What's in a name?
It all depends on how you feel about it!
If the name is Rolex, it feels prestigious and therefore worth more money.
If the name is McDonald's it feels like a fun place for kids.
If the name is IBM, it feels established and professional.
You may or may not have any actual experience with the above-mentioned product, retail establishment, or service, but nevertheless you have a feeling for them. How is that possible? Through branding. Branding is how you tell the world what you stand for. Branding is what turns people's thoughts about your business into feelings about your business - even if they've never been there!
How you feel is the most powerful sales motivator!
Let's face it, we may do our homework and compare prices and features, but most of us shop where it feels right and buy what feels right, especially when it comes to big-ticket items. Successful salespeople sell the benefits of their products because benefits generate feelings. Successful advertisers do the same!
Relationships, are deeper with the people we have feelings for.
Memories last longer when associated with feelings.
Loyalties are stronger when associated with feelings.
How you feel about someone determines how you accept what they say.
How you feel differentiates your friends from your acquaintances.
Cut through the clutter with feeling
Branding forms the connection between your world and your customer's world. Let's compare the two:
Your World
Quality products
Great service
Great selection
Great reputation
Best price
Your Customer's World
2000 advertising messages a day
Heard it all before (a thousand times)
Don't believe
Don't remember
Too many choices
Don't need anything right now
Don't want to make another decision
Everything is just a commodity
Shop internet for product information
Shop internet for best dealTo make your world have meaning in your customer's world, you need more than just another sale or promotion. Successful companies use their brand identity to trigger an emotional response because that's what gets people's attention. Generate a feeling and you start a relationship...
In today's competitive and volatile business climate, the winners will be those who understand that they are no longer just selling products and services. They are selling a relationship. And that relationship starts by telling your potential customer who you are and what you stand for. It starts with your brand identity.
Branding is the most powerful tool to help you get into the consumer's mind. How you use it is equally important!
Branding improves top of mind awarenessOnly 10% of your audience is ready to buy today. If your advertising message focuses primarily on that 10%, then you are wasting an opportunity to affect the other 90%, and therefore wasting money.
The answer? Include brand-building with every event and promotion. By reminding the public of what you stand for with every sale you put on, not only do more people pay attention to your message, the sale becomes more meaningful for the people interested in the sale itself. Top of mind awareness is even more important with big-ticket items because the purchase decision can take many months. By utilizing your brand strategy with every sale, event, and promotion, you will achieve both short-term sales goals as well as long-term growth goals.Get more mileage from your advertisingWe've all done the math. Earning interest on your interest builds your savings account faster than earning interest only on your principal. The same holds true for advertising. This season's campaign should build on last season's campaign. Your print advertising should build on your radio, internet, direct mail, and TV advertising. Your service manager's message should build on your sales manager's message. What compound interest is to savings, compound impact is to advertising.Put it all together with Brand Alignment
Brand Alignment is achieved when all forms of your communications reinforce each other. Every time the public thinks of your name, they understand who you are and what you stand for. Every advertising dollar you spend helps build your image, without mixed messages. Every time your ads are seen or heard, they trigger the emotional response that you want them to. But most importantly, when someone thinks of your industry, they think of you!
Let's talk moneyAs every media representative will tell you, you pay so much per impression. Of course the quality of that impression is totally dependent on the quality of the message. Too many advertisers make up for poor creative with increased frequency and that can get expensive! What ads do you remember? Which ones make you feel positive about the advertiser? Was it how often you heard them, or what was actually said? Just as in any effective communication, you've got to get people's attention before they will listen. That's what branding does. By appealing to their feelings, branding opens the door to your prospects' minds. It's the glue that makes your promotional message stick. The more impact each message has, the less media you have to buy to repeat it.
Ad budgets are not infinite and need to be controlled. The question is always how best to spend your money. The compound impact and money-saving effects of Brand Alignment is the most efficient path.
Advertising with a brand strategy is easy!
In fact, all of your advertising chores will become less time-consuming. Your promotions simply plug in to the big picture instead of you having to come up with the big idea every time.
We can help you create one
Creating an effective brand identity is an important investment that every business needs to make. It should not be viewed simply as an expense because your good name is arguably your most important asset! Although most business owners have a good grasp of their business, it often takes an outside opinion to look at things in a new way. We have over twenty years' experience in helping companies focus their message.
We have a three step plan:
1. Assess your position in the marketplace
What's different about the way you do business?
What are your strengths?
What is your passion?
What is your mission statement?
What does your staff have to offer that others don't?
What is your company's personality?
Is there a niche to be filled in your marketplace?
Is your competition bigger or smaller?
Can you exploit their weaknesses?
Can you reposition their strengths?
How do your competitors position themselves?
2. Develop your brand identity
Create a slogan/positioning statement
Must be simple - focused
Must indicate or imply a customer benefit
Don't use cliches
Must be in sync with how you actually do business
Must be believable
Must be memorable
Must be unique in your marketplace
3. Implement your brand strategy
Create a logo that includes your positioning statement, so that who you are and what you're about is instantly recognizable and memorable in any visual medium - print, flyers, internet, TV, contest ballots, etc.
Create a jingle that includes your positioning statement, so that who you are and what you're about is instantly recognizable and memorable in any audio medium - radio, on-hold, TV, etc.
Use these branding tools EVERYWHERE you advertise or communicate.
Do what your favorite brand names do
The techniques discussed here are not new. This is how the multi-million dollar ad budgets are spent. It's how many of your favorite brand names were established and are being maintained. What is new is that through Axon Studios Inc., these techniques are now available and affordable for individual businesses.
The following are a few questions to consider in evaluating your advertising strategy. Having the right answers can make a big difference in how your company is perceived.
Brand Alignment Checklist
Does your promotional advertising include long-term brand-building?
Does your brand advertising include an immediate offer?
Do you have a positioning line?
Is your positioning unique?
Is it memorable?
Is is believable?
Does it generate a positive feeling?
Do you differentiate yourself from your competition?
Is your image consistent?
Are your internal operations in sync with the image you are trying to project?
How many different images do you project?
Does your print person know what your radio person is doing?
Are you tied into your suppliers' image or do you have your own?
Axon Studios Inc. has over twenty years' experience in creating brand identities for companies ranging in size from small retailers to major manufacturers. We can help you communicate what it is that makes your business special.
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It's the face your advertising wears