How to build a bulletproof brand in 4 simple steps
Did you know over 90% of small business owners know how important having a unique brand that differentiates them from their competition is for their business success. Over 50% of them also state having a unique brand is crucial to attracting (and retaining) new business.
What secrets do strong brands like Apple and Nike hold? More importantly, how can small-business owners use these secrets to leverage off and help build their business?
WE’VE BROKEN THEM DOWN HERE TO 4 SIMPLE STEPS TO BUILDING A SUCCESSFUL BRAND
1. Work out how you want to be perceived in the marketplace
When your customers / clients have used your product or service, how do you want them to describe their experience with you? If you’re a tradie, for example, what do you want them to say?
“Wow, the guys we’re on time”
“They we’re really quick, neat and did really great work”
“Their prices were fair, and they did exactly what they say they would”
See your brand as your promise to your customers – a promise that’s different from your competitors, and a promise that you live by and won’t break.
2. Build your business on these promises
Keeping your brand promise(s) that sets you apart from your competitors reinforces that what you’re doing is more than what they’re doing. The tradie that wants to be recognized for its quietly craftsmanship, punctuality and friendly accurate advice, for example, will have to find a way to ensure that they will be able to manage time and expectations, as well as ensuring pricing is always accurate and fair.
In other words, your brand will greatly influence the winning formula that you’ll base your business on.
3. Communicate your brand promise everywhere and everytime
Everything you do. and produce from a marketing, advertising point of view, from the colours of your logo to your website content, must be developed with your promise(s) in mind. What you say on social media, how you answer the phone, how you write an email, even to how your dress and appear, must be aligned with your message and you what promise.
This is where your brand and brand messaging becomes central to your advertising and marketing activity. Having a clear idea of what you promise, and deliver will make your messaging even more effective and give you clarities on what you want to communicate.
4. Be consistent
After defining how you want your brand and business to perceived, and running your business based on these promises and principles, you have to be consistent in your messaging both in messaging and frequency. Apple, for example, is known for making innovative products that redefine a segment - think laptops, smartphones, portable digital music, etc… Apple can’t (and won’t) launch a new product that’s unattractive, hard to use, or use outdated technology, as that would break their promise it has made to its customers - ie. “Think different”
A businesses main aim is to develop trust with their customers, delivered through them meeting and exceeding their brand promise. Customers then will no longer see your brand as a promise but experience it as a tangible reality. Being consistent and delivering on your brand promise is often the hardest part, but when achieved, delivers the highest rewards.
Over time, a well-managed brand (and business) stops becoming a “company promise” and increasingly becomes an expected part of the business. There may be hundreds of tradies in the area offering a similar services, however only a handful where customers have a high expectation of what will be deilvered. This is what sets any business apart. The tradies brand is bigger than his name, or logo. The brand now is owned by his customers and their expectations of their experience.
When you’ve built a brand with consistency and brand promises that exceed your customers expectations, your business will in turn be able to increase both its prices and its sales (that’s right, both at the same time!). Your brand will become one of your business’s most valuable assets and the one with the most impact on your bottom line.
Need help on defining your brand and how we can help your business thrive?
