Branding - It's not just for cows!

Cows Anymore

14 Oct

The market is flooded with just about every kind of competitor.  How do you get noticed in this flood?  Being consistently interesting and memorable will get you recognized quicker.  Interest and memorability should be built into your brand image.

There’s a lot of buzz in marketing communications about branding these days, but just what IS a brand, anyway?  It’s the sum of all the associations your prospects and customers have about your product or service or company.  Is it touchy-feely?  Yes.  Is it hard to control?  Yes.

Why should you care?  Because establishing a strong brand identity can be a shortcut into the hearts and minds of prospective buyers.  Being distinctive, recognizable, and memorable separates you from the competition.

Think. What personality or image do you want to present to customers and prospects? Should it be warm, friendly, and down-to-earth? Polished, knowledgeable, and sophisticated?
Does your company’s current logo, web site, literature design reflect the image you want to present? Is your company’s personality presented consistently in all forms of communication, including your social media presence?

There are four key steps in brand management:

1) Positioning – identify your unique benefits and desired image.

2) Planning – develop a road map for your brand identity programs.

3) Protection – guard the integrity of your brand.

4) Promotion – build awareness of and preference for your brand.

Brand management is an ongoing process, not a destination.  Keep working at it!

Message in a bottle

Imagine you’re stuck on an island.  If you put a message in a bottle in hopes of getting rescued, you’d make it brief and clear.
If you’re in business and you want customers to “rescue” you, the message in your marketing communications bottle needs to be brief and clear too. In marketing communications what you say is as important as where and how often you say it.
How do you come up with the right message? The first step is to know your customers. What benefits do they get from working with you? What problems do you solve for them?
Customer benefit is the main driving force behind an effective message.
Once you’ve developed potential messages, ask these five questions of each one:
1. Is it unique?
There may be many providers of a product or service. How do you set yourself apart?

2. Is it meaningful?
Select your unique message based on the real needs of customers.

3. Is it supportable?
Can you keep the promise you’re making?

4. Is it sustainable?
Establishing a position doesn’t happen overnight. Choose your message based on a long term view of what you can deliver.


5. Is it clear and brief?
If you ask your audience to think too hard, they probably won’t! Simple, straight-forward messages work best.  Remember, this is your “message in a bottle” after all.