1. Find your difference and embrace it. Think about what sets you apart from your competition, ask yourself why the customer should choose you and shape it into an actionable message. Don't just look for rational characteristics, our decisions are more emotional than we think. Why was my business born? What are we passionate about as a company? What drives us and what can we offer the market that others aren't already offering? These are some of the questions you need to answer to find your brand promise.
Remember that the only thing that separates the burger from a Big Mac is a very special sauce, and branding of course. In short, “be yourself, all the other positions are taken.” This time, Oscar Wilde speaks.
Some tools you can use to work on your value proposition are a SWOT analysis to identify strengths and weaknesses or the “Benefit Ladder” to work on aspirational benefits based on the rational attributes of your products or services.
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2. Be consistent. Okay, so you know who you are and what drives you. In fact, you’ve always known this, but now you’ve put it in writing. It’s time to communicate it and do so consistently. Make a list of all the “touchpoints” your brand has with your audiences (don’t forget the internal customer) and think about how you should behave in each of them to reflect the difference you’ve decided to put at the center of your strategy.
Neither your website, your store, nor your content marketing can be the same if you are an artisan shoemaker as if you are Nike, right? It is a matter of common sense, but be methodical and transfer your brand personality and your promise to each of your channels.
Tools like the Brand Touchpoint Wheel can help you do this. Prioritise the most important touchpoints for your business objectives and align them with your brand promise. Remember, a brand is not a logo, a website or a catalogue, but these elements should reflect who you are.
3. Your Buyer Persona, always in mind . You've been told a million times that you can't be everything to everyone or you won't be anything to anyone. Well, here it is again. Get to know your audience as if they were your family, find them, understand them and tell them why you are the one for each other. Here is a template to start working on your Buyer Persona .
4. Be relevant and, if possible, extraordinary. Consistency is more important than relevance. Brands, like people, have a personality and must behave accordingly. But, just like us, nothing prevents them from adapting to the context, channel and audience. One personality, different variations.
5. Be Inbound. Don't interrupt, attract. Create content that iran phone number data reflects your personality and brand positioning , and of course that interests your audience. Provide value and your effort will be returned to you in the form of brand awareness, trust and, of course, sales. The alternative, amidst the noise in which we as consumers are currently immersed, is to leave no trace or, worse, become spam.
6. Marketing and sales, all in one . It is useless for your marketing team to be clear about your brand promise if your sales team does not know how to convey it to your customer. Don't waste your work in the last mile. Marketing and sales are part of the same team and must be aligned.
Make sure your sales materials tell your story properly and train your team to communicate it. Any gap in your organization is a missed opportunity to leave the right mark. Did you know that Brand means footprint?
Ready to define your value proposition, communicate your difference and see how a strong brand helps your sales grow? Branding is not just for big companies, but it requires method and vision. Are you ready?