How can retailers make consumers love their brand?

Brand recognition/equity is expensive. Getting your logo out there, advertising, reach, frequency, exposure – all those things are costly. Locally, “loving your brand” means having a Unique Value Proposition (UVP) that is in high demand, meaning no one else comes close to comparing to your business. Loving a brand is equivalent to someone being willing to go out of their way to buy from a company.

Determining what buyers think sets you apart from the rest of the people out there – that is the key. It’s not just what you, or the seller thinks sets them apart. It has to be determined and validated by what customers think of the brand or of what it is that makes you special. The litmus test for this is if, in the face of a cheaper alternative, people still buy from you.

Striving to be a loved brand, in my opinion, is not the end-all be-all of being a successful business. Being liked, trusted, and convenient to do business with is far more of a differentiator than having a “loved brand.” For a smaller business, striving to have a loved brand is a lofty ideal, but to get there is expensive. It really comes down to what customers think is the UVP. It could be something totally unrelated to the products you sell.

—Your Personal Business Trainer