An essential takeaway from Accelerate22, the global ecommerce acceleration summit presented by Pattern, was this fundamental brand principle: strengthening your brand affinity with consumers is an essential part of getting ahead in your ecommerce strategy.
During the digital marketing acceleration track at Accelerate, Beau Oyler, Chief Design Officer at Pattern and Enlisted Design, led a panel discussion with brand experts from consumer products to B2B services who shared the following profoundly simple advice to help all brands accelerate their brand online.
1. Establish Brand Control
Most brands that we talk to at Pattern and heard from at Accelerate struggle to stay consistent in their branding. A lot of times, this comes from disparities between their ecommerce and brick-and-mortar presence, as well as other issues like leaky distribution and unauthorized sellers. It makes sense—if you aren’t in control of your distribution and selling, you can’t dictate how you’ll be represented to consumers.
All of the panelists agreed that how you brand yourself to your online customer base is a crucial component of your ability to establish a strong connection with your audience. Staying true to your brand is essential to gaining repeat purchases, improving lifetime customer value, and increasing your overall brand equity.
“If you don’t take a stand, you won’t stand for anything,” said panelist Ti Chang, Co-Founder and Chief Design Officer at Crave. As a seller of luxury pleasure products, Crave can’t take advantage of many traditional marketing avenues—their brand, messaging, and imagery won’t appeal to or resonate with everyone.
But, by staying true to their brand in every aspect of their business, from product development to packaging to customer service, Crave is reaching the right people and finding their own niche in the ecommerce space.
Pattern works with econtrol law firm VORYs to help brands develop the right tactics for dealing with all kinds of control issues. They help brands turn around disjointed selling and distribution strategies, while Pattern’s studio teams work to accurately represent brands’ products and identity while optimizing content like product images and listing copy to perform its best.
2. Build a Superfan Community
The Accelerate expert panelists also lean into customer-focused community building to help brands stand out. Two key components of this strategy are social media marketing and influencer marketing.
Social media can get overlooked in an ecommerce strategy, but trends toward live selling and China’s example of social media selling success show that brands who prioritize this aspect of their marketing strategy are going to be much more profitable long-term. Social media is a great way to interact with niche audiences in a more personal way, leading to devoted followers and brand advocates who truly champion your success.
When advising leaders on influencer marketing, all panelists agreed that the key to finding great influencers for your brand is to connect with people that already love your products. The size of an influencer’s following isn’t as important as their passion for what you do. And their sponsorship will be more meaningful, authentic, and fruitful for both of you if they’re already voluntarily talking about you.
3. Collaborate, Collaborate, Collaborate
Shaun McBride, Co-Founder of Spacestation Gaming, strongly encouraged brands to seek and accept collaborations with others. This is an important strategy for his brand—his company’s unique niche is full of small but extremely creative brands that each possess their own strengths and devoted communities.
As he’s developed opportunities with these brands, their collaboration has paid off on both sides, even when partnering with smaller brands than his own. In fact, a partnership with a smaller brand has often offered better returns for Spacestation Gaming. As those small brands grow (and their customer base and influence with them), they have greater ability to promote Spaceship Gaming across all channels.
The Accelerate panelists noted that the key to successful brand partnerships is always keeping collaboration top of mind. As you cultivate an open, helpful attitude in your unique category, you’ll be able to learn more faster, share the benefits and resources of your communities, and grow alongside each other long-term.
Strengthen Your Brand Presence With Pattern
As an ecommerce accelerator, Pattern’s mission is to help brands maximize their profitability across online selling channels. We have the resources and partnerships needed for any brand to regain ecommerce control and win over competitors. We know that when brands are optimized to perform their best, they can most effectively communicate their value and unique product offerings to consumers.
Contact us here to start enhancing brand affinity for your products.
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Ready to accelerate your brand in 2023? Register for Accelerate23 today.
