Seven steps to building a successful brand.

What is a brand?
A brand isnt just a logo. Alone, a logo is just a picture nothing more. A brands a promise your customers believe in. Its a promise about who you are and what benefits you deliver, that gets reinforced every single time people come in contact with any part of your business. A brand is a promise that your customers believe in. And branding is the packaging and presentation of your promise.

The benefits of building a brand

Brands pave the way to marketing success. They build name awareness. They build equity. They increase the odds of business survival. They make selling easier. They create customer loyalty. Oh, and they generate profit. Without a brand, you have to build a case for why you deserve the customers business every time you want to make a sale.

7 steps to branding success

Building a brand is like building a house. They have two things in common. They both need a site to occupy a house needs a plot and a brand needs a market position. They both require a plan to follow to achieve the desired outcome. The following steps will help you to plan, position and build a successful brand for your business, product or service and help you achieve your business goals.

Step 1: Decide what to brand

Most of the time, the choice is simple: are you branding your company or something that your company offers a product or service? Wed normally recommend you create one strong brand for your business, then extend that brand to cover everything you offer. This increases brand equity and creates a virtuous circle of recognition. The alternative is to build a business full of brands: this can be very expensive, time-consuming and confusing for your customers. However, sometimes its simply the best solution and if thats the case, we recommend you create a stand-alone profit centre for each new brand.

Step 2: Do your homework

Research is key to building a successful brand. When you truly know your customers who they are, where they are, and what they want you can target them cost-effectively with little or no waste. Once you understanding their needs, wants and desires, youll also have a sound platform not just for building your brand, but for growing your entire business. Of course, you may already have done your research and be the proud owner of a teetering pile of paperwork. So now might be the time to revisit the data, polish up the conclusions and probe any gaps you find. If not, theres no time like the present to get digging. Here are a few tips to help you gather the right kind of information to inform your marketing strategy.

Research tips 1. Identify your target market. Your information will only be as good as your market research sample. Be careful when selecting your market research sample group to question. To get useful market research data, your sample group needs to be relevant to and representative of your target population. 2. Design your survey or market research questionnaire carefully. Make sure that it's focused specifically on the information you need to know, and that you haven't included any questions that may offend anyone. Many people are put off by questions that ask them how much money they earn, for instance. If you offend or confuse them, they won't bother to fill out your market research survey. The key information that you should aim to acquire is: Who they are? Where they live? What lifestyle do they lead? What car they drive? Their perceived need for your product or service? Would they buy it from you? How much would they be willing to pay? Have they heard of your company or product? If so, from where? Where would they go to source this type of product or service? Have they sourced it elsewhere? If so, where and why? What magazines and newspapers they read? What TV channels or shows do they watch? What radio stations do they listen to and at what times? What websites they visit? How do they like to be communicated with? Email, phone and/or by post?

3. Keep it short. If possible, your market research survey or questionnaire should all fit on one page. Long forms intimidate some people; others see multiple page forms as just too much of an imposition on their time. 4. Always provide some opportunity for detailed answers. Not everyone will take advantage of it, but some will, and sometimes these written-in comments are the most valuable of all. 5. Work out your market research recording techniques first. Telephone market research surveys are popular, but how are you going to record what the respondents say? If you're orally interviewing someone, will you record them or take notes? The purpose of market research is to gather and analyse the data, so you've got to have a system of recording the data worked out in advance. Websites like www.surveymonkey.com are very effective tools, as they record and provide reports on the data collected. And, if youre surveying fewer than 100 people, its free. 6. Invest in the process The amount of market research you do is limited only by your time (if you're doing it yourself) or your budget (if you hire someone else to do it). But market research is necessary at all stages of a business's life, if you want continued success. Only market research can truly keep us in touch with what's most important your customers, and their needs and desires. If this sounds like a daunting task and youve yet to venture forth with a clipboard and a forced smile, dont worry we can carry out the research on your behalf.

