Building Successful eCommerce Brands Part 1 – Brand Inspiration

When it comes to building successful eCommerce brands that are going to propel businesses through the crowded online space, there is lots to be thinking about. But worse than that, there are far too many distractions and half-baked ideas out there, pushing you away from quickly and effectively creating the branding that’s going to get the job done.

Clarity is the name of the game when it comes to creating your ideal brand. That’s why we’re putting together a series simplifying the entire process of building your eCommerce brand.

Branding is Key for Successful eCommerce Brands

Everyone knows that establishing a distinctive brand, becoming recognisable and cultivating tangible brand loyalty amongst your customers is a powerful thing. That’s always going to be the goal for eCommerce businesses starting up nowadays. However, a lot goes into refining down your entire operation into a clear, concise, and recognisable brand.

Audience and You

There are two things you need a deep, intuitive understanding of when it comes to designing your eCommerce branding. Your audience and your business. Without fully grasping exactly how your audience operates, their interests, how they shop, and all key demographic information, you can’t hope to create a brand that matches up. Even more than this, however, if you don’t understand your own business fully, you won’t be able to match your branding ideas up to your business itself.

Fundamentally, branding is boiling down your entire enterprise into a symbol, tone, or personality. This personality must ring true; it must make sense for your business. More than that, it must be something your customers understand, appreciate, and connect with.

The four V’s can help you really drill down and identify the key aspects of your business and audience, enabling you to refine and develop successful eCommerce branding.

1. Vision – Understanding why you formed your business, what the original goals were, and how they shaped your approach. Communicating your vision clearly makes for much more impactful branding.
2. Values – What are your priorities as a business? How do your customers perceive your business and your priorities? Look to other brands you appreciate and see what they place importance on.
3. Voice – As important as logo and visual branding, the voice and tone of your copy and text is a vital part of establishing a great brand. There are a thousand different tones and attitudes you can establish here. However, it’s key to understanding your audience and the right tone for your business.
4. Visuals – Lastly, visuals. Visuals are obviously important, but once you establish the above V’s, you can start designing a visual language and approach that better matches your entire online presence. Look to other brands for inspiration.

Seeking Out Successful eCommerce Brands Inspiration

Beginning to understand and refine your visual branding can seem tricky at first. However, if you utilise the right sources, it can prove straightforward, allowing you to create successful eCommerce brands.

Pinterest – The classic option for building a visual mood board, Pinterest allows you to collect various images and ideas together. This can help you refine and collate ideas.

Designspiration – Similar to Pinterest, but with a browser plugin feature. Allowing you to scour the net for design inspiration, Designspiration is definitely one to keep an eye on.

Adweek – Lastly, to keep up with the latest news, as well as the best and brightest in branding and advertising, keep an eye on Adweek. You’re sure to get some inspiration here.