Not sure if you have a brand, if you have a business then you have a brand it’s all a question of how successful you are. Follow our checklist below to see how you measure up. Tick all the boxes and chances are you have a great brand you are on the right track. If the checklist highlights areas to work on use this as a guide to make sure your brand hits the right note with your customers.1.Relevance: I will let you in to a secret, a great brand is all about your customers.
- Do you meet their needs?
- Do you know what they are thinking?A business and brand needs to match your business benefits to customers needs. Your brand should evolve and change as you customer needs grow and develop. Creating a brand is never static and should always be relevant to your ideal customers. If you don’t tick this box you can bet your competitors will offer a brand promise that does meet your customer need.2. Simplicity: OK so you can wax lyrical about your products and services, use lots of text and jargon, have a number of themes to show how good you to wow your customers, but you run the risk of confusing your audience to the point that they do not understand what you can do for them. It is essential to continually monitor your brand, the promises you make to your customer how you are viewed by them and the image that is projected. Keep your message simple and to the point that way your customers can be in no doubt what you are trying to tell them. So gather all your marketing material together, stand back and look at it, better still get your friends and family to look at it and tell you the message they get from your business.
Can they tell you what your offer is?3. Differentiation:
Do you know what makes you different?
What made your customers choose you?
The bottom line is you need to be different, or show a different position to their problem, what’s more you need to back up why your different, this is where facts. Figure, awards and most importantly customer feedback is crucial to differentiate you from the rest of your industry. Can you identify what is unique about your business?4. Believability: Do your customers believe what you are saying?
If you are trying to sell ice to inhabitants of dessert you have to back it up with how it can happen and why it will change their life. If your claims are wild or even if you have too many star claims you run the risk of customers not believing in your product or service.
Do customers believe your brand message?5. Credibility: Whatever messages your brand sends your customers you need to deliver the goods. Take a business that who brand promise is that they are customer focused. They are committed to researching suppliers to get the best price for their customers, they hand pick and pack their goods to make sure they arrive in tip top condition. Great so far they are really working their brand promise, but imagine if their staff never said please or thank you when dealing with customers. The brand would be tarnished in an instant. Every touch you have with your customers either meets your customers expectations of your brand of not, and we all know that the knocks to a brand are harmful.Does your brand deliver your brand promise?6. Defensibility: Now we all know that copying is the highest form of flattery! But do you really want a bunch of mini me’s operating and praising you hard earned customers away from you. Constantly monitoring your brand and delivering the same message to your customers will build brand loyalty and a defense to any invasion of your brand.
Can you brand with stand attack?Keep this checklist to hand, print it out and stick it on your wall, include it in your monthly management meeting or even load it as your wallpaper. Whatever you do use it to protect, build and reinforce your brand to make sure your business really does have a style all of its own.
Not Sure If You Have a Brand?
Get Branded!
Every business needs an image. What better way to create one than to have a consistent business branding? It is fundamental for every business to be recognized. Each and every element of its structure must come with a public face. The face of your business must contribute to the overall look of a company.
To start, websites are one of the most popular and efficient tools in business branding today. With the emergence of the World Wide Web, no business can ever reach its maximum potential without a website.
Basically, what a website does is to create an online image for a business. This means that on a certain web address, details about the company can be accessed. These bits of information are extremely useful for potential as well as existing customers. They can be as simple as the description of the business or its services and products, images and footage of the products the company is offering for sale. They can also be the contact details about where the company can be reached once the customer is interested. Marketing campaigns and press releases can also be placed on the company website.
Once the website has been created it includes all of the necessary contents. The next thing to do is to establish an online presence. This is done by doing search engine optimization.
Search engine optimization is a technique common to many internet marketers. Search engine optimization works by designing a website in a manner which will make it appear on the top ranks of a search results page when prospective buyers search for it. It follows the principle that when it appears on the top ranks, readers see it as the most relevant to their searches. In effect, more traffic can be expected to the website.
There are many ways to do search engine optimization for a site. These include article marketing, press release writing, keyword incorporation, Web 2.0 creation, link wheels, link submission and bookmarking campaign. These can all be used at the same time while there are instances where only a few of the techniques are employed. The key is to use them in a way to help the website. Substance, strategy and timing all come into play with these elements. Otherwise, the tools will not achieve their desired purpose.
All these are done to increase the relevance to the site with a goal for it to gain more traffic. Once online presence is established, the image or business branding starts to build up. Its presence in the cyber community is starting to take off.
Tips for Building Brand Loyalty
People that are brand loyal spend more time (and money with you), hire you more than once, and will tell their friends and family about you. Creating brand loyalty is an inexpensive and easy way to market your business. Think about it… it’s a lot easier to keep happy clients then it is to go out and get new clients. Creating brand loyalty is a great way to add to your overall bottom line.The truth is, however, that not as many people today are as loyal to their favorite brands as they once were. According to a survey done by Earnest And Young, just a few years ago consumers were shown to be 40% loyal to their brand. In recent years that number has dropped to 25%. It’s getting more challenging to keep customers. This means as a business owner you must step up your game. My suggestion… find something your customers will come to expect from you that no one else in your line of business is doing.This past weekend I had the opportunity to go to a local nail salon with a couple of friends. This salon is in my neighborhood but I only get to go to this particular location a few times a year. However, they recognize me every single time I come into their establishment. Their one thing is that as you have your nails done they offer you a glass of wine to enjoy. When I came in this past weekend and they offered the three of us a glass of wine I was surprised that they remembered what kind of wine I like to drink. This is the kind of customer service that makes you feel special. Why? Because it let’s the consumer know that they are valued as a customer. I’m sure you’ve experienced something similar with a business you frequent often.So the thought I want to leave you with today is… What is the ONE THING that sets you apart from the similar business down the road? What will your customers be talking about after they leave? This does not have to be anything elaborate or expensive (although it certainly can be.) What it does need to be is personal and memorable.One of the things I love to do in my business is put on my creative hat and help my clients come up with ideas. So below is a brief list of ideas ONE THING that you might be able to take and make your own. Consider it my gift to you!One thing ideas include, giving loyal and repeat customers a discount coupon for returning to do business with you. You could also try giving loyal and repeat customers a “bring a friend” coupon. Another powerful tool you can use is, giving loyal and repeat customers a complimentary service after a certain number of visits.