Unforgettable – that’s what brands want to be; and that’s where your Shopify brand strategy comes in.

But considering there are currently 12 to 24 million online stores and each one is trying hard to reach their target audience, being a memorable brand is a herculean task.

Nevertheless, brands push their marketing and promotion. We consumers end up seeing more than 5000 ads per day as a result of it. We then visit some of these stores, end up buying from a few and bookmarking the rest for later.

But when asked about where we made a purchase from, most of us are able to recall the names of just three to five brands.

If your brand is amongst the first few names that customers think of, good job! You’ve got something going right.

But if you aren’t making the cut, what can you do to make sure customers remember your brand as much as they do, an Amazon or an Etsy? Well, we have some tips you can include in your Shopify brand strategy.

9 things your Shopify brand strategy absolutely needs to include

1. Your Shopify theme

73% of brands invest in design and customization because it helps them stand out. If you want your brand to register in people’s minds, you’ll have to cut a dash with your site. You can do so by customizing your Shopify theme.

A theme is a group of styles and templates that make up the visual display of websites. So, if you’re wondering how to create a brand identity, first, choose a theme that has all the elements you want in your Shopify website – header, sidebar, footer, etc.

Next, customize the theme to match the look and feel you want to achieve for your brand. Themes come in preloaded color palettes, fonts, and images. They might look good but won’t be unique to your brand; so spend time changing it all up.

Here are some cues:

• Customize the home page header, footer, all pages, and its different sections
• Use the same color palette, font, and unique images on all pages; it helps improve brand recall
• Make sure your logo appears on every page of the store
• Use fonts based on your branding guidelines and stick to just 2-3 of them
• Keep the tone of voice consistent through your site in content

For example, Brilliant is a smartly customized Shopify store with overall consistency of tone, visual, design and colors. They use minimal design elements that match their products in general too!

2. Customer account page

Why do customers prefer shopping on eCommerce stores like Amazon and Alibaba? A few reasons: their customer account page makes it easy for customers to shop, is comprehensive and reflects the brand throughout.

A customer account page helps build trust and is among the most-visited pages on eCommerce sites. It is the page where customers can keep a track of all their interactions with the brand – purchases/ orders, wish lists, rewards programs, exchanges, discounts, payment methods, and more.

Here’s a peek into Walmart customer account page. It dons the brand colors, is designed with clarity and has different sections for information on specific topics:

You too can set up an expansive customer account page for your Shopify or Shopify Plus store. And it’s easier than you think – with the help of Flits. The smart Shopify app comes with two customer account pages – UNO and DUO; and you can customize them to match the look and feel of the page to match the experience the likes of Amazon offer!

 

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Before we tell you what you must do, let’s give you a few reasons you need a branded customer account page:

• All customers will visit the page often, hence, when customers see your branding on the page, they will recall your brand easily
• Customer account pages are personal to users and are an excellent opportunity for personalization
• You can build connections with customers through this page, hence, when this page is branded, your brand will register better in the customer’s mind!

Going back to Flits, here’s what you can do:

• Pick one of the two Flits themes based on your Shopify store design
• Then, customize the theme to match its look and feel to your brand by changing the navigation and font colors
• Set up add-ons like store credits, reorder and more to make it easier for the users to shop

Don’t have a Shopify customer account page set up yet? Install the Flits app today. 

3. Customer support channels

A study shows that 89% of consumers are likely to return to brands after a positive customer service experience. Now, you sure want to leave a good impression on your store visitors. Don’t you?

But how do you do that in an online store where there’s a complete lack of physical touch? You’ll have to use other ways to ‘talk’ to your customers. A ‘Contact us’ page and a live chat feature are two ways.

But you need to consider these factors too:

• Make these features easily accessible and prominent on your site; it will make your store visitors feel welcome
• Be human when you talk to customers, not a robot if you want buyers to have a higher recall of your brand
• Make sure your ‘Contact us’ page and live chat match your brand; customize the page, the widget and everything that’s facing the customer

Here are the most preferred customer support channels:

Source

4. ‘About us’ page

After the ‘Home page’ and products/services, 52% of site visitors go to the ‘About us’ page. So, if you thought people are only interested in products, deals and discounts on your site, you’re wrong.

