These 14 Tips Help You Building Brand Awareness In A New Market

Whether you’re opening up shop in a new city, diversifying your offerings or creating a new mission and core values for your company, expanding brand awareness and growing your business in a new market can be challenging.

To be successful and win over consumers who aren’t familiar with your brand yet, your business must become recognizable and resonate with the target audience you’re trying to reach. Below, 14 Forbes Coaches Council members share tips to help established companies expand brand awareness when entering a new market.

1. Build Partnerships With Other Brands In The Space

Building alliances and partnerships with like-minded companies or communities is important for raising brand awareness. The better the brand fit, the higher the chances that you connect with an audience that resonates with your brand. – Heidi Hauer, Heidi Hauer Coaching & Consulting

2. Demonstrate How Your Brand Solves A Problem

The challenge with expanding brand awareness is communicating the new brand promise to the new market, demonstrating how you solve the new market’s unmet need in a compelling way, while still echoing that you are known for a historic brand promise, too. You need to communicate that customers can count on you for both. You pitch the novelty of the service/product to the new market while cementing the reliability, durability and stability you have established. – Katy MacKinnon Hansell, Katy Hansell Career Strategies

3. Ask Clients For Referrals

Referrals and word-of-mouth are some of the most effective marketing strategies. Serve your clients well, and they will tell their friends and colleagues. Asking clients for referrals is an effective practice to implement regularly, and particularly when entering a new market. Trust is already established through their genuine relationship with the person they refer. – Sunny Smith, Empowering Women Physicians

4. Host Stakeholder Focus Groups And Listening Sessions

Establishing yourself in a new market, region, vertical or channel requires a deep understanding of the people and culture. Stakeholder focus groups and listening sessions are a great way to introduce yourself while also inviting the locals to educate you on what they want and need. The goal should be to deeply listen, expand your understanding and suspend what you think you know. – Christine Grimm, Aria Consulting International

5. Start Blogging About Relevant Topics

Consider starting a blog to help narrow in on your niche market and pinpoint your target audience. It drives traffic back to your website and is a helpful component of SEO. Blogging about topics that are relevant to the services you provide will help deepen your connection with your reader, further reinforce your brand and help you establish yourself as an authority. – Cheri Rainey, Rainey Leadership Learning

6. Run Social Media Ads

A great way for established companies to expand into new markets is to run social media ads. Ads allow companies to segment their target audience into specific groups of people within certain geographic areas. We live in a digital world, and social media offers a unique opportunity for companies to reach thousands or millions of people through a well-planned and well-executed advertising campaign. – Lori A. Manns, Quality Media Consultant Group LLC

7. Be Seen By People In The New Community

Growth costs money. Expanding into a new market requires demonstrating or giving away products in areas in which target customers exist. Setting up a space in a farmer’s market that everyone visits, in the airport or basically anywhere people will cross your path is recommended. Be prepared to give away some of your products to get them into the hands of people in your target market. – Kimberly Janson, Janson Associates, LLC

8. Sponsor Local Events Or Partner With Local Businesses

Expanding brand awareness for an established company expanding into a new market can be achieved in a number of ways. Some good methods include advertising through local media, partnering with local businesses and sponsoring local events. By taking these steps, companies can reach new customers and solidify their brand in the new market. – Anna Tan, Coaching Go Where

9. Connect With Customers Through Social Media

Businesses have the ability to see exponential growth in various markets thanks to social media. Any business that invests in proper social media due diligence can reach its ideal market by participating in the hashtags their future clients are participating in. It is as simple as hashtagging posts and using relevant content to expand knowledge of your brand and bring new buyers to your doorstep. – Amera McCoy, McCoy Consulting LLC

10. Engage Customers In A Referral Program

Established companies have customers—engage them in a referral and testimonial program. Evangelists can make more noise in a new market more quickly than almost anything else. Start gathering powerful third-party stories and enlist the help of the broader networks of your current customers. Ensure first, of course, that your brand can credibly stretch into the new space. – Antonio Garrido, My Daily Leadership

11. Stay Active On Social Media

Consistent social media posts are a big help when expanding into a new market. Staying active on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook builds your presence in the new market and reaches potential customers where they’re already spending time. It’s also helpful for building trust with them, as they begin to expect to see your posts on a regular basis. Then, they’ll be more likely to buy from you because they know, like and trust you. – Ryan Stewman, Break Free Academy

12. Align Your Brand With A Cause

Get involved by sponsoring an event. Being actively involved by supporting a nonprofit event that speaks to the target market will provide visibility and market introductions. Aligning with a cause will provide increased brand awareness and share the values of the company with a new audience. – Sara Phelan, Evalu8-Evolve Business Coaching

13. Practice Active Listening

Effective expansion begins with active listening. Learning the language and understanding how the new market operates is vital. Participating in the causes most important to the new market is also effective; it shows that you are about more than profits, want to contribute and are willing to invest in what matters to them and their communities. – Kathi Laughman, The Mackenzie Circle LLC

14. Take Your Brand Story To The Airwaves

Take your brand story to the airwaves and light up local television and radio markets. A powerful story is newsworthy in many markets, especially when your main objective is to help others succeed. To make appearances in the local print media, consider writing an op-ed piece or pitching a feature article showcasing your talents. – Jarret Patton, DoctorJarret PLLC