How to Attract With Data-Driven Branding

According to a study conducted by Oberlo, in 2022, there were an estimated 33.2 million small businesses in the U.S., making up nearly 99.9% of the U.S. businesses - driving the nation’s economy by providing jobs for more than half of the nation's workforce.

Of these small businesses, it's the ones who have a strong and loyal following - AND that understand that their brand goes far beyond the logo - that see the most success. They understand that their brand is represented in everything their brand touches:

• The language on their websites, social channels, and marketing.

• The feeling their brand evokes on their website, social channels, and marketing.

• Their products and services.

• Their competitive advantage and what sets them apart from their competition.

• And the visual representation of their brand including their logos, colors, fonts, packaging, etc.

Today, it’s easier than ever to start a small business, and in this digital world of brands bombarding our every move, people are craving authentic, unique and impactful experiences that align with their values, mission and interests more than ever.

Which is why, it’s more important than ever to develop a data-driven brand strategy that will attract your dream audience and help you stand apart from the competition. Ready to develop a data-driven brand strategy (that actually connects with your dream clients?)

Check these top tips out...

NUMERO UNO: UNDERSTAND YOUR WHY

To develop a truly data-driven brand strategy, you must first understand why it is you started your business in the first place. You have to start with your why. In his book, Start With Why, Simon Sinek says, "People don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it." He goes on to explain how all brands know what they sell, most know how they sell, but very few know WHY they do it - and it's the ones who know and understand their why that attract and connect with their audience on a deeper level. "It's those who start with why that have the ability to inspire those around them and find others who inspire them as well." To develop a brand strategy that captivates, connects and converts - YOU MUST START WITH YOUR WHY. Snag a copy of Simon's book here and get inspired to get down and personal with your brand so that you can take your business to the next level.

NEXT STEP, GET SENSORY

Let's take a journey together.

Imagine that you're coming to visit me at the office. You knock on the door, I open up and welcome you in.

Come on in, have a seat on the soft boucle couch in my office.

There’s tall white walls, tall black-framed windows, layered neutral accent rugs, artwork from my travels, and an array of tropical plants. Acoustic chill Spotify playlist is on, there’s a candle burning and bright, natural light seeping through the windows.

A freshly brewed cappuccino has just been handed to you.

Can you feel it?

Open. Artful. Down-to-earth. Minimal.

That's approaching branding through the senses.

As consumers, most of us make decisions based on our senses and emotions, so when you can determine how you want your audience feel through every touch point with your brand, you’re able to build an aligned foundation that connects with your ideal clients and aligns with your message. It's about translating your brand strategy into copy and visuals that feel like home. When you use this kind of sensory branding strategy, you start to create a brand that feels comfortable, familiar, and welcoming, and who doesn’t want to work a brand that is welcoming and approachable? In fact, if you’re brand does not create this kind of sensation you are actually losing clients and revenue as we speak.

So, here is my challenge to you. Sit down at your desk, grab your favorite notebook & fine point pen and spend the next 30 minutes journaling so that you can create a brand or adjust your brand so that it evokes the right feelings.

HERE ARE 5 JOURNAL PROMPT QUESTIONS TO START WITH:

• Which of the five senses is most important to you & your brand? Ex: visuals, touch, scent, etc.

• How do you want someone to feel when they first land on your social media pages or website?

• If you had a physical office or storefront, what would it look like?

• When someone has a conversation with you, how do you want them to feel after?

• What are five words that best describe your style?

KEEP IT GOING BY FOCUSING ON ANALYZING YOUR DATA

To start developing your branding, you need to analyze and audit your brand as it stands today. Auditing your branding will give you the opportunity to look at your business as a whole and see where you are getting it right and missing your mark, and will allow you to evaluate any inconsistencies.

Just what is a “brand audit”? A brand audit is a detailed analysis of your brand that shows how your brand is performing across all of its touchpoints. From your social media profiles to your website and email marketing, performing a brand audit allows you to analyze all the data side-by-side, see what’s working and what’s not, and get some insight into what you need to adjust.

When working with my clients, I usually suggest doing a brand audit once a year to see if all of your marketing and branding efforts are bringing you closer to your goals and setting you apart from your competition. To audit your brand, follow these steps:

Clarify your brand’s mission, vision, personality and messaging.

• Are you clearly stating your brand’s mission and vision and living that out across all platforms?

• Are you being consistent in your messaging?

• Do you have a distinct and definitive brand personality that resonates with a specific niche or group?

• Need help? Snag a copy of my Brand Substance Guide here to help you get started.

Assess your visual branding.

• Are your colors, fonts, logo, imagery and patterns consistent on all platforms?