Step 3: Define your offering

Once you understand your customers their wants, needs, desires and expectations you should revisit your offering and start to lay the foundation for a brand that accurately reflects the essence of what your business stands for, how you operate, what you promise and who you serve. Our Putting your brand into words workshop will help focus and structure your thinking by taking you through the following exercises: Creating your vision Think of your vision as the picture of where you ultimately want to be. Define your long-term aspirations Explain why youre doing what youre doing And the ultimate good you want to achieve through your success

Establishing your mission Think of your mission as the route youll follow to achieve your vision. Define the purpose of your company State what effect you intend to have on the world around you State what you do for others And the approach you follow in order to achieve your aspirations

Identifying your values You need a set of principles and values that guide how you operate. What you are and arent willing to do to achieve success Theyre fundamental to what your business is and stands for Theyre essential to the brand image thats reflected to the public

Writing your business promise Your business promise is the pledge upon which you build your brand and stake your reputation. What do you assure those who come into contact with your business The expectation that you live up to every time people experience your brand Your promise is the essence of your brand Your promise is essential to your brand strategy Dont make promises that you cant deliver on consistently Delivering your promise is essential to building business trust and loyalty Its something translated into and presented as a motto or tagline

Understanding your character Your brand character is the personality of your brand. Its an accurate reflection of your vision, mission, values, and promise Is it serious or sombre, fun or playful Is it youthful or very grown up

 Defining your brand Your brand definition shrinks all your thoughts about your business mission, values, and promise into a concise statement. It defines what you do and how you differ from all other solutions It defines your promise to your customers Its the face of your brand It serves as the steering wheel for your branding strategy It influences every turn you make in presenting your brand

Inventing or confirming your name If you already have a brand name, you can use this exercise to check if it truly reflects the attributes of your brand. If you dont have a brand name, itll help you list the attributes that you want to reflect in your name. It identifies the terms out of your brand identity statement that you most want your name to convey, reflect, or support It identifies the aspects of your brand promise that you would like your name to advance It will help you identify words that define the character you want your name to convey

Step 4: Find your market position

The process of finding a place to build your brand in your market and in minds of customers is called Positioning. Positioning is the precise job of differentiating your offering, then slotting it into a free spot in the market to fulfil an unfilled need. Having completed your market research, you should know who your customers are, but more importantly you should know who is most likely to want what youre selling. You should know their needs and desires, where they are, how to target them, what kind of messages will motivate them to buy from you, and what kind of customer experience will make them loyal to your brand. Youve also put your brand into words and defined whats unique about your offering. Now its time to develop your marketing and communication strategy. Designing a marketing and communications strategy Your marketing strategy is the big-picture insight that guides your marketing activity and makes sure all your activities add up to success. A good core strategy gives a special kind of high-level direction and purpose to all you do. There are several types of marketing strategies and you need to decide which one best suits your business offering. These include: Market expansion strategies This is the most common strategy in marketing. The idea is very simple. Just pick some new territory and head out into it. Oh, and dont come back until youve struck gold. Market segmentation strategies This is a specialisation strategy in which you target and cater to or specialise in just one narrow type or group of customers. The advantage of this type of strategy is that it allows you to tailor your product, or service and your entire marketing effort to a clearly defined group with uniform, specific characteristics. Market share strategies Another common and powerful strategy is to increase your market share through your marketing activity. In essence this means taking some business from your competitors.

 Life-cycle strategies Every product category has a limited life and old products are replaced by new. The result is the never-ending cycle of birth, growth and decline. This strategy looks at long-term trends and evolves as the products evolve. Positioning strategies A positioning strategy takes a psychological approach to marketing. This strategy focuses on getting customers or prospects to see your product or service in a positive light. Simplicity strategies This strategy focuses on targeting customers and prospects with products that offer a simple alternative to increasingly complex technology they dont need. Quality strategies This strategy is favoured by already established brands that have built up a reputation for superior quality products or services. Reminder strategies Products that are routinely purchased to remind customers that they still exist use this strategy.

Unless you have a marketing degree or the inclination to absorb a library of strategy books, we recommend that you get us to create your strategy for you. But if moneys tight and you have no alternative but to do it yourself, heres what your strategy should include: Introduction Your vision, mission and business promise Strengths and weaknesses Opportunities and threats Competitor analysis Target market analysis primary and secondary Ideal customer profile Customer needs, desires and expectations Key objectives Core strategy Key messages Potential channels to market Media plan and costs Tactics Implementation action plan Summary

