The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines a brand as a “name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of other sellers. 
Therefore it makes sense to understand that branding is not about getting your target market to choose you over the competition, but it is about getting your prospects to see you as the only one that provides a solution to their problem.
The objectives that a good brand will achieve include:
- Confirms your credibility
- Connects your target prospects emotionally
- Motivates the buyer
- Concretes User Loyalty
To succeed in branding you must understand the needs and wants of your customers and prospects. You do this by integrating your brand strategies through your company at every point of public contact. From a business card to the logo on your fax cover sheet. The branding should be consistent.
A strong brand is invaluable especially when prospecting. It’s important to spend time investing in researching, defining, and building your brand. After all your brand is the source of a promise to your consumer. It’s a foundational piece in your marketing communication and one you do not want to be without.
The first step in the process of developing your brand strategy is to define what or who your brand is and than you create the foundation or look for all other components. Your brand definition will serve as your measuring stick in evaluating any and all marketing materials and strategies. Begin the process by answering the questions below…
- What products and/or services do you offer? Define the qualities of these services and/or products.
- What are the core values of your products and services? What are the core values of your company?
- What is the mission of your company?
- What does your company specializes in?
- Who is your target market? Who do your products and services attract?
- What is the tagline of your company? What message does your tagline send to your prospects?
- Using the information from the previous steps create a personality or character for your company that represents your products or services. What is the character like? What qualities stand out? Is the personality of your company innovative, creative, energectic, or sophisticated?
- Use the personality that you created in the previous step and build a relationship with your target market that you defined in Step 5. How does that personality react to target audience? What characteristics stand out? Which characteristics and qualities get the attention of your prospects.
- Review the answers to the questions above and create a profile of your brand. Describe the personality or character with words just as if you were writing a biography or personal ad. Be creative.
Now look at your current marketing collateral – are any of these points addressed? Is the look of your materials building a presence for your product or service, if not, perhaps it’s time for a little reevaluation. We are here to help when you are ready!
This article is courtesy of Laura Lake, About.com. To read more on brand strategy visit About.com
Tags: advertising, branding, build business, Marketing
