4 Elements of a Winning Brand
By Kim T. Gordon
When it comes to your image, are you hitting hard
or striking out? Cover all your bases with these 4 critical elements
of a winning brand.
What instantly springs to mind when customers hear your company
name? If you're uncertain--or even worse, stuck with a less-than-stellar
image--it's time to give your brand an overhaul. It's no coincidence
that industry leaders in every category from soft drinks to spas
toil endlessly to create some of the world's most recognized brands.
But it doesn't have to cost millions or take years to put your company's
branding efforts on track. Just follow these four guidelines to
create a winning brand image.
1. Differentiate your brand.
Branding is all about sending a strong and consistent message. Every
time a prospect or customer has contact with your company, whether
it's by visiting your website or seeing a print ad, he or she has
a branding experience. Fine-tuning your brand image is particularly
critical if your business is in a highly competitive product or
service arena--your brand will separate your company from the pack.
If it's been a while since you performed a competitive analysis,
make time to take this important step in realigning your brand.
Clip all your competitors' ads, review their PR coverage, research
them online, and buy their products and services. Then decide what
makes your product or service different. It's this point of differentiation
that allows you to create an image that sticks in customers' minds.
2. Promise value. Once you know what
separates your product or service from its competitors, you can
redefine your brand message so that it resonates with your best
prospects. How well do you know and understand them? Researching
and creating an accurate portrait of your targeted prospects is
essential to focusing your branding efforts. Doing so will help
you reach the audience that will be most receptive to the unique
qualities of your products and services. Trying to be all things
to all people results in a diluted and weak brand, whereas differentiation
based on what your unique customers want, need and value most will
result in strong branding and sales.
What does your product or service deliver that's valued most by
your best customers? If you're unsure, put "listening posts"
in place--from online message boards to printed satisfaction surveys--that
monitor customers' perceptions of your brand and uncover unmet needs.
3. Be a market leader. Delivering on
this value proposition over the long term not only means your company
will live up to its branding efforts, but it will also make you
a marketplace leader. And performing like a leader means keeping
your promises. Today, customers consider the "ownership experience"
prior to making many purchases. They look at reviews, read in-depth
information and pay attention to word-of-mouth in order to feel
confident that the purchase and post-purchase experiences will live
up to the expectations raised by brand marketing campaigns. Nothing
torpedoes branding efforts faster than failing to live up to marketing
claims. To be a true leader in your market niche, focus on improving
your customers' experiences and interactions with your company.
4. Integrate your messages. Every interaction
a customer has with your brand must be uniform across all marketing
channels. How consistently is your brand's message communicated?
Do the messages of your various marketing programs conflict? For
example, your online marketing--from website content to e-mail solicitations--should
be fully integrated with your offline efforts, carrying a single,
clear branding message and related design elements throughout.
To ensure your branding tuneup is a success, audit all your company's
current marketing communications. Pay particular attention to sales
tools, as these tend to become mismatched and disconnected from
other marketing efforts over time. Realign them with your company's
marketing tools and campaigns to create a stronger brand image.
Entrepreneur Magazine - August 2006
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