Finding a foothold in any market can be a struggle. Even the most ubiquitous brands and businesses will occasionally struggle to get people to remember them in great detail.
Take Apple, for instance: it’s got brand recognition that’s right up there with giants like Coca-Cola, but most people can’t even pick the correct Apple logo out of a lineup. We only have so much memory space in our brain hardware. It makes some sense that we don’t store every single bit of possible information in there.
If you’re struggling to get your brand out there, here are three ways to help people remember your business.
Research great logos and brands
While it’s interesting that people can’t pick out the Apple logo, the company executives probably aren’t crying into their breakfast cereal about it. That’s because Apple still ranks as the world’s most valuable brand, according to a report by Forbes.
How did Apple get so valuable? Well, it took a lot of time and a lot of luck, but in 2019, people associate Apple with cool, useful products that are often hard to find elsewhere. The iPhone revolutionized the way we use phones, and people are really curious to see what the company will come up with next. Expectations are high, which gives Apple a lot of leeway to tinker with the market if they so desire.
This is true even when Samsung actually sold more smartphones in the last quarter of 2017. People still perceive Apple as an industry leader that everyone is trying to imitate. It helps that their logo is simple and effective: it’s a silver piece of fruit with a bite taken out of it. Everyone knows immediately what it is. You don’t need to guess about what that image represents.
Brand your office supplies
So you’ve done some research and identified a potential logo. It may not have the sway of the Apple logo, but you think it will let people know what your business is about when they glance at it. Now you have to figure out where to place that logo. You can start by adding it to just about all of your office supplies.
Office supplies may have been boring when you were a teenager doing back-to-school shopping. But now, office supplies are a way to show that you’re serious about your job, and so is everyone else who works for you. Presentation is everything.
If you’re pitching people on your business, you need to do more than just provide handouts. How you provide the handouts can also be hugely significant. Custom presentation folders with your company logo on the front are going to make a much better impression than just handing someone a bunch of loose-leaf papers with information about your company.
Don’t be annoying
When you hear a loud man screaming at you on the radio to buy a car, are you going to go directly to his dealership? No — if anything, you’re going to turn off the radio instead. You should never try to shout people into becoming your customer. It’s a move that always looks desperate, even if it occasionally works.
Annoying ads aren’t just on the car radio, either. They’re also on your TV, on the internet, and even on public transit. You need to show respect to your potential customers, because that matters to them and it’s something they will pick up on.
Let’s use a beverage distributor in Portland, OR, as an example. If the company has good products and reliable service, they should choose branding that reflects that. They don’t need to create an outrageous mascot just because they think it will get attention. Remember that getting someone’s attention is not at all the same thing as keeping it long enough to create a meaningful connection.