We aren’t born with a good reputation, it’s something we earn over time. And the same rings true for your business. Getting you company branding working will take hard work at the start, but has great rewards later down the line.
Your company branding isn’t necessarily just a logo and a product of your marketing efforts. It goes deeper than that. It is based on how your potential clients, clients, customers and raving fans feel about you.
Many people forget about the marketing message and concentrate on themselves.
Take Starbucks, for example. The company may not produce the best coffee in the entire world, but they have convinced most of the world that they do. What do you think of when you think of Starbucks? High quality, respectable company, big company … whatever it is, it is a positive one.
This works for many reasons: a) their product / in-cafe experience aligns with their message, b) they’ve been putting this same message out forever, and c) they know their target audience is looking for expensive lattes and fine coffee and they’re delivering.
We, as consumers, have helped them become the brand they are by believing in the messages they’re putting out. That’s essentially how to get you company branding working.
So how have Starbucks done it?
We’re not all Starbucks and that is not an issue. Our branding strategies can achieve exactly what Starbucks has with their marketing (though probably on a smaller scale). If you focus on building a clear and concise brand strategy then stick to it with everything you do, you will ultimately improve your overall brand equity.
Getting there can be tricky and not always easy, but understanding why you’re getting it wrong and fixing it… that can really take your business to the next level.
We have been working with Small and Medium businesses for years getting them to stick to their brand and message, with great results.
The three most common problems we encounter are focusing too much on the competition, being unwilling to make changes, and not focusing on their target audience (i.e. trying to attract all 7 billion people, though this would be nice).
- How are you coming up with your messaging?
- Are you looking at what your competitors are doing?
- Do you have the same message you had 5 years ago?
- Is your message new every single month?
It’s okay if those answers aren’t coming to you easily. That’s why you’re reading this post, right? To find out if your brand sucks and how you can make changes to fix it with a new branding strategy.
How to Get Started with a message
If you’re still wondering why identifying your branding strategy and identity is so important to your success, take a moment to consider these questions:
- If you’re taking the time to develop a product or service, is it reaching an audience?
- Is it reaching the right audience?
- Are you seeing a return on investment (ROI)?
If you can’t answer yes to any of these questions, then you’re probably wasting your efforts (or your brand is clearly not resonating well with your audience). You’re most likely missing out on a potential loyal following, recognition, word-of-mouth marketing, and other valuable brand opportunities.
So … now what?
Successful brands don’t just happen out of thin air. They take hard work and time to build and, most importantly, need a well-thought-out strategy behind them.
As we said in the beginning of this post, a brand isn’t your appearance or even what you’re doing – it’s how you do it and how your brand makes people feel.
If you have any other questions about getting you company Branding working or Marketing or would like to see how we can help, please feel free to contact us on info@07hm.co.uk, or alternatively call us on 01702 410663
