Introduction
We Marketers have it
really hard these days. We are all targeting the same group of people, with the
same basic product offerings and sometimes even at the same time.
This is especially
true for the world of Online Marketing. Some may find our efforts informative
or even amusing. Others are downright annoyed and seek out every possible way
to silence the noisy atmosphere we have created as we compete with each other.
To make matters
worse, many of the promotions online are fictitious and have left our target
market overly skeptical about everything they see online.
Many of them have
actually suffered serious financial loss as a result of the tactics of
unscrupulous marketers. In fact, less than 25% of all consumers actually trust
advertisements they see online. Just think about how negatively this will
affect your sales!
But, do not despair,
building a recognizable brand is within your reach if you are willing to learn
how to play your cards right. Marketing a business or brand online has become
one of the most popular ways for Entrepreneurs to reach their target audience.
Gone are the days
when a good billboard and couple of well-designed posters would be enough to
get you on the map. If you do not take the time to establish your brand’sonline
presence, it can easily become forgotten or overshadowed by its competitors.
Keeping ahead of the game now means carefully integrating online
marketing into your overall marketing strategy and thus building a brand that
needs no introduction.
The truth is,
marketing your brand online is not an overly complicated task. But like any
other skill, you must take the time to learn as much as you can about the task
at hand and the best way to achieve the desired results.
Thankfully, you have
purchased this book, which means you are well on your way to building a
successful brand.
Chapter 1 – Defining Your Brand and
Everything it Represents Attractively
Your brand represents
a unique promise that you make to every single one of your customers and
potential customers. It is the consistency of this promise and the overall
quality of the delivery of this promise that will encourage your customers to
be loyal to your brand.
Getting your
customers to become loyal to your brand is the only real way to make your brand
successful. But in order for your promise to be effective, it must be distinct
and clearly distinguishable from the many other promises your potential clients
will encounter.
What kind of promise
is your brand making?
Who is your brand
making this promise to?
Why is your
brand’spromise different from everyone else’s?
Why should anyone
believe your promise?
At a glance, the task
of defining your brand may appear quite simple but please do not be fooled.
The golden arches of
McDonald’sandthe Nike swoosh did not become what they are in a day. These and
other successful brands are the product of careful research, distinctly defined
boundaries and a comprehensive Marketing strategy. The result
of all this hard work is that each customer and potential customer knows
exactly what these brands represent.
Have you ever walked
into McDonald’sto order to purchase a Pepperoni pizza? Will anyone in their
right minds drive to Nike to pick up a pair of ruby red stilettos?
Of course not! That
is as a result of these brands being so carefully defined that we know exactly
what to expect and what these brands can deliver.
Customers are far
more likely to be loyal to a brand that sends a clear message or has a distinct
voice.
The first step to
defining your brand is thinking carefully about and documenting what your
business is good at. You can make use of S.W.A.T analysis to outline the major
strengths and weakness of your business.
It goes without
saying that your brand should represent the strengths or core functions of your
business. This will require some amount of honest self-evaluation.
Some Entrepreneurs
fall into the trap of aiming to be good at everything or doing too many things
at the same time. Even worse is trying to make a ‘universal’product or service
that has no specific target audience.
The result of this
kind of strategy would be a brand that is not well defined and will not
encourage brand loyalty.
Trying to target
everybody and doing everything will force you to spread your resources too
thin. The easiest way to get nothing done is to try and do everything at the
same time.
Once you have a
clearly defined message in mind, the next step is to choose the right tools.
The Marketing tools that you choose to make use of should then emphasize
the core focus of your business. In doing so, your Marketing strategy should
also emphasize what your business is not and thus make your clients see that
your focus is not on ripping them off.
This is an easy way
to highlight the difference between you and the competition. A memorable brand
is not worth the effort if you are not earning any money and the easiest way to
make money is to take out the competition.
After assessing the
strength of your business, find three simple words that represent what your
business does well. Think of it this way, which three words would you want your
clients to use to describe your brand if your brand was a person?
This will require
that you and your executive team carefully define the mission and vision
statement of your business as well. Your next move should be figuring out how
to communicate these attributes to your target audience with the utmost
simplicity.
A complicated
commercial or website is a major turn off to potential clients and will not be
very effective at generating sales. Keep your message simple if your aim is to
make your brand memorable and profitable.
“There is no
greatness where there is not simplicity―Leo.” Tolstoy
“Simplicitythe
ultimateis sophistication―ClareBoothe.” Luce
“To be simple is to―RalphbegreatWaldoEmerson.”
Defining your brand
and the identity of your brand will require much more than a fancy logo.
It must instantly
bring to mind what your business does and what your brand represents. One core
principle that never fails is to focus on quality and convenience.
The identity of your
brand should be carefully tied to adding value. Make your clients think of your
product or service as being of the best quality, the easiest to use, the most
affordable or even the most durable. Selling hype will not get you very far.
Always remember that
your aim is to give your brand a pleasant voice and a distinct identity.
The ultimate aim is
to get the voice of your brand off the printed page or website into the mind of
your target audience. Your message should make such a deep impression on your
target audience that purchasing your product or service should seem like the
only sensible choice.
You should not have
to clutter your website or commercials to get potential clients to remember
what your brand represents. This will prove to be a waste of time since your
brand may become easily confused with another.
The next chapter will
provide further details on building a unique identity for your brand.
