Branding

What thoughts and feelings come to mind when your customers think about your company and its products or services? Does your brand occupy a secure niche in their minds, or is it somewhat amorphous--blending in with those of your competitors?

A brand cannot be viewed in isolation. It must be seen as part of the entire competitive frame from the point of view of your customers and prospects. Does it stand out from the pack? If so, what are the attributes you need to strengthen in order to support that differentiation? If not, what actions should you take to position your brand for a leadership role in your industry?

These are some of the questions and tasks we tackle in our branding projects. Whether your company is a startup or an established enterprise, your brand and brand image matter. If your brand conveys nothing meaningful, prospects will make their buying decisions on price--unless one of your key competitors has staked out a position that strongly appeals to them. And, even in the business-to-business realm, an executive or a small group of decision makers still need to make buying decisions. Brand attributes and how well they are communicated are just as important when marketing to businesses.

It would be wonderful if building a great brand could be accomplished with just one compelling ad campaign. Unfortunately, brand experiences are viewed in totality, and the prospect, customer or client evaluates every piece of marketing collateral and every interaction with your organization in order to build that brand image. The train can go off the tracks in many places. For example, if you are selling professional services and consider yourself a real expert in your field, and then a prospect receives your brochure and finds it is an amateur design and printing job, alarm bells go off. We all look for consistency to support our assumptions. That means that all of your marketing collateral must have a consistent look and feel, but it also means that if you position yourself as a market leader, your sales and customer service staff had better operate in that fashion.

Federal Express is a classic example of branding handled at an exemplary level. Everything from their trucks to their airplanes to their uniforms are prominently and consistently branded--that is expected--but their service is also consistent with being the market leader. As customers we have expectations of FedEx. Every time they meet or exceed those expectations their brand is strengthened. We also notice their ads, even if we are already loyal customers. Therefore, their advertising is geared as much to reinforcing their market position as it is to acquiring new customers. Certain things are expected of the market leader.

Our branding services help you identify what is special and unique about your company and your products--and then we show you how to subtly communicate that message in your marketing, sales and operations. Of course, we will make sure that your branding is consistent on all your printed material, signage, website, etc. but we do more . . . so much more!