virtual phone number provider. Since regular numbers can be hard for customers to remember, vanity numbers are easier for people to recognize and recall.

3. Create a strong brand story which your primary audience can relate to

You have the opportunity to tell your customers a story through your brand. Brands' stories of struggle and success can inspire consumers to get involved.

Create a strong brand story to connect with the audience emotionally. Successful brands know how to attract their clients through their compelling storytelling.

Suppose you have an engaging and exciting story about the company's philosophy, history and core values. In that case, it can assist your brand in establishing a positive relationship with your target audience's ideals.

People remember the things when there’s a story attached, so make yours a good one.

Let’s take, for example, Nike's equality campaign. The campaign shows the conflict of inequality and its resolution by portraying Nike as a force for social change, which goes beyond simply offering athletes their workout gear.

4. Audit your brand and look for gaps in your competitors strategies

Brand audits can identify upcoming opportunities, potential threats and problem areas.

Moreover, it can help you assess your brand's understanding by customers and the effectiveness of your marketing strategies. This process involves an in-depth review of your marketing materials and internal branding.

Understanding your target audience's needs, behaviors and preferences is invaluable for developing unique brand strategies and exploiting gaps in your opponents' strategy. So, market research is an important piece of the puzzle.

Analyzing your competitors' strengths and exploiting their strategies can help you differentiate your brand from theirs.

Furthermore, to stand out from the crowd, you must put all the things your competitor missed out on. And for that, you have to track what your main competitors are doing.

5. Invest in great brand logo design

The human brain processes images faster than text, so your business is likely associated with visual content.

Since an effective logo lays the foundation of brand recognition, it must be simple, unique, memorable and appropriate for your primary audience.

Global reputations and billions of dollars in revenue result from highly visible brands and memorable logos. Examples include Coca-Cola, Apple and Nike.

Aesthetically pleasing logos activate a positive brand recall. The company's logo captures consumers' attention, makes them different from their competitors, and makes a strong first impression.

6. Create an unforgettable brand tagline

Stop using a boring tagline that no one remembers. Develop an unforgettable tagline to boost brand recall and draw attention. A tagline should convey a product's benefits while simultaneously conveying a brand's purpose.

The first step in marketing your brand and raising brand recognition is to create a simple tagline or slogan. You're already off to a shaky start if your tagline or slogan doesn't have at least a ring.

For example, when customers think about the shoes, they might visualize “Nike” and their “Just do it” tagline. When you have the right slogan, your audience can remember what you are about and why they will choose you.

7. Humanize your brand and engage employees as your brand ambassadors

People respond to people instead of a faceless organization because our brains are wired to interact with people face-to-face. Consumer trust in word of mouth is significantly higher than in other marketing approaches.

So, humanize a brand by connecting the ideas of the company with the people involved with the brand. Gradually, you can make your employees brand ambassadors.

It helps to bring back the trust of the general public. A company's employees, customers and strategic partners should act as brand ambassadors and explain the company's growth to the audience. You can also use influencers and celebrities to promote your brand.

Providing excellent customer service and being open to consumer feedback will further humanize your brand.

8. Eliminate factors that jeopardize your brand reputation

Identifying all potential reputation risks when building a business brand is crucial because they could seriously damage your reputation and undermine your marketing initiatives. In the end, it’s better to prevent damage than to repair it afterward.

In addition, even the largest brands can suffer damage to their reputations because of inappropriate comments, misuse of hashtags and attempts to exploit tragedies.

To effectively manage your brand's reputation, executives must examine all factors that might harm it, monitor the internet regularly for dangers and ensure reputation management programs are in place.

9. Reach out to your target audience through social media and build connections

Until you remind customers and potential new audiences of your brand's existence, you can't expect your brand to be remembered. So, ensure you reach out to customers in the channels they prefer, and even when you don't market to them, they’ll remember you.

Whether it's Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, social media is a great place to reach your target audience. Social media lets you connect directly with your audience and make your brand more visible. According to Statista, 92% of marketers use social media as a marketing strategy.

Engage your followers by creating catchy CTAs and encouraging them to share, comment and like your posts.

Promote your brand through cross-promotional tactics like giveaways and contests to boost your social media campaigns. This will help your brand to be exposed to a wider target audience.

10. Be consistent in your brand strategy

Brand consistency refers to ensuring your brand's picture, messaging and values are uniform across all media channels. Customers appreciate businesses with consistent brands.

According to the sources, brands can increase revenue by 23% when they’re presented consistently across all platforms. Consistency allows your target audience to recognize your brand better, subsequently amplifying awareness.

Customers will know what to expect and feel when they see your logo or branding. Creating a relatable brand requires consistency.

Using the same logo and slogan on every platform will create a good impression. For instance, what you post on Facebook should be the same on other social media accounts and your website.