When asked to identify a brand, many people probably automatically go to a logo or slogan. Although these are both very important aspects of a brand, the implications go FAR beyond the surface. Your brand is your image, however it is more than visual appeal - it is deep-rooted thoughts and feelings about the core values of your business. What is the first thing you think of when you hear names like Mcdonalds, Pepsi, Prada, Target? Each brand has a rooted image, which conjors up different feelings and responses.
ALSO, try this on for size… for consumer market companies, a well-managed brand typically represents about 50 percent to 80 percent of a company’s total value!! Basically, how you manage your brand holds a HUGE impact and is not to be taken lightly!
So what is your brand saying about you? What does your customer FEEL when they think about you? The best marketers and communicators build brands that evoke emotion! In order to build your brand the following steps must be taken.
- Decide on a target market. If you need help figuring out where to start, this post may be helpful. Targeting is extremely important and must be done FIRST!
- Determine your unique selling proposition. What are the benefits someone receives from your product or service? What do you want people to think when they think about you? Where do you want to be with your brand?
- Determine reality. You now know what you WANT people to perceive about you, but what is really happening? Perform market research, ask those in your target market. This means taking a step back and objectively analyzing your business and what you are currently communicating.
- Determine the differences. After you find out what is really happening, determine if this is matching up with your desired outcomes. What are the differences? What needs to be changed in order to help your target audience break their associations and form new ones?
- Form a new marketing strategy. Once you know what associations you must tackle, form your message around these attributes. Focus on what you must change and do so in your communication with your customers and target audience.
Building a solid brand now will save you tons of headaches, frustration and money in the future! Once attributes become solidly embedded in people’s minds, it is very hard to break them.
Cartoon courtesy of skydeckcartoons.com
