Author: Julia Kendrick
In the aesthetics, beauty and wellbeing industries, it’s only strong brands which survive and thrive as competition between clinics, products and brands is fierce. At Kendrick PR, we help our clients to build strong beauty brands so they can establish their market position and engage target audiences; this is underpinned by a good brand reputation to ensure longevity. Whether you’re launching a new prospect or revamping a tired brand, we can help.
In this article, Julia Kendrick explains the fundamentals of branding and how to build a strong beauty brand in 7 simple steps.
What is a brand?
In our aesthetics, beauty and wellness industries – “unbranded” products, services and businesses don’t really exist. As entrepreneurs and marketers, we are all heavily invested in our brands and in the need to build a good brand reputation. But why do we do this? Emotionally-driven purchases are synonymous with our industry. For example, our customers spend our money to feel good, to show they take of themselves, to demonstrate expertise etc. Each of these emotions can be associated with and validated by strong brands with bold and compelling brand identities and intentions.
A brand has a very clear purpose to communicate to consumers:
- who you are,
- what you stand for,
- what you do,
- and why they should choose you over your competitors.
Every brand has an image and a story, and as consumers we associate specific feelings, values, and expectations towards brands. Beyond the concept of identity is a brand’s reputation – which is of equal, if not higher importance. A meticulously planned and executed PR Strategy is one of the most effective ways to influence a brand’s reputation amongst its target audiences.
What is brand power?
The power of branding is being able to control and influence purchase behaviour. A strong brand will entice customers to covet, remember, and choose your business over another. As a business in the aesthetics, beauty and wellness industry your ultimate goal is to become your target audiences’ preferred option as a product, clinic or treatment. On top of this, you also want customers to proactively advocate for your brand and share how good it is with their own network.
The benefits of building a strong brand
A strong brand in the aesthetics, beauty, and wellness industries is a valuable business asset. When you invest in building a brand you can expect to:
- Establish a strong market position and maintain it long-term
- Differentiate from the competition and stand out
- Enhance credibility and trustworthiness
- Increase awareness
- Nurture a good reputation
- Build a stronger connection and relationship with target audiences
- Grow product and service sales and profit
- Prompt collaboration and partnership opportunities
- Attract good talent into your team
7 step to help you build a strong brand
Building a strong brand is a key goal for many of Kendrick PR’s clients and they recognise that PR is essential to establishing the right brand position and a good brand reputation. There are seven key steps to follow when building a strong brand, these are:
1.Define your brand purpose: Remember, it is predominantly emotional reasons that will drive purchases of your brand. It’s likely that you’re not the only product or service in the market so your brand needs to resonate with and appeal to your target audiences. A strong brand has a clear purpose, values, mantra, mission etc. It’s time to define yours. In the context of your brand, consider the following questions:
- What are we setting out to do for our target audiences?
- What are our strengths?
- Why should people care about our brand?
- How are we different?
- What do we want to be known for?
- What is our Unique Value Proposition?
2.Understand your competitors: Find out everything that your competitors are doing and saying in your direct marketplace. What are customers perceptions of these brands? What messages are they communicating and how? Gaining full knowledge of what is happening now and predicted for the future is key to be being able to differentiate your brand from its competitors. This research will give you an idea of their brand strategy so you can adapt yours and make it better.
3.Identify your target customers: Devising a clear understanding of your target audiences is key to being able to build a brand and craft messages that will appeal to them. Start by segmenting your audiences and devise a persona for each which considers demographic variables (i.e. age, sex, location) and psycho-social variables (i.e. hobbies, motivators, favourite brands) etc. Throughout the life of your brand, these personas will guide your brand strategy and messaging.
4.Tell your brand story: Bring your brand to life with a narrative or story. People understand stories easily, they elicit emotion whilst creating familiarity and building trust. Use your brand story to communicate your value, purpose and why you’re good at what you do.
5.Create your brand identity: Your brand identity includes a name, logo, brand voice, imagery, colour palette and fonts. It is the visual representation of your brand and requires much thought and preparation. Whether you’re creating a new brand identity or refreshing an old one, prepare a detailed creative brief and enjoy the process. Your brand identity is an empty vessel until it is supported by a brand development and PR strategy which will influence how people perceive your brand and what they associate with it.
6.Get your brand noticed: With your focus and identity nailed, it’s time to invest in a brand PR strategy to promote your brand and get some attention on fabulous new brand. An effective PR strategy can raise brand awareness, drive customer loyalty, increase sales and, so much more! Before you begin to devise your strategy or appoint a PR expert, note down your goals and what you want to achieve. Whether you want to secure premium press coverage or host an excitement influencer partnership on social media, Kendrick PR have a comprehensive collection of case studies which demonstrate our PR expertise and creative approach. Please do get in touch to book a discovery if you’re brand profile needs elevating in the beauty, aesthetics, and wellness industry.
7.Build your brand reputation: Every brand is akin to a reputation which takes time and effort to build. You and your team must live your brand, be authentic and enjoy sharing your brand with the world! Building a good brand reputation is a life-long activity and it can be damaged in an instant, so always take great care when publishing messages, caring for patients etc and follow the guidelines within your brand strategy.
Do you need help build your brand ?
Our bespoke brand development and strategy service is designed especially for new or evolving brands in the aesthetics, beauty and wellness industries. Whether you are entering a new phase of growth or re-invigorating a brand that has run out of steam, our brand PR experts have the expertise, passion, and impressive contacts network to get your brand into the zeitgeist and ahead of the competition. Learn more about Brand Strategy and Development service and book a discovery call with our PR experts.
We specialise in winning PR strategies
At Kendrick PR, we thrive on creating winning formulas of strategic and tactical support for premium beauty brands, aesthetic clinics, practitioners and entrepreneurs. Founded in 2015 by award-winning communications expert Julia Kendrick, Kendrick PR are an experienced and passionate team with an excellent reputation for creating tangible results for our client. From PR Consultancy to Corporate PR Strategy , we have delivered outstanding results for some of the industry’s most innovative brands and exciting entrepreneurs, such as Cynosure, Debbie Thomas, The Private Clinic, Oxygenetix, and Medik8 – and we’d love to support your brand. Please get in touch to book a discovery call with us.