At Creative ID, we’re really big on brand touchpoints. Every time your audience interacts with your brand, whether fleetingly on social media or through a long-read blog post on your website, they are building and reinforcing their impression of you. Eventually, they’re won over: they feel that you understand them, you are solving a problem for them, and you’re the business they want to invest in. This interaction creates sales and – more importantly – it creates a loyal following of customers that want to stay in the loop.
Of course, not all touchpoints are created equal, and it’s (sadly!) possible to “waste” these opportunities too. This blog post is an invitation to ask yourself: are ALL of your touchpoints genuinely on brand and as impactful as they can be? Think about the customer experience, all the way from in-person meetings and calls, the images in your adverts, the graphics in your sales pitches, to the signature at the bottom of your emails, the gifts you send, or the voice in your social media captions. At the core of it, a touchpoint is an encounter designed to invoke positive feelings around your brand, and exactly what form these can take is going to be specific to each business model and business owner.
Let’s take a step back: what does it mean when a touchpoint is “on brand”? By that we mean that your digital, physical, visual, and written content is all truly in harmony. Creating a sense of seamlessness is achieved in many different ways, including for example having a brand colour palette, an adaptable family of logos, and a consistent tone of “voice” in your website, advert, and social media copy. Here are our top tips for maximising the impact of all of your brand touchpoints.
Self-Awareness
In order to successfully create a suite of branding and marketing material that “feels” like your brand, you need to be VERY clear on what your brand actually represents. If you don’t know or understand your USP, of course your messaging will be confused too! What this means in practice is making sure you have a strong foundational understanding of who your audience is, what your style is, what makes you unique, and what problems you are solving for your prospective clients (and most importantly, how you are solving them differently or better than others!). You need to put in the homework, ideally alongside a marketing expert, that is needed to genuinely know yourself and your brand, so that you can then convey to others clearly and unmistakeably why they should choose you.
Authenticity
Another reason that touchpoints and brand messaging can sometimes miss the mark is by being too generic, repetitive, or abstract. Customers engage with brands they can relate to, and that means knowing who they are talking to! In practice, this means showcasing more of YOU (the business owner), the behind-the-scenes of the business, and the why behind the work that you do. This act of pulling back the curtain will make all your touchpoints feel more approachable and authentic and, ultimately, will also make it easier for you to stay consistent in the long run. This creates a sense of closeness, familiarity, and captivatingly raw “realness”, which has been particularly important to audiences since the rise of platforms like Instagram Stories and TikTok.
Openness
Closely related to the two values above, another essential element to on-brand touchpoints is to be open to two-way conversations. Sometimes the best way of refining your brand identity is by receiving feedback, asking your clients what they see in you, and creating opportunities for honest dialogue. This can sometimes create more work for you, especially if the feedback you receive proves to you that some branding material or customer experiences aren’t working as well or as hard for you as you thought they were! But challenged and obstacles like this are what help you
create touchpoints that customers remember, that have meaning, and that have a much longer shelf-life than something rushed or not quite right. These instances are chances for you to redesign brand touchpoints until your audiences are happy.
Strategy
Another cornerstone of on brand touchpoints is to know where to focus your efforts. Not every touchpoint will feel right for you, your brand values, or your ideal client. Ask yourself where your audience spends time, where they shop, how they communicate, and where they are likely to form impressions of your brand. Is social media your primary location for connecting with clients? Or is it something like YouTube, Google searches, or a magazine? Try to hone in on exactly what journey your clients take: where it starts, how it evolves, and where it ends. Once you know this, you’ll know exactly where to place and how to design touchpoints that will be captivating and strategic.
Adaptability
The final point is the need to be humble and adaptable. Touchpoints that served you when you first launched your business may not serve you now – or perhaps your audience or market has changed enough that they are no longer connecting you with your ideal client. Your customer touchpoint map is ever-evolving! Make sure you never stop learning, and never stop working towards creating a brand you are genuinely proud of. You should be optimising touchpoints so that each stop along the customer journey makes your customer more engaged, better served, and more likely to stay with you for the rest of the way.
We hope this blog post has given you some helpful food for thought on how to improve your touchpoints in a way that is personal to you and your brand! By implementing this advice you’ll be able to strengthen your brand, build trust, and improve resiliency in the face of today’s challenges.
And if you want to be proactive with your brand touchpoints, grow your audience, and create a brand that is recognisable and trustworthy, the team at Creative ID would love to help.
For further information on touchpoints, branding or marketing, please contact Vaishali Shah.
Until next time,
Vaishali
P.S. Download a Free Resource: Unlock the potential of your business. Get our Touchpoint Checklist from our Resources area and discover the touchpoints you might be missing.
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