Brand building can be measured. Start by defining clear brand objectives, then track brand awareness metrics like social media mentions and referral traffic, monitor branded keyword performance in Google Analytics 4 and Google Search Console, measure customer sentiment through reviews and comments, and track brand advocacy through mentions and shares.
As small business owners, we often find ourselves navigating a delicate balance between immediate results and long-term growth. The tangible results of sales and leads, versus the intangible benefits of brand building efforts like increased brand recognition, customer loyalty, trust, and brand equity. That’s why, this week I’m diving into the magic of brand building and providing you with my top tips for measuring the effects of your brand performance so that you can start using your time and resources more strategically.
A study conducted by Adobe in 2021 found that consumers who trust a brand are:
- 7x more likely to make purchases from that brand,
- 6x more likely to recommend the brand to their friends,
- 4x more likely to join the brand’s loyalty program, and
- 4x more likely to post a positive review or engage on social media.
These statistics highlight the powerful influence that trust in a brand has on the behaviour of its customers. The study goes on to further discuss the importance of building trust in your brand to retain customers long-term. Read more about the key findings and insights from the Adobe article “7 in 10 Customers Will Buy More from Brands They Trust; Abandon Those They Don’t“ here.
While it’s easy to get caught up in the metrics of sales and revenue, it’s equally important to recognise the impact, benefits and value that brand building efforts have on the lasting success and sustainability of our businesses.
Targeted campaigns offering promotions and discounts can deliver short-term gains which are incredibly valuable marketing activities, however, it’s the cultivation of brand recognition, trust, and loyalty that will set your business apart in the long run.
By building a strong brand, you’re building a loyal customer base who not only buys your products or engages your services, but also becomes your brand ambassadors – spreading the word about your business and putting your brand in front of new potential customers, increasing the likelihood of increased new customers.
By measuring your brand performance and the effectiveness of your brand building activities, you’re empowered and enabled to be more efficient and effective in your marketing. This means less time spent on marketing and more time focusing on other parts of your business, or simply more time back in your day to spend with the people you love, doing all the things that spark joy in your life.
Remember, marketing doesn’t have to be hard.
Here are my top five tips for measuring and understanding the effectiveness of your brand building activities, empowering you to make more informed decisions that drive meaningful growth for your business.
- Define Clear Brand Objectives
Start by establishing clear and measurable objectives for your brand building efforts. Determine what specific outcomes you aim to achieve, whether it’s increased brand awareness, improved brand perception, or higher levels of customer engagement. By defining clear objectives, you can effectively track progress and evaluate the impact of your brand building activities. - Track Brand Awareness Metrics.
Go beyond website traffic and delve into metrics like social media mentions, brand searches and website referral traffic. These can indicate how effectively your brand building efforts are increasing brand recognition. - Track Branded Keyword Performance.
Monitor your search ranking, search volumes, impressions and clicks for branded keywords (e.g., “Penn and Lytics,” “[your company name] + reviews”). This shows how effectively your brand building efforts are making you a recognisable entity within your industry. Tracking your branded keyword performance through Google Analytics 4 (GA4) and Google Search Console also enables you to better track your branded keyword performance overtime. - Measure Customer Sentiment.
Analyse your customer reviews, social media comments, survey responses, and post engagement feedback to gauge brand perception. Are your customers using positive adjectives to describe your brand? The places you identify your brand are generating positive discussions and descriptors, it’s a sign that your brand building efforts are fostering positive brand sentiment. - Track Brand Advocacy.
Monitor brand mentions (even if these mentions are not directly tagged), shares, and user-generated content featuring your brand. Are your customers raving about your brand on social media? That’s brand advocacy gold! These are the types of advocacy measures you want to be across. - Ask your customers!
My absolute favourite. Ask your customers. Talk to your customers, and you community (who are your potential customers). When it comes to surveys people often tick and flick, but when you strike up a conversation, that’s where you get rich insights and intel. You get the goods on what your customers, and potential customers (your community – remember your community who haven’t purchased from you yet are a HUGE opportunity) really think about your brand.
Some of the most important data and insights you’ll collect when trying to understand how people feel about your brand are:
– trust levels in your brand,
– whether they would advocate for your brand,
– how likely they are to recommend your brand, or
– if they have any hesitancy levels about your brand.
These are all amazing insights you can uncover through the power of conversation.
Looking to be more efficient and effective in your approach to marketing, and best of all, get more time back in your day? Book a free 30 minute call and let’s chat about how I can help you better understand what’s working and not working in your approach to brand building activities, and marketing campaign activities, helping you identify how you can get the best return on effort (and investment) for you and your business.
