The power of online branding
- Par David Carle
A few years ago, a man called the Saturn's customer service line, telling the Saturn rep that her daughter was stalled in the Arizona desert, and needed immediate help. The man gave the location, plate number, and revealed his daughter was driving a Honda.
When the rep inquired about why he was calling Saturn, the dad answered "Aren't you the company that cares about people?" Next thing you know, Saturn sent a tow truck in the desert, rescuing the poor woman.
The story doesn't say a lot about what happened next, but presumably someone a Saturn as his next car.
This is the power of branding.
Branding is defined as the relationship building activity of introducing your products and services to your target audience, and doing everything necessary to transition them to your loyal user base. Simplified, this means giving quality content, and not being afraid of going the extra mile.
Even if the Saturn story has nothing to do with the Internet, the same lessons can be applied to your online business. There is only one small difference in building a brand identity in the online world: the speed in which your brand can transition a user to a buyer.
In this new world of e-branding, the Internet has evolved from a communication medium to a global channel where you can enhance your brand exposure and corporate reputation. Many Internet businesses managers seem to have forgotten the most stunning capability of the Internet: Strengthening their relationship with their customer base.
I know people who always order their fitness supplements from the same web site, because of the shipping policies. Amazon had their famous "write your own book'' activity on their site, where anyone could write a couple of lines in an online book. Yahoo! gives user the possibility of personalizing their homepages with weather reports, news and local features.
And you, what makes your product and services so special?
There is no easy formula when developing your brand identity. No matter what your field of activity is, the truth is that you are competing against hundreds, if not thousands of other sites. You need something special, original to your site. Now what does your site has to offer? An online calculator? Free online games? What about music downloads or any other entertainment?
Your competitors and you are fighting for a piece of attention from your audience; it's up to you to convince them that you are the best.