BRANDING
What is branding?
Branding is the way your business or product is identified based on your logo, color scheme, motto, marketing messages, etc. It is basically the first thing that comes to mind when hearing the name of your company or specific product. Branding is not only for large corporations. Those big companies understand the importance of marketing their brand.Why is branding important to my business?
A good branding strategy will consistently communicate your message to your customers on an emotional level. For example, Lexus consistently reinforces itself as a luxury brand. All of their marketing efforts seek to invoke feelings of comfort, luxury, etc. On the other hand, Toyota (who owns Lexus), focuses more on reliability and affordability. Likewise, when you market your business, you should communicate your message clearly and consistently to your customers. In my experience, I have come across too many business owners who fail to understand this important marketing aspect. When you choose to invest in effectively marketing your brand, you have a much better opportunity to communicate with customers, establish yourself as a stable and credible business, differentiate yourself from competitors, connect emotionally with prospective buyers and develop customer loyalty.Recently, I engaged in a lengthy online discussion with other marketing professionals regarding this subject. It began as a question regarding online companies offering logos for $99 and websites for $300. Are those prices you simply can't refuse? The overwhelming responses repeated the feeling that you get what you pay for. It reminded me of a prospective customer I had very recently who needed new marketing collateral and a complete website redesign. Although he had a fantastic product, it was apparent that he had never given much thought to branding his business or marketing his product and his business was suffering as a result. I had just begun to discuss strategies to establish himself in his niche market when he told me that he didn't need my services because he had found someone to do his website at a price that was too good to pass up. I totally understand that many people will only see how much money they will need to pay for marketing and advertising, especially during this current economic climate, but to shortchange your brand to save a few bucks could prove much more costly down the road.
How do I go about branding my business?
If you feel that you have not quite established your brand effectively, or if you have a new business you would like to establish, a good starting point is to examine your business plan and answering questions like:what kind of image do you want for your business?
what type of clients are you trying to attract?
how can you connect with them?
You can then examine if your logo, slogan, marketing collateral (brochures, mailers, etc.), website, advertisements, and even employees all convey that message consistently. If not, it may be necessary to focus on aligning all of those so they do. Perhaps a logo redesign, developing new brochures or training your employees to focus on your branding strategy.
Brand yourself!
Keep in mind that you personally represent your company brand as well. The way you dress, talk, act, even the kind of car you drive all leave an impression on customers, prospects, vendor and fellow employees.For help in developing a solid branding strategy to consistently communicate your desired message, please contact us.
By John Carranza
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