• Do you have a specific set of icons that are used to signify specific items, packages or objects?

• If the only thing someone saw was a simplified version of your logo or watermark, would they know it was you?

Review your website’s analytics.

• You should have Google Analytics attached to your website. (If not, run, don’t walk, and install it now.)

• Review your vital web analytics, most viewed pages, common drop off points and your conversion rates to see where you are getting it right and need some improvement.

• Information like your website's speed or load time, how relevant your website is to your audience and keywords you are ranking for (or not) are markers that you can use to improve your website's analytics.

• Run a free site audit through Ubersuggest to see where your website is strong and where you can make some adjustments - PLUS they give you action steps and walk you though exactly what to do to make changes.

Review your social media insights.

• Are you posting consistently?

• How many new followers and likes are you getting per post?

• Are there certain days or times that your audience seems to be more engaged? Certain posts that got more attention than the others?

• What platform is your audience the most engaged on?

• Are you getting more interaction with your Instagram posts vs. stories vs. reels?

• Get down and dirty with your social media profile.

• Want to develop a serious social strategy? Check out my girl, Jenna Kutcher's Instagram Lab Course here that will give you the blueprint to Instagram Success!

Review your sales data.

• How consistent are your sales?

• Are you getting sales daily, weekly, monthly or at random?

• Are they higher at certain times of the year?

• Are you getting any feedback that is helping or hurting your sales?

• What is your average sale?

• What is the average # of items purchased per sale?

• Are there ways to drive those numbers up?

Survey your past clients and gather what they’re saying about your brand.

• This goes back to reviewing your sales data, but setting up a way to encourage and capture feedback on your products, services and processes is super valuable information to help you to improve your overall sales.

• I use a Google Form to capture testimonials and feedback from my clients. To make it super easy for them, I also include links to my Yelp and Google Business pages so they can copy and paste their review, et voila!

Review your email marketing analytics.

• Do you have an email list?

• Are you regularly sending out emails to your list?

• Have you set up any email automations like a welcome sequence or sales sequence?

• Are you tagging your list and dropping them in buckets that resonate with why they chose to be on your list?

• What is the conversion rate of how many people actually engage with your emails?

• Have you set up a way to allow people to unsubscribe if they aren’t engaging?

• Looking to set up an email list? ConvertKit is my go to - it's the most robust platform that allows you to tailor your marketing and target your clients exactly where they're at in their journey! Snag a 2-week free trial here and get started on your email marketing today!

From here, you can use this information to build a cohesive brand message and make sure that you are staying consistent and true to your brand across all touchpoints. Building a cohesive brand message can increase your overall revenue by upwards of 23% according to a recent study by Forbes magazine, so performing this first step is crucial to developing your brand strategy.

AFTER THAT, TRANSFORM YOUR INFORMATION INTO BRAND INSIGHTS

Once you have performed your brand audit across all of your platforms, you can start to analyze all of the trends and patterns and uncover ways to help you drive growth. Pay attention to areas that your audience doesn’t seem to be as engaged, or areas where your message may not be as clear or consistent. You may need to pivot, meaning you may need to make some minor tweaks or adjustments to bring more traffic from these areas - or you may need to drop them and put more of your time, effort and resources into the areas that are performing and driving your audience. Focusing on improving your areas of weakness, doing more of what is currently working and understanding your analytics across all avenues will help you to craft a better marketing plan and move your brand forward.

FINALLY, TAKE ACTION

This goes without saying, but the biggest key to data-driven branding is putting the data to work for you. Data is only as good as what you do with it, so once you have analyzed your data, researched the gaps in the market and understand where you need to be focusing your attention, YOU MUST TAKE ACTION.

A few ways to help you start taking action is to:

• Write down all of the platforms your brand is currently on.

• Write down what is working and not working on those platforms.

• Set yourself SMART goals to improve your branding and marketing.

• Create a calendar or schedule to help you to stay on task.

Key takeaway here... Don’t be afraid to make adjustments, pivot and change your strategy as you go. An authentic, sustainable and long-term brand strategy will grow as you grow, so continuously assess the data and make strategic decisions to help move your brand forward. If something is working, do more of that. If not - stop, pivot, and try something new. Just continue moving forward every day!

Final Thoughts

Steve Jobs said it best when he said, "I'm convinced that about half of what separates successful entrepreneurs from the not-successful ones is pure perseverance."

Making business decisions backed by data will help differentiate you from your competition, attract your ideal audience and loyal customers ready and willing to buy everything you’re selling and set your brand up for long-term, sustainable success. Plus, you've always got me here in your corner rooting you on! So go out there and make today amazing!

So grateful and glad you're here!

Kelly

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not for man." - Colossians 3:23