The truth is that people want to see the people behind the brand. It helps build trust and helps them relate to the personality or the values behind the brand. And the best place to share all this information is the ‘About us’ page.

Here’s what to include in this page:

• Why and how you started the brand; in short, your story
• What your brand’s guiding vision and mission are
• The people who started the brand and preferably their pictures
• Team pictures and what they do at the brand

There are thousands of brands that consumers can choose from. But why should they choose yours? That’s what your ‘About us’ page should tell them. Your brand story impacts your brand recall.

Here’s a nice example of an About Us page from Naked Poppy:

5. Set the right expectations

Here’s the truth. Not every brand can offer speedy, same-day deliveries like Amazon. And that’s fine. All you need to do is take care that you don’t bite off more than you can chew.

Promise your customers only what you can deliver. Mention return, exchange, refund, shipping and delivery details clearly. Do not try to hype or over promise in the effort to attract customers or satisfy them.

A survey shows 95% of customers don’t go back to a brand after a bad return experience. It’s not worth making false promises and losing customers forever. The expectations you set have a big impact on what they think of your brand and hence the overall brand recall.

Mention these details clearly:

• When the product will be shipped
• Shipping costs
• The regions you ship to
• Your return and exchange policies
• Added costs for return or exchange
• Payment details
• Deals and discounts conditions
• Disclaimers
• Post purchase services/ support

Here’s an example from Northern Reflections:

6. Define your market and focus on it

In today’s customer-at-core age, it’s important to devote complete attention to customers. But every customer is unique, you might say. That’s why it’s important for brands to define their market and focus only on that.

Imagine if Hermes and ASOS interchanged their tone of voice and visual identity? It’s a recipe for disaster for both brands. That’s because both brands cater to a specific kind of audience. The audiences of both brands are looking for and expecting something specific.

It’s important that brands speak to their ideal audience, and keep it consistent. Now that doesn’t mean you’re excluding others. Rather, it means you’re focusing your marketing efforts and resources on a specific market that is more likely to buy from you. It’s an effective way to cater to potential clients and improve brand recall.

7. Visuals on your site

Using free stock images and videos is much easier than creating your own. But it’s not the best thing to do. Thousands of brands use the same images. This affects brand recall. Because 90% of what reaches our brain is visual and we retain 80% of what we see.

Make sure you invest in using visuals that are exclusive to your brand and reflect your brand message in some way. Some cues:

• Think of your target customers – who are they and what do they want? Now, think about what kind of images they will respond to
• Understand your competition and their brand imagery. Now, think about how you can set yourself apart from them
• Once you zero in on your brand imagery, stick to it, stay consistent so that it increases your brand recall

Here’s an example from Fabuliv. Their product visuals all follow a certain theme and their overall edits are also similar, helping people remember their brand!

8. Secure your website

With the increase in online shopping and transactions, eCommerce is one of the most vulnerable to cyber attacks and data security issues. That’s why you need to make your site secure and your customers free of worry in order to improve brand value.

This is where an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificate comes in. It helps secure online transactions and keeps customers’ information private and secure.

Source

You also need to ensure you’re offering customers a secure way to complete their transactions. So, the payment gateway you use should also be branded to a T, so that from browsing to completing a purchase, your customers have a good experience. Leave an impression they remember!

9. Add in your personality

While we briefly mentioned a lot of factors that are important for consistency, it’s essential to understand the importance of having a cohesive brand personality for your Shopify store. This will trickle down from your brand purpose.

From your brand message to the text to the visual to the logo to your communication with customers – there’s a lot that forms your brand personality. It is what will forge a connection with customers and help them remember your brand.

Think of your brand as a person. How do your customers describe your brand? What adjectives do they use for your brand? How do you want them to interact with you?

If your brand has multiple personalities, it will confuse customers. And that’s not what you want. From your products to your site, your brand must have a consistent personality.

Should you focus on your Shopify Plus and Shopify brand strategy?

Branding your Shopify store might seem like an effort to you. But it’s important you do it!

The idea is not just to take your business online and create a brand, but build a name that is unforgettable and makes them want to come back to you for more. Or better still, remember your name and recommend it to their friends and family when they ask about a purchase!

Ready to take a step towards improving your brand recall value? 

Install the Flits app today and customize the look and feel of your customer account page.