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What Does Your Company Stand For?
Branding your company
or service can be a great asset. Brand-driven advertisers
understand one thing very well. They understand the
emotional substructure of good advertising. If you
don't stir the heart, goes the reasoning, you can't
stir the pocketbook. That's why Super Bowl advertisers
will work hard—and
spend millions—to leave you laughing. Or crying.
Or angry.
To build your brand, begin by thinking through exactly
what it is you sell and why customers choose your product
or service. Identify the promise you are making to
your customers. For instance, you may manufacture vacuum
cleaners, but what you're really selling is a better
way to clean house. You must also define what makes
your product more desirable to the customers you're
targeting than that of your competition. With a strong
brand, you don't have to sell nearly as long or as
hard. Customers know what you stand for before the
pitch or proposal.
Here's how to give your company the kind of brand
identity that will help drive sales:
Define Your Personality
A successful brand becomes an emotional bond that
builds customer loyalty. A brand includes your logo,
color scheme, taglines, slogan, design elements and
more.
Build Recognition
You want the company personality to be easily identifiable
at every customer touch point, from word of mouth
to final sale. Make sure that every bit and byte
of packaging, presentations, communications, and
marketing speaks with a brand-consistent look and
voice. That includes vehicle graphics, trade show
displays and booths, storefront or office signage,
banners and web ads, print ads, posters and point
of purchase displays — in other words, everything.
Get Inside The Customer's Mind
You need a serious fix on what will propel people
to buy so you can gear your messages accordingly. Ask
yourself what need will you fill for the customer?
What problem can you solve? How can I make it easier
for them? Once you know that, you know what will
trigger a market response.
But defining what that brand is and what it will mean
to your customers is complicated. When counting your
abstract assets, for instance, try putting the customer
relationship AHEAD of brand on the ledger sheet. And
the product? Channel money into making it the best
it can be, both in quality and in the manner it satisfies
your customers' deepest desires. Let those two things
drive how you communicate with your market, and you’ll
have a powerful branding strategy that pushes the numbers
up on you balance sheet.
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