While each and every company has its own unique branding and marketing challenges, we've found that there are some common mistakes and blunders that can easily be avoided. We're going to cover a few of the most damaging on this page. If you would like to discuss your specific challenges, we invite you to contact us.
Not to be confused with a mission statement, a Core Strategic Vision should be able to answer these three questions:
If you can't answer any of these, you're going to be in trouble eventually. You may start investing in products or service offerings that don't fit well with your other offerings. You may confuse your target market. There are many potential pitfalls here. Just like you wouldn't want to go on a trip without directions, you shouldn't attempt to lead a company without a solid Core Strategic Vision.
Differentiation is more than just being "different" in terms of color or shape. To differentiate yourself from competitors means basing your company on a solid foundation-perhaps you're an open source software solution in a market full of proprietary ones. Or, on the consumer side, maybe your hamburgers are cooked over open flame, while everyone else uses a grill. Whatever it is, your base concept should be readily apparent to employees as well as your target market in all your messaging. Showcased consistently, differentiation will help to firmly imprint your brand in your prospect's mind.
Your company may have the greatest product or service package since the dawn of man, but if nobody knows about the offering, it doesn't matter. Of course, you will and should tell your family and friends, but word-of-mouth only takes you so far. To truly grow your company, you must put in place a strategic branding and/or marketing plan that identifies and analyzes the target market, competition and potential roadblocks; articulates your value proposition and positioning; and the plan must set forth a tactical plan for branding your company and marketing your products and services to your target.
Studies show that multiple impressions from different media motivate a prospect to buy more effectively than the same number of impressions from one medium. You should approach your prospects with a strategically deployed combination of print, direct mail, websites, social networking, targeted public relations, and sales presentations - all communicating a consistent message that is "On Brand". You may or may not use all of these methods to reach your specific target, but whatever methods that you do use should communicate the branded message. Repetition makes a song a hit. The same applies with marketing. Stay focused, on message, and hit your target repeatedly to be successful.
Bad news travels fast. If you can't deliver what was promised in your messaging and advertising, you can be certain that your customers will let their peers know about it. If you lose or fail to gain the trust of a prospect, it can prove exceedingly difficult to convert them to a customer. Those in the technology sector need to be very careful about this - promoting a software solution that is currently in development can backfire if it takes too long to move from a Beta version to Gold. Be careful not to promise too much before you can realistically deliver.
Using a piece of clip art with your company name printed in a standard font just won't deliver the impact a professionally-designed logo does. That said, a logo in and of itself is not the brand! A logo is part of the image that makes up your corporate identity. A successful corporate identity program involves researching your industry, your company, as well as your competitors. Doing so develops a unique value proposition for your company, its products, and services. The result should be a distinctive, relevant and easily identified corporate identity that conveys your company's vision, values, prominence, and personality. This identity should then drive the creative execution of your brochures, websites, signage, business cards, dress wear, promotional products and the like. To be clear, these elements do not have to be identical twins - but they should all seem to come from the same family.
Avoiding new media outlets translates into missing out on a lot of sales opportunities. Sales go up when you integrate your messaging consistently over time through a combination of mixed media, webinars, social networking sites such as Facebook & Twitter and strategic partnerships. When it comes to lead tracking and marketing programs, CRM tools like LoopFuse, Eloqua and Marketo should be considered, as well as free technologies such as Google Analytics. Knowing who your prospects are, where they are coming from and what they are looking for will allow you to refine your marketing efforts in a targeted fashion. Knowing who your targets are means you can take a far more focused approach to reach them, which will positively impact your marketing ROI.
Your website is the most cost-effective marketing tool available to you. Are you taking full advantage of it? Too many firms look at a website as a replacement for brochures and little more than that. This is a huge error. The web can be a 24/7 sales and marketing team, but you need some big hooks to drive people to the site, and then you need to give them compelling reasons to stay and to come back for more. Of course it has to echo your brand strategy, but it can do far more than just offer up one-way communications. Think about developing a sense of community. Offer live-chats with sales or service reps. Conduct regularly scheduled webinars. Create an online forum for prospects and customers. (Nothing is better than a customer "selling" a prospect on your product or service!) Blog often, post videos on youtube and embed them on your site - but be sure to be relevant. You cat may be cute, but photos of it won't move much product.
Simply launching a new website will not be the panacea that you may hope for. You really need to spend time and resources to promote the site and to drive targeted traffic to the site. There are many ways to do this - some are traditional marketing tools like print ads, signage, and printing the web address on business collateral. You should also leverage your PR efforts, bloggers, partners, current customers, email blasts and newsletters, Google adwords, social networking sites and sponsorships.
Dependant upon your industry, effective PR outreach can have a decidedly positive impact on your brand. In theory, anyone can buy an advertisement in a trade magazine, and they may attract a few eyeballs from that buy. That said, it usually takes multiple ad impressions across a variety of media for a message to sink in. However, when a product or service is written about in positive ways by a trusted journalist, that impact can eclipse any ad.
Think about it this way - a new restaurant opens, but you know nothing about it. Then the local newspaper has a glowing review of the restaurant by a critic whom you trust. Now you are naturally more inclined to try the place, and the restaurant didn't spend a fortune on advertising - they leveraged PR. Positive editorial coverage can help to establish your brand and boosts sales. Getting coverage requires an aggressive, strategically focused public relations campaign. Such a campaign garners your firm exposure and increases its credibility. The first step is to study relevant industry publications and then access editorial calendars. This allows you to coordinate press releases about company news that mesh with editorial needs. The next step is to follow up on your press releases (phone calls and emails) and cultivate relationships with key editors and journalists. Success can be measured by the amount of relevant exposure your company receives after a sustained PR effort. You may also find yourself becoming a resource that the journalist may call for your take on industry happenings.
Poor branding may actually be more detrimental than no branding. If you lack the required skill sets in-house, and your team doesn't have time to devote to a consistent, sustained branding effort, you should hire a firm that specializes in getting results for companies your size. Branding takes strategy, finesse, effort, and time. You should not expect a quick and easy solution to your branding needs unless you want a cheap and unfocused brand as a result. Too many times we've seen small companies fail because they put someone with limited experience in charge of Marketing, and fail to provide the resources needed to be successful.
We know - you "...know a guy who does design on the side," and you think he can build your brand. Caution is also advised when dealing with a designer who doesn't really understand your business. You can hire the greatest artist in the world, but unless they take the time to learn about your business and your competitive environment, that artist will not be effective. We all know a kid who can mow a lawn - but that doesn't make that kid a landscaper. Failing to hire professionals can result in a non-professional brand and identity.
Have you seen those websites that will sell you a logo from a list of a few hundred designs? Stay far, far away from them. While the designs themselves are usually quite good, keep in mind that they are not designing them based on your unique brand identity. Instead, you will have to shoe-horn your brand to reflect that identity, which is 180 degrees from the way to create a brand.
Just like how two women may become embarrassed if both show up at a party wearing identical dresses, you do not want to find out that your prefab logo is being used by dozens of other businesses. