Brand Blocking is a term that is typically only considered for retail stores. You can imagine that when we started talking to online brands about their blocking, the reaction was something along the lines of “huh?”
We’ve adapted the term to online brands because it makes a lot of sense. After all, we still need to think about brand positioning when it comes to selling products and creating a relationship with customers.
What is Brand Blocking?
In retail, brand blocking relates to the way that your products are placed on the shelf. The layout you choose influences customer purchases and answers questions like, “do you want people to grab and go, or ponder over your brand?” and “which shelf placement will earn your products the most attention?”
Proper shelf positioning is super important in retail because it’s one of the only chances you have for the customer to see your product—it is one of the only marketing opportunities you have with customers in a store.
It’s possible, and in fact important, to apply the same logic to an online brand. Even with an online business, you still need to properly position your products so that you communicate faster and better than your competitors.
What’s the Difference Between Online and Retail Brand Blocking?
With an online brand, customers come to your website, and they’re only seeing your products.
Brand Blocking with an online business is about more than just shelf positioning. Every aspect of your customer journey with your site, your social media, your emails etc. is your ecommerce “shelf” in which to establish and strengthen your brand. The blocks on the “shelf” are the pieces of content your customer may come in contact with. Examples of these “blocks” could be blog articles, email content, landing pages, special offers, ads, direct site visits, etc. They are the touch points with your customers.
When it comes to properly blocking your online brand, you have to view all of your marketing as a cohesive whole. A clear voice and a clear vision must be established and used throughout the full customer experience. The content “blocks” your customers interact with should always be created with strategic intention, with particular attention on consistency in visual aspects and with language.
Putting the right content “blocks” in front of the right people, at the appropriate time in their customer journey is the crux of ecommerce brand blocking.
Is Your Brand’s Marketing Properly Blocked?
If your answer to that question is still, “huh?” or you just don’t know, then the answer is probably “no.”
If you don’t have your Brand Blocking created yet, and you want to build a brand that’s worth it for customers to return to, start on this right away—it won’t take long before this method is second nature. This process does more than just help customer relate to your brand, it helps keep your overall mission clear.
Start with your Brand Value System. Create a system that will naturally allow for a golden thread to run through every piece of your business.
Allow it to influence your marketing calendar. Make sure that whatever content you’re putting out every week or every day, always hold the values that tie together your brand’s message.
Take it to your website. The vision of your brand’s website should always be cohesive with your content.
Create language guidelines. This means for your copy, your customer support, your social media, your product pages etc. The way you speak to your customers (and to team members) should be in line with your specific brand values.
Those steps are a great place to start because you can then decide, “ okay, from now on we communicate like this…” and it will be so. This clarity will strengthen the identity of your brand, and can be translated throughout all aspects of your company.
Do you have your Brand Blocking in place? Tell us how you did it in the comments.
If you’re not sure where to start, don’t fret. Click Here to Reach Out and we can help point your brand the way you need to go.
References:
Retail brand blocking: https://www.sbxl.com/brand-blocking-what-you-need-to-know/
Photo by Neven Krcmarek on Unsplash