Step 5: Create the right impression

The average consumer faces an average of 3000 promotional messages every day. They only tune into messages that appeal to their wants and needs. They ignore messages for offerings they already buy from a trusted supplier. Unless, the offering being presented is unique, attractive, different and better. To grab their attention and win their custom you need to be all of these things. To keep their custom you need to deliver on your promise. Your promise needs to match their desire and expectations. Create a face and voice for your brand thats unique, simple and strong representation of your business. It should reflect your brand character and embody your promise to your customers. It must be consistent in image and tone across all your marketing communications. It must be targeted in message and powerful enough to grab your customers attention and win their custom. Top tips for marketing success Invest in your logo Your logo is the most important expression of your brand. Invest in getting it designed professionally and compliment it with a tagline that sums up your offering to your customers. Create a theme Creating a consistent theme for all your marketing materials is a great way of expressing the personality of your brand and making it memorable. Ensure the theme is relevant to your business and your promise to your customers. Create the right tone The tone of your message is vital if its to attract and retain your customers to the brand. Speak to them directly use you and us and find a way of talking that matches their own conversational style. This could be irreverent and humourous for one audience, or serious and straight to the point for another. Present yourself consistently Repetition builds reputation. Ensure that every element of your brand is presented correctly and consistently to your customers. Live by your strategy Youve invested in a marketing strategy; so ensure that you execute the plan in its entirety. Make sure that your marketing campaign is integrated and is supported by sales activity at every stage in the process. Deliver on your promise Once youve created the visual and verbal elements of your brand presented it consistently and strategically to your market and attracted new customers, all you have to do is deliver on your promise to keep their custom.

Step 6: Launch with a bang!

Whether youre launching a new brand or revitalising an existing one, your brand identity needs to be announced as part of a complete brand story. Before you enlist the understanding, interest, and support of others, be sure you know your story, chapter and verse. You need to be clear about why youre doing what youre doing. To prepare for your brand launch, ready your answers to the following questions: Q1. Why are you undertaking this branding effort? Build awareness? Create an emotional connection? Differentiate your offering? Create and enhance credibility and trust? Motivate purchase? Q2. What do you expect your brand launch to achieve? Q3. When and where should you launch? Q4. How should you launch and whats your message? Q5. Whats your budget? Q6. Who should you invite? Q7. How do you promote it? Top tips for a successful launch Time your launch to coincide with public interest in your story Launch a PR programme to get your message into the market Promote it to your target market Secure a key speaker with kudos Plan your event down to the finest detail Invite 70% more people than you can accommodate Confirm RSVPs Position your brand and your customer promise Unveil, present, and/or demonstrate you product or service Encourage feedback Network like crazy Follow up enquiries and sales leads

Step 7: Keep your brand fresh and relevant

OK so changing the essence of your brand is officially A Bad Idea. It can create scepticism in your audience, and harm your credibility. Neither of which you want (unless youre running some sort of complex tax scam). Then again, its absolutely vital that you keep your brands presentation looking fresh and relevant over the years. After all markets and cultural reference points change. Top tips to keep your brand fresh Encourage feedback on your marketing material Review your materials regularly Ring the necessary changes Keep on top of changes in market trends Keep on top of changes in the law Spot opportunities Refresh your materials every quarter Keep your website up to date Communicate regularly with customers

10 ways to spend less on marketing

Because marketing is a creative activity, you can always find new ways to make an impact and attract sales, even on a small budget. Here are some ideas that will help you maximise your impact while minimising your budget: Capture as much customer data as possible and build a database. Target the database by email every time you have something new to say or offer Make your communications more visually striking by including images or using creative, dynamic layouts. This visual style gets more reader attention than any letter, brochure, or ad, making it more effective and efficient for you Improve the appearance of your logo. Most logos are boring, but great companies have great logos Be visible on Google and Yahoo search engines. This is inexpensive and works for local as well as global markets Release a survey or host an event to generate publicity Send out press releases to the media regularly, or whenever you have valuable news to release. Editorial is free and endorsed by the media Find something simple and inexpensive to offer along with your most popular products or service in order to pick up add-on sales Give out coupons to encourage prospects to try your product or service, so that its qualities become obvious to them. Dont however, give away price-cutting coupons or discounts for no good reason think of other ways to increase sales appeal Offer (or improve) a guarantee, one with no small print. If you have a good product or service, stand behind it Vow never to lose a customer. Whenever you have a customer whos upset or at risk, find out why and win them back Discover where you lose the most prospects or potential customers and the concentrate your marketing at this point to convert more of them into customers

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