What's first on the marketing front? Logo? Website? Directory listing? Newsletter?
Before you leap, let's have a brief look at your brand.
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What is branding?
Branding goes beyond the visual elements of your identity and lays on 'personality'. Are you an innovative maverick, or are you experienced, focused and dependable? Are you the high-cost, high-quality option, or are you low-cost, high-value? Simply put, it's your promise to your customers.
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It's memorable
You can start with getting your logo, name and strapline in as many places as you can. No one can do return business or recommend you if they can't remember your business name. But give them a pen, calendar or fridge magnet with your name and logo on it and they will rembember you.
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It's recognisable
Side by side, a product or service with a recognisable brand will outsell it competitors. Even when the competitors are seen as 'better'. Fact. Think of the Pepsi vs Coke blind taste tests. It's now more or less accepted that in blind taste tests, Pepsi has the advantage over Coke. But in sales, the juggernaut that is the Coca Cola brand wins out, every time.
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Good brand, premium price
A good brand lifts your product or service out of the realm of mere commodity so you get customers willing to pay more for your offer than your competitor's based on price alone.
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It breeds familiarity
I love this: Psychologists have shown that brand familiarity induces feelings similar to friendship. So people will recommend a good brand even if they have never done business with that brand.
Good branding is almost an unfair advantage
We often refer to your brand as a ‘lightbulb moment’ — that moment when a customer thinks, “Who can I call to do … ?” and it’s your business that pops into their head. That’s the branding you want — the answer to a customers problem before they’ve even thought it.
Priceless.
We can help.
