Deciphering Brand Awareness: Understanding Its Significance

It’s easy to justify spending money on a landing page or ad campaign when you can see an immediate ROI. While it’s important to move customers lower in the funnel toward a purchase, you need a system for capturing the demand of those who have never heard of your brand (or have only seen it a handful of times). That’s how you create a sustainable stream of new customers.

That’s where brand awareness comes in. In today’s guide, we’ll take a closer look at what brand awareness is and why it’s so important for businesses of all sizes.

Understanding brand awareness

First things first: What is brand awareness?

It’s more than just a recognizable logo or catchy tagline — it denotes the extent to which a brand is recognized by potential customers and associated with particular products or attributes.

Brand awareness is essentially the degree to which consumers recognize and remember a brand and its products. It acts as a foundational step in a customer’s purchase decision process, playing a crucial role in making a brand a part of the consumer’s consideration set when deciding what to buy. There are two main types of brand awareness: brand recall and brand recognition​:​.

• Brand Recall (Unaided Recall): This refers to the ability of consumers to remember a brand’s name on their own when prompted with a product category. It is a measure of how deeply a brand is ingrained in a consumer’s mind. For example, if a person can immediately recall a brand name when thinking about “fast food,” that brand has strong unaided recall.
• Brand Recognition (Aided Recall): This type involves consumers recognizing a brand when presented with it alongside other brands. It doesn’t require the consumer to recall the brand from memory alone; instead, it’s about recognizing it among alternatives, often at the point of sale or upon seeing the brand’s visual packaging.

Brand awareness campaigns aim to improve both aided and unaided recall through various marketing initiatives, including advertising, content marketing, and social media efforts.

Why brand awareness matters

Salsify’s 2021 Consumer Research Survey studied 1,800 consumers across the country. Out of those who participated, nearly 90% said they’re willing to pay a premium for the same product if it’s from a brand they trust.

Often, the brands people trust are simply those that have invested time and resources into creating an image and maintaining a positive reputation.

Think about some of the most successful brands in the world — Nike, Coca-Cola, and Apple. These companies have built such strong brand awareness that people feel more comfortable buying their products, even when faced with cheaper (and likely just as effective) alternatives.

So why does brand awareness matter? Several reasons:

• Differentiation. A strong brand identity and awareness can help your business stand out in a crowded market. It allows companies to differentiate themselves from competitors, making it easier for customers to remember them and choose their products.
• Credibility. Consumers often associate strong brands with quality, reliability, and trustworthiness. By building brand awareness, businesses can establish credibility with potential customers and make them more likely to consider their products.
• Customer loyalty. When a brand has strong awareness, it becomes part of the consumer’s consideration set when making purchase decisions. Assuming you have a great product, this leads to repeat purchases and customer loyalty and reduces the need for expensive and time-consuming customer acquisition efforts.

Brand awareness also leads to higher customer retention and advocacy rates. When customers are familiar with your brand and trust it, they’ll be more likely to stick with you and even recommend your products or services to others.

How to build brand awareness

Building brand awareness is a long-term process that requires consistent effort and investment. Here are some strategies for improving your brand’s recognition and recall:

• Create a strong visual identity. Branding goes beyond just a logo; it includes things like color schemes, typography, packaging, and website design. A cohesive visual identity helps customers remember your brand more easily.
• Leverage social media. With billions of people on social media, it’s an excellent platform for building brand awareness. Create engaging content and interact with your audience to increase your reach.
• Partner with influencers. Influencers have a strong following and can help boost your brand awareness by promoting your products or services to their audience.
• Invest in advertising. Paid advertising, whether on television advertising, radio, or digital channels, can help reach a broader audience and increase brand awareness.
• Focus on content marketing. Creating valuable and relevant content positions your brand as an expert in your industry and helps build trust with potential customers.
• Embrace word-of-mouth marketing and UGC. Satisfied customers are the best advocates for your brand. Encourage them to share their positive experiences with others, whether through reviews, referrals, or user-generated content.

Final thoughts

Brand awareness plays a critical role in a business’s success and should be a top priority for any company looking to grow and thrive. By understanding what it is, why it matters, and how to build it, you can create a strong foundation for your brand and attract more customers.

Remember that building brand awareness takes time, effort, and consistency, but the payoff is worth it in the long run. So keep investing in strategies to improve your brand’s recognition and recall, and you’ll see the benefits in increased sales, customer loyalty, and a positive reputation in your industry.