Top 10 Secret Branding Elements you’ll need to Gain Customer’s Trust & Build Loyalty

Have you ever thought about the secret branding elements that makes your favorite brands stand out for you and millions of other customers around the world?

Or perhaps, you’ve wondered to yourself, how can I build the kind of trust that will make my brand as stunning as the Apple, Amazon, Microsoft and other top globally admired brands around the world?

If so, then you’re in luck today because you’re not only going to learn about the top branding secrets that make these brands thick, in this post, Veronica Johnson is going to shoe you everything that makes these brands stunning and how you can apply it to build more trust and loyalty for your brand.

So, are you ready? Now, let’s get to hear from Veronica…

When it comes down to it, our habits as consumers are almost entirely fueled by trust. Not just the trust that product packaging is accurate, or that a company won’t just take our money and then disappear. The trustworthiness of a brand encompasses far more.

And it’s important. Even if it isn’t something that we think about regularly, we tend to buy from brands that we trust to deliver, based on past experiences and future promises.

And none of us are alone in that — a recent survey by the Edelman Trust Report suggests that more than 80% of consumers will only buy from brands that they deem trustworthy.

But what if you’re a new brand, just about to launch, and you haven’t had the chance to build that trust yet? Is there any way that you can predispose consumers to trust your brand?

Yes, as a matter of fact, there are at least ten vital branding elements that can aid in gaining the trust of consumers, whether you’re an established company or a start-up. Because branding is about more than just the visual aspects, these include intangible elements as well.

Let’s take a look.

Your Brand Name

What’s in a name? Once a brand is established, it doesn’t matter what it’s called, right? Yes, a lot of businesses think a brand name cannot be considered as one of the secret branding elements of top globally admired brands. But that’s not correct.

Of course, it’s true that name recognition is an important factor for the success of a company, but that starts well before the company is launched. To build a strong company with loyal customers, one of the first steps is to choose a name that resonates with your target audience.

And while at it, remember that the type of business you’re running will also have a huge role to play here. You probably wouldn’t open up a family restaurant and call it “Sexy Sadie’s”, for instance. And you’d likely steer clear of naming your sleek high-end tech development company “Pop’s Computers ‘N Such”.

These are pretty extreme examples, but it’s easy to slip into tone-deaf branding.

To build trust in your potential audience, I’d suggest sticking to company names that are directly linked to your business — such as your name, or the location where you operate.

You can also consider names which include good qualities that your brand will embody — Trusted, Reliable, etc.

Avoid getting too generic; names like “Top Choice” or “Best Pick”. Such names may sound like good options, but they lack a personal touch that may make consumers shy away from trying them out.

Brand Personality

The second vital branding element is a more intangible one, but it’s a huge consideration that encompasses almost every decision you make on branding as a whole: personality.

The personality of your brand can be determined by describing your brand as though it were a person. What are its traits? Habits? Quirks? Values? Goals?

Would you want to go to a movie with your brand? Would you let your brand dogsit for the weekend?

If you want consumers to trust your brand, then it’s a good idea to make sure the answer to those questions is, “Yes.”

Brand personality is largely established in the eyes of the consumer through branded visuals, especially marketing and advertising campaigns. It’s one thing to have an irreverent, edgy brand that is marketed with irreverent, edgy ads — if that’s the case for you, building consumer trust may not be the first concern.

The main key here is to be aware of tone and import in your marketing, as well as remembering who your target audience is and ensuring that your branded visuals are aimed to appeal to them.

Brand Authenticity

Honesty and transparency are buzzwords these days, with more fuss and friction because of public figures that hide their actions or words than ever before. Consumers expect honesty and transparency from the brands they support, as well. If a brand states that it’s honest, consumers will hold it to that promise.

It all boils down to authenticity. This is one of the secret branding elements that’s helping a lot of successful brands out there — brands representing themselves as they truly are, rather than simply putting on a good face for marketing purposes.

According to one study, nearly 90% of consumers cite authenticity as a deciding factor when it comes to buying from and supporting brands. Consumers want companies, especially larger companies, to be aware of the influence and power that they have to change the world for the better, and act upon that.

But if a brand claims to pursue those values and in reality is solely about the bottom line, consumers will inevitably figure this out and will likely lose any trust they’ve built in that company.

Brand Color Choice

Getting into the visual and tangible aspects of branding, color choice is a top concern for building trust. Choosing colors wisely is heavily influenced by the psychology of color, which helps branding experts to understand not only the inherent import and meaning of colors, but also how certain demographics are likely to respond to certain colors.

This is incredibly useful for building trust with your specific target audience. Let’s say that your target audience is women between the age of 18 and 40, living in the United States.

Research and the results of surveys may tell you that this demographic prefers certain colors, such as blue and purple, and using such as your brand colors, you can expect that your target audience will find these colors appealing and have a good reaction to branding that includes them.

As an important branding element, Color psychology also helps marketers and branding experts to avoid using colors that may have a negative connotation depending on the culture and background of the target demographic.

Design and Use of Logo

Apart from your company name, you might think of your logo as the most important part of branding — and when it comes to visuals specifically, you might be right.

A company logo is the visual most commonly associated with the brand, and oftentimes, it turns out you’ll use your logo more often than any other branded visual.

