Your art business does not exist in a competitive vacuum! Your customers and prospects have a multitude of choices when it comes to parting with their money. As the world becomes a flatter place (a term coined by Thomas Friedman in his book, The World is Flat) not only will your competition come from your local area but increasingly you will see it from around the globe.

You can thank the internet and trade policies for turning the world into one big marketplace of ideas, products and services. This trend could be viewed as a threat to your business but it could also be viewed as an even larger opportunity.

Today there is no shortage of companies providing any and every product/service and that includes art! In order to stand out in this crowded marketplace it is imperative that you think about your brand experience. A good brand experience will set you apart from the competition and get people talking about you and your art business. A bad brand experience will likely will get you passed by and a really bad brand experience will get people talking about you – and not in a good way!

Some examples of a great brand experience

Look around you and take notice of companies or products that provide a great brand experience. What makes you say Wow?

  • Today staying at a hotel can be more than just a room with a clean bed – it can be an experience that takes you to a foreign land or different time.
  • Going on vacation can be more than just a visit to a popular spot – it can be helping a worthy cause in a less developed part of the world or saving an endangered species or habitat.
  • Buying a computer or mobile device can be more than trying to decide from a huge selection at a big box store – It can be being helped by a knowledgeable and almost fanatical staff that will make sure that you are satisfied.
  • Purchasing shoes online can be more than just picking a style and hoping for the best – it can be getting the right style in the right size delivered to your door with a minimum of hassle.
  • Going to the museum can be more that looking at art or artifacts on a wall – it can be an experience that engages all of your senses.
  • Buying fine art photographs can be a usual gallery experience – it can be beautiful large prints with dramatic lighting with photographer’s back story to create an experience.

Components of a great brand experience

As you develop goals and strategies for your art business keep the brand experience you want to provide at the forefront of your ideas. Here are some ideas of how to build a great brand experience:

  • Have great products and impeccable service
  • Entertain, surprise and delight your customers and prospects
  • Touch the emotions and invigorate the senses
  • Educate and increase awareness
  • Tell a story of how and why you create your art – make the audience a part of your journey
  • Provide the unexpected
  • Add professionalism
  • Create value and over deliver
  • Engage your audience and help them participate in the experience
  • Go that little extra step in everything you do
  • Your experience radiates from everything you do from taking a customer’s order,
  • Differentiate your products, business, and brand

Think about what brand experience you are providing in everything you do in your art business, from creating your art to making a sale.  People remember a great brand experience and tell their friends – make sure they are talking about you!