They key towards successful branding is to envision your business as an individual that is going to meet people and wants to leave an impact on them. If your business fails to create a personal feel towards the consumer, then your business won’t survive for very long. But the question that arises first is not how but when does a personal feel develop in this relationship?
It happens, just like in the case of individuals, on the very first impression that your business has on the prospective customer. If it succeeds there, then be rest assured, you are definitely going to feel your cash registers ringing.
But how are first impressions formed in business? It requires a change of perspective to view it in that manner and No! It’s not about being as flashy as you possibly can. Would you develop a good first impression of an individual if he/she is wearing gaudy and loud clothes and has a punk-style hairdo?
Probably no and more so if they are there to sell you something. You would be turned off by it and won’t be interested in what that individual has to say even if it’s good because the first impression was so lax that you didn’t want to proceed any further.
Most businesses commit the same mistake and it reflects in their bottom line results. So to successfully create a great first impression on the online consumer, make sure that you follow these guidelines:
The Feel of the Home Page Holistically:
Before zooming in on what specific areas of the landing page say, our subconscious mind makes a snap judgment on the website after seeing it as a whole rather than a sum of its parts.
This is where the power of branding and First impression kicks in and is at its most powerful so make sure that your landing page or the home page is looking great, which means that the branding done there is seamlessly blended there be it the website logo or any CTAs. If something looks out of place and jumps at you, it would serve to be distracting on your other features, which makes it harder for the visitor to stay long enough.
The impression goes out that you are trying desperately to sell by being so over the top with your antics. Make it smooth and easier to the eyes.
The UI Design and Customer centric UX:
After the eyes have done their work, the hands come into play and the navigation and scrolling starts. Here the customer is developing a feel of how you have designed your website by keeping the ease of customers in mind. The harder it is to navigate, the more chances of inducing a redirect to another site.
Make your website clutter free and employ easier navigational tools like interactive drop-down menus and re-directing slideshows. Videos and pictures work great to create a good first impression of your site by increasing user engagement. Integrate your website logo strategically in your interactive tools and don’t overdo. Overkill might be bad for everything but it’s devastating for your website logo.
Offering your Product:
The chain of first impressions continues as the user heads on towards your product category page and further on to individual products.
This is where the magic is supposed to happen. Most businesses share a common misperception that the pictorial representation of the product is where the whole emphasis should be. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
The pictures need to look attractive, yes, but it’s not the whole deal. The display of information related to the product should be clear and easily readable as should the price, payment options and the delivery methods offered by you.
Keep in mind that the customer is not there to just buy your product; it is there to fulfill a need. It’s not there to buy a jacket; it’s there to buy warmth and good looks. Make sure you focus your strategy towards catering this need of the customer. This is part of the overall initial customer experience and the formation of the first impression towards your business, make it count!
In the end, it would be great that if a sale is made, you could put up a thank you message in the same shape and design of your website logo to make it look like you are creative as well as friendly. Your goal should be that once the site is closed by the consumer, a reverberating impact has been made by your branding strategies enough to make it come again soon to make your business flourish.
