7 minute read

5 Branding Opportunities to Boost Your Sales

Customers interact with your brand in a variety of ways. Find out how to make the most of these touchpoints throughout the buying process.

Avatar image for Katy Svehaug by Katy Svehaug
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When marketing experts talk about branding, they often mention touchpoint opportunities — the moments in which customers and the outside world interact directly with any element of your business. These moments can occur before, during and after a sale, and take a variety of forms. Each interaction is invaluable for building loyalty and generating word of mouth traffic (and sales) for your shop. Branding can often feel like an abstract idea, but by homing in on your most influential touchpoints, you’ll be able to deliver on your brand promise from start to finish.

“Humans tend to personify things,” explains Tiffany Ard, self-proclaimed nerd and full-time mom behind Etsy shop Nerdy Baby. “Branding is all about taking control of that perception, and actively trying to shape what people view as your business's personality.” Specializing in cleverly designed educational graphics, Tiffany’s Atlanta-based business took root in 2009, when she left her marketing day job and transitioned to freelancing as a graphic designer. Thanks to strong products and a clever marketing strategy, Tiffany soon landed a number of wholesale accounts with her designs, including big-name buyers Uncommon Goods and Think Geek. Throughout her entrepreneurial endeavors, thoughtful branding has remained a top priority.

As you set out to define your brand promise and the impact of your various touchpoints, ask yourself: What value am I providing to my audience through my product? What unique attributes (service, quality, experience, etc.) set my brand apart from the competition? How do I want customers to feel after interacting with my business? The culmination of your responses to these questions constitutes your brand promise, and should set expectations for you and your customers about your relationship.

Once you know what you're promising to deliver, you can implement concrete strategies at each of your touchpoint opportunities, and measure their impact over time. Below are five universal touchpoints to help you get started.

Touchpoint One: Communication

What voice and tone do you use when communicating your brand?

Choices about voice and tone should apply to all of the copy related to your shop, including your About page, item descriptions and correspondence with sellers. There’s no right or wrong approach to take, but make sure how and what you’re communicating leaves an impression consistent with your brand promise. “It’s not a matter of being something you aren’t,” says Tiffany of Nerdy Baby. “It’s about emphasizing different parts of yourself to match the personality of your brand.” She describes her shop's tone as "very conversational, full of little jokes at my own expense, but always clear and direct.” For instance, listings often include whimsical backstories about her illustrations, along with straightforward information about dimensions and other product details.

Learn more: Spend some time thinking about about strategies for maintaining accessibility, conveying care and expressing value with your language choices. Hone your tone further by exploring How to Be Your Own Best Marketing Tool.

Touchpoint Two: Customer Service

How can you go above and beyond in your direct interactions with customers?

Customer service is one of the most immediate and personal touchpoints of your brand, and should be handled as such. Fast response times, regular status updates and a generous helping of patience can leave a lasting impression that directly translates to repeat sales. “If something goes wrong during a sale, I go over the top to fix it,” says Tiffany. She makes it a priority to ensure they’ll evoke positive feelings from buyers every time they interact with her product — even if that means replacing something that arrived damaged in the mail.

Learn more: Don’t lose out on a chance to connect with motivated consumers because of a miscommunication; check out Your Customer Service Guide for best practices from Etsy sellers.

Touchpoint Three: Graphics and Visuals

Can customers clearly and consistently understand your brand and values through your visual assets?

Graphics can make or break how your business is perceived, either legitimizing your brand’s innate value or leaving potential customers confused and disinterested. Your visual messaging should be clear and cohesive, including all photography, logos and branded materials you share publicly. This consistency can be as simple as implementing a well-chosen font, suggests Tiffany: “I’m always on the hunt for fonts that are cute, but not too cute; clear and easy to read; unusual without trying too hard to get attention.”

Learn more: Start putting the pieces together with The Ultimate Guide to Telling Your Shop’s Visual Story and How to Make Your Photos Publicity-Ready.

Touchpoint Four: Packaging

What tangible message does your packaging present to customers?

Your packaging doesn’t have to be fancy or over-the-top, but it should reflect your brand's priorities. For instance, eco-friendly and upcycled materials might reflect your shop's environmental values, and a stamp that includes your contact information might bring additional continuity to a buyer’s experience. Since Nerdy Baby does not have a big budget for packaging, Tiffany reflects her brand using simple materials, including a cloth bag for  storing her shop's flash cards for future storage. She also designed a cut-out math mobile that’s printed on the inside of recycled packaging paper.

Learn more: Knowing your brand and what you’re hoping to convey to customers upon reception is all you need to get started. Read Branded Packaging Basics for more tips.

Touchpoint Five: Social Media and External Marketing

Does your brand remain consistent and engaging in the social sphere?

The principle of sharing is caring doesn’t just apply to elementary school antics. The types and quality of shop content you share on your social media channels can have a big effect on how potential shoppers perceive your business. “Social media is currently my biggest challenge,” Tiffany confides. “I'm trying to find a solid balance between grabbing the Internet’s attention, but not feeling like an annoying self promoter.” By reflecting back on her brand promise often, she’s developed a unique social media persona that echoes the tone of her shop. On Nerdy Baby’s Facebook page, for example, she divides her posts between shop announcements, product research posts and engaging social content that fits her brand's off-beat side, including stories about trips to nearby museums and hilarious dialogues with her husband, Kevin.

Learn more: Strategy and consistency are key when it comes to promoting your business across external networks. Get started by learning How to Create a Facebook Campaign for Your Shop.

Bonus (Touch)Point: Customer Flow

Looking to go above and beyond by creating a curated brand experience? Think about the path a buyer might take when traveling through your shop, as they move through each of the touchpoints listed above. The goal with customer flow is to make the navigation experience between touchpoints as seamless as possible, with your brand acting as the glue holding each element together.

touchpoints-worksheet

You can do this by adding links to related products or categories within your item listings, updating your policies based on frequently asked customer questions and even including a photo of your packaging within your photo gallery so customers know what to expect.

Learn more: Spend more time identifying your brand's touchpoints using this worksheet.

Are there any additional touchpoints that you focus on to convey your brand promise to customers? Share your ideas in the comments.

Avatar image for Katy Svehaug Words by Katy Svehaug

Katy Svehaug is a Senior Content Strategist at Etsy.

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