As an established small to medium-sized business, you may not be looking to brand build from scratch but you do need to make sure that you maintain brand consistency. The key is staying relevant, transparent and engaging to your core customers.

People are flooded with brands trying to differentiate themselves every day, so how do you build and maintain a brand that customers remember?

Thanks to the internet, it’s not hard or expensive to run an ad that reaches thousands or even millions of people. Reports say we see nearly 4,000 ads per dayand while that might seem overwhelming, strong branding and targeted advertising can help you make big waves in a sea of businesses.

Creating a solid brand development strategy allows you to connect with current customers, find new ones and keep all of them as loyal brand followers for years to come. It’s much more expensive to find a new customer every time you want to make a sale versus re-selling to your client base online.

Top business and career coaches from The Forbes Coaches council shared how media, eCommerce, and branding all tie together. We’ve compiled three strategies from their advice that will increase your brand awareness so that it works with you to increase your eCommerce sales:

#1 Let Media Work For You

The beauty of your brand is that it is your story to tell. With all of the smartphones, cameras, computers, etc available, your company has the power to own the narrative.

Find your audience and then go where they are. If they’re on Instagram, build a great profile, focus on getting new followers, follow accounts that have followers who would be interested in your product, create excellent pictures, share behind the scenes in your Stories, and run ads through the Facebook Ads Manager.

If they’re podcasters, collaborate with podcast hosts and run ads with them. If they’re on Facebook, provide excellent content that keeps them coming back to your page for more. Run ads that are strategically targeted to your core customers and directly engage them in the comments. Wherever your people are, meet them and then create the best resources they’ve ever seen about your niche.

#2 Invite the Pros

Find out what the pros have to say about your company. Find a business coach and invite them in for honest feedback. Allow them to see the inner workings of your business so they can help you grow. Feedback at its heart is designed to accelerate growth.

By allowing an expert to come in and evaluate your brand, you will gain a better perspective on how your customers view you. Studies show that business who receive 3+ hours of mentoring see higher revenues and increased business growth.

Working with a business coach also helps you correct typical patterns and common mistakes. It helps alleviate some of the pressure of being in charge.  Executive coach, Bill Treadwell says, “It’s lonely at the top, and, just as a CEO holds his hires accountable, an objective third party — a coach — serves to hold the CEO accountable.”

#3 Be a Helper, Not a Seller

People know when they are on the receiving end of a sales pitch – and most people don’t like it one bit. Instead of blending in with the masses, look for unique ways to set yourself apart. The current trends for eCommerce have significantly changed over the years. Helping and not selling is a new technique that is becoming more mainstream. Consumers are more educated now due to the extensive wealth of knowledge the internet contains.

Combine useful information with your niche to develop content that will educate, empower, and motivate your customers. Providing relevant and helpful content makes customers feel like you are speaking directly to them.

When you establish that bond, they will know, like, and trust you, so you won’t have to worry about selling. They’ll buy from you because you’ve established trust and created a loyal brand following.