HOW POWERFUL IS YOUR BRAND MESSAGE?
Most advertising messages are little more than a listing of services or products. Typical marketing efforts rely on straightforward, logical descriptions of their business to lure new customers. The problem is that these messages are often too broad, too generic and too irrelevant to even have a chance at being effective. That’s when it’s time to think more seriously about brand and branding.
THE FIRST STEP: FOCUS
I think Stephen Covey said it best, “The main thing is to make the main thing, the main thing.” In any form of marketing or advertising, we must first acknowledge the importance of focus. Good branding hinges on a company’s ability to communicate a simple message to a targeted audience. We must first agree that a focused message will always triumph over a sprawling message, and then our search can begin.
STEP TWO: PERSPECTIVE
You know your business. You know your services. You know your history, your technology and your people. Unfortunately, this knowledge puts you at a disadvantage when trying to craft an effective brand message. The power of your message can’t be measured internally. Your brand lives or dies in the mind of your prospective customer, and so it is their mind, and their perspective we have to understand.
STEP THREE: LANDSCAPE
Look around. There are others, and a simple Google search is happy to show you just how many. But, rather than letting your competition be a problem, embrace the opportunity. Your competition has staked it’s ground, some well and some poorly. These are the websites your customers will be visiting and with that in mind, you can craft your brand and position your core message appropriately. Choose to focus on a dramatic difference, and feed the market something they can’t find anywhere else.
This diagram above is an example of one of our exercises when helping clients hone in on their best brand option. For help with your brand or more information, contact me at 610-518-1865.
