In most places, the level of commercial competition within the bridal retail market is considerable.
Given that the bridal market in Australia is estimated to be worth upwards of 350 million Australian dollars annually, it is understandable why so many bridal businesses want a share of that considerable financial pie.
To do so, each bridal business must market and promote itself effectively; there is no shortage of ways to do that. However, underpinning any digital marketing campaign, there must be a solid foundation: the company’s branding. Without clear and effective branding, a business has no identity, and if it has no identity, few potential clients are going to consider it as a business that offers the products that they are looking for.
Multiply that problem by the thousands of brides-to-be who enter the bridal market each year in your local target area, and it becomes obvious that poor branding could cost you tens of thousands of dollars in lost revenue. The solution is to ensure your branding appeals to consumers and sets you apart and above your local competition. How do you achieve this for your bridal business? Well, there is no one way, but several ways, as you are about to discover.
Learn All You Can About Your Target Audience
You should be aware that there is little point in creating a brand that does not speak to the audience you are trying to capture. You must research what your target market (e.g. brides) likes and trusts. Look at social media, forums, and review sites related to weddings to see what that audience is saying and then use that insight to define your brand.
Be Original
The last thing you want for your bridal business is for it to be lost in the crowd. If it is, you have little chance of breaking free of your competition and grabbing a larger share of your local market. This is why your branding and each element should be original, so avoid cliches and try to find an angle that sets you apart.
Show Sincerity
Online users are extremely savvy when spotting insincerity, such as copied and pasted social media posts or hyped-up marketing messages. For this reason, ensure when doing anything to promote your brand that the message is sincere, believable, and feels like it is directed from one person to another rather than being some corporate tagline.
Tell People Your Story
Everyone loves hearing stories, which can be used to great effect when branding your bridal business. Connect with your audience by telling your story whether it be a personal one about your love of bridal products or a business story about the journey the company has been on. This will resonate far more with your audience than bland, generic content.
Let Your Personality Shine Through
Moving on from stories, you can continue your quest to connect your business better with your audience by giving it personality, namely yours. Let people see there is a real person who is passionate about their business and helping their clients have a great experience if they become your customers. Extend this to other staff members and bring their personalities to the fore too.
Leverage Multiple Outlets And Opportunities For Brand Promotion
One issue we see with lots of businesses, including bridal companies, is they do not look hard enough for opportunities to promote their brand and instead stick to two or three trusted channels. This fact should tell you that the way to make your brand dominant within your marketplace is to promote it at every opportunity and in every way possible.
Maintain Consistency
This final piece of advice is arguably the most important. That advice is you must keep your branding consistent across all channels. Confusing potential customers with mixed messages or different logos, fonts and colours is not going to help and will, instead, hinder your efforts to beat your local competition.