That’s a lot of pressure to put on one little piece of graphic design! There are plenty of tools like free logo generators to create the perfect design, but sometimes, it can be difficult to say exactly how your logo design will be perceived by your audience.

A few keys that will boost the trustworthiness and credibility of your logo, however, include

• Keeping it simple and memorable. Too many elements can be distracting. You may even want to design a minimal company logo (https://www.logodesign.net/guide-minimal-design-graphic-designers) to ensure that the message isn’t muddied.
• Color choice. Again, just as with the previous element, color plays a big part in the appeal and inherent trustworthiness of your logo.
• Placement and use. To build trust and positive associations, make sure your logo is displayed on every page of your website, throughout social media accounts, on emails, and on marketing and product packaging.

Taking cognizance of your logo as an important branding element that should be give optimum attention will help in further projecting your brand across your desired audience.

Font Legibility

Another important secret branding element worthy of note is your brand’s font legibility.

Throughout your branding and extending to your content on your website and social media, here’s one trust-building element that may go undersung: legibility.

This means not just choosing a cool font at a random point size to try and get your ideas across. Readable, user-friendly fonts, adequately sized and appropriately spaced, that can be easily read against the background, should always be used.

Why is this an important feature for gaining consumer trust through your branding?

Think about how you feel when someone tells you to read the fine print! Nobody likes to have to squint and strain their eyes to read something that’s presented to them; ensuring a user-friendly font and size promotes brand openness and helps to build trust.

It also enhances memorability, and for the right reason – not, “I remember this brand! I couldn’t even read their name on their logo and I never bothered to try them out because that didn’t exactly instill me with confidence.”

Brand Consistency

With your branded visuals established and your brand personality in force, the next secret branding elements for building trust is consistency across all points of customer contact.

This means your website, your social media accounts, your email, phone calls, and in-person contact.

This is equal parts visual branding and customer service.

• Visual branding should follow consistent guidelines that dictate use of logo, colors, fonts, styles, graphics, etc.
• Brand personality should influence how friendly, helpful, fast, and efficient your customer service is, as well as how to handle any complaints or questions.

Consistency is a huge part of building trust in a brand, and it gives you the opportunity to continue to build trust with every single customer interaction.

When consumers feel that they know what to expect from a brand, they’ll continue to be loyal to that brand, which means an increase in revenue for the company from repeat customers.

In fact, statistics indicate that consistency can lead to a more than 30% increase in revenue https://www.lucidpress.com/pages/resources/report/the-impact-of-brand-consistency).

Brand Values

Defining the values that build trust in a brand can be difficult, because they depend on the target audience. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, and one demographic’s ideal is another demographic’s nightmare. And promoting values that a brand doesn’t really hold to results in an inauthentic brand, which we already established won’t do any favors for your trustworthiness.

So, setting the values of your brand is an individual process — but making those values clear and promoting them is an important part of building trust.

Consumers want to know and believe that the companies they choose to support share their values. This isn’t just a small group of value-oriented consumers, either; nearly 80% of consumers will choose to buy from brands that share their values.

So it’s important to both identify the values of your target audience, and ensure that your brand is authentically aligned with those values.

Brand Accessibility

As one of the most important secret branding elements, Brand Accessibility is a bit more technical, but it does help to boost credibility and trustworthiness.

Accessibility isn’t just about your products being widely available. It’s also about who can access your brand. This is a wide-ranging element as defined below…

• Accessibility means making your branded content available to all.
• Accessibility means doing your best to ensure that any consumers, anywhere, can purchase your products and services.
• Accessibility means following best practices for website content accessibility guidelines.
• Accessibility means adaptable website and app design for mobile users.
• Accessibility means open communication with your brand, responding to comments on social media and to emails, including chat agents on your website, and ensuring good customer service.

Brand Diversity

A final branding element that is key to consumer trust is your demonstration of diversity. This goes hand in hand with accessibility and values, as you demonstrate to your target audience that your company practices what it preaches.

An interesting fact here is that consumers often instinctively trust brands who celebrate diversity, even if they themselves are not minorities.

For instance, almost 40% of consumers are more likely to build trust in brands that demonstrate their inclusivity and focus on diversity, with specific demographics reaching closer to 90%. And almost 60% of consumers are more likely to trust brands when they see their own demographic represented in branded advertising.

Again, this is a combination of branding elements, including visuals — through advertising and marketing campaigns — and practicality, such as diverse hiring practices.

Building trust now and in the future

Ultimately, branding elements are not just a matter of what the consumer perceives when they look at a brand. To really gain the trust of a potential customer or client, brands need to follow through on promises and practice what they preach. This is very important!

Remember that good branding is made up of every point of contact between brand and consumer — from logo design to customer service. And great branding is designed to build trust, establish relationships with customers, and keep the brand growing and thriving.

“I know this brand, and I know what I can expect.”

So, there you have the top secret branding element that’s helped your leading brands, when it comes to building trust with their customer base.

I hope you’re going to use these tips to build a better and more trust worthy brand with an ever growing customer base. And if you have any issues on this, you can always contact our team to help you get started on building a formidable and trust worthy brand, regardless of your industry or niche.

About Veronica Johnson

Veronica likes reading, writing and exploring through her travel. With her freelance guest writing, she hopes to achieve both her passion and career in online content marketing. She writes on topics like business, advertising and digital marketing.