Unlike what most budding entrepreneurs think, branding and marketing go above and beyond a business name, business logo, and business catchphrase. In addition to that, there is a slight difference between online and offline branding which also happen to be equally important. Here are some of these very important differences that each up-and-coming entrepreneur needs to be aware of:
The use of different typefaces
This might be eluding a lot of entrepreneurs but it so happens to be a very important aspect of branding. Over the decades of advertising, the public has been accustomed to reading advertisements written in the Times Roman fonts. One of the reasons the Times Roman font has been used over the years is because of its clarity.
But when it comes to online branding, you’ll realize that most business-related content is written in either Arial or sans-serif fonts. The difference comes because the online has a habit of skim through instead of reading. But that doesn’t mean that you should make take advantage of the skimming to start writing fluff on your online pages.
This is simply because some readers take time to read your content and once they find it unreliable, then they’ll move to another business that they deem more informative. Therefore, always make sure that your content is well-written, just with a different font.
There’s a slight difference in customer service interactions
Another difference you’re likely to notice between online and offline branding lies in the customer interaction. In online customer service interactions, the agent and the potential buyer don’t see eye to eye. That means that the agents will have to be more impressionable in writing since the customer can’t see that beautiful smile of feel the cheerful mood.
In addition to this, your customer service agents don’t have to wear the company uniform when online. This is because, during the chats, the clients won’t have the distinct pleasure of being face to face with your customer care agents. Branding plays a vital role here, as customers will only see their virtual picture. But this automatically changes in the face of offline branding where your customer care agent has to be in the official business attire.
In addition to having their official business attire on for the purposes of offline branding, your customer care agents must also present themselves as patient and cheerful. This is very important since it’ll go a long way in keeping the prospective clients motivated.
User-generated content
The advent of online marketing came with its fair share of advantages and among them was none other than user-generated content. Such content includes employee stories, customer experience videos, employee stories and so on. Therefore, as a brand, you’ll also have to pay very close attention to how to treat your customers as well as employees.
There is no such thing as user-generated content when it comes to offline branding. But that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t work on your offline presence since the two are more or less intertwined. For instance, if your prospective buyers visit your physical address and find gloomy customer care agents or poorly packaged items, there’s absolutely nothing that will stop them from writing a bad review.
This, therefore, means that what the prospective clients see online should be exactly what they see when they choose to pay your physical shop a visit. Meaning that what they feel when going through your official business website should be the exact feeling they feel when they are walking through the stalls.
The same should apply to when they think about your motto. If you claim to be all about customer satisfaction, then that exactly how they ought to feel when they step into your store. If you promise them a life-changing experience, then that exactly what they should get.
A final word on the difference between online and offline branding
After taking note of all the above differences, it is important to acknowledge the fact that online is the future of business. But that still doesn’t mean that the offline part of the business has to be ignored at any given point. It is therefore vital for you as business acumen to focus on both aspects especially if you are to increase your profit margins.
