Branding has always been a vital part of business. It is more important in today’s competitive market.
The concept of branding is slowly emerging in the context of Nepal. Strategic branding is recognized as a potent success-enabling force as Nepali businesses seek to broaden their customer base. MSMEs in Nepal can open up new growth opportunities and build a formidable presence in the competitive market by utilizing the power of branding.
A brand may appear to be made up of a variety of colors, logos, and graphic elements. However, your brand is the real identity or face of your company. It gives it personality and determines whether or not people will interact with you. As a result, it is far more crucial than you might assume, especially in today’s market where consumers are exposed to new brands every day.
If you are looking for your business to grow through branding, this blog is for you. We’ll explore some of the branding strategies that will help your business thrive in this competitive market.
So let’s get started!
Building brand recognition
One of the most obvious reasons why businesses need branding is to gain attention. People notice companies with good branding far more than companies without it. Cohesive branding is essential in the modern world since humans have an easy memory.
For instance, you have an ear-catching name for your product relatable to your target audience and resonates with your brand like Bota (Bota Mo:Mo) or Sherpa (Sherpa Adventure gear) or perhaps an outstanding logo with eye-catching colors and iconic visual components or your website has a fantastic homepage design.
Even if a person isn’t yet ready to use your services or products, it can guarantee that they will never forget your company or what you do. If people remember you in the long run, they’ll come back to you.
Employ your brand to establish trust and credibility
Customers will know what to expect while doing business with you, whether it’s the high standard of courteous customer service or the guaranteed quality of your goods.
Instead of something that appears impromptu and cheap, a polished and professional brand image helps to communicate the brand objective. Building trust promotes customer loyalty, repeat business, and favorable word-of-mouth recommendations that help your business to expand.
The absence of a clear brand identity can be a red flag to many people. If you want to expand and establish your credibility and legitimacy, you need to invest from the initial stage of your startup journey.
Whether you are in the furniture and carpentry business or a clothing line business, you can only acquire the trust of your customers resulting in greater brand loyalty by guaranteeing authentic products, timely delivery, and responsive customer care and after-sales service.
Tell your story through social media
Your target audience will understand what makes you unique if you develop a powerful brand that embodies the goals, character, and domain expertise of your business. Share your story through summaries of your company’s history, mission, purpose, and values, and bring it to life.
And social media is one of the most crucial tools for building your brand since it gives you the chance to routinely share thoughts, images, videos, and little glimpses of your business.
Additionally, social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, etc act as young people’s main search engines, thus businesses without a social media presence face a risk of losing out to Gen Z and Millennial customers. For instance, the Nepali brand “Dulla” uses social media to showcase its product, and announce discounts and offers.
Improve your advertising
Without advertisements, your business won’t be able to expand. Advertising and branding are closely related. You’ll need to work on building a brand first if you want to have better advertising for your company.
When you advertise your company, you want everything to be cohesive and reflect the character and principles of your business. When you haven’t given your brand sufficient time and thought, this might be difficult.
You are missing out on several opportunities to develop a great campaign if your branding is weak. When everything is in place, adding branding to your advertising will help your company gain greater recognition.
Fostering a powerful workforce
Your brand is bolstered each time a client has a satisfying interaction with your business. Employees who interact with customers greatly influence this experience.
Achievable brand strategy should guide every decision from how employees welcome consumers to how quickly and effectively they handle complaints. Everyone in the organization needs to support and align with your brand objectives.
Collaborate with influencers
Collaborate with influential people or similar businesses to broaden your influence and connect to new clientele. This can entail successful marketing campaigns, funding local events, cooperating with other MSMEs for events, or collaborating with social media influencers.
For instance, the Nepali apparel company “Kathmandu Clothing” collaborated with local fashion bloggers to promote their products and reach a wider audience.
Give back to society
Express your commitment to the community and society by engaging in socially responsible activities that are aligned with the principles of your business. Support local causes, eco-friendly actions, or social initiatives that resonate with your target audience.
If you are a restaurant, don’t forget to feed the hungry every now and then, or perhaps make it a monthly program. If you are a clothing manufacturer, perhaps provide for needy children. Or perhaps partner with rural communities or an educational center on a long-term basis where there are deficits in jobs and funds.
Or you can organize fairs and festivals that have special causes. The Nepali company Himalayan Java for instance promotes fair trade while supporting local coffee producers, demonstrating their morally and socially responsible position.
There are many ways to do it. Choose programs that best suit your feasibility so that you can do it sustainably on a long-term basis. But don’t do it for the sake of doing it or solely for the purpose of putting it up on your social media page. Rather internalize the value.
To sum up, developing an in-depth understanding of your target market, adapting to their preferences, and consistently offering value are all necessary for effective branding. By putting these branding strategies into reality and taking inspiration from prosperous Nepali MSMEs, you can position your business for growth, increase brand awareness, and foster client loyalty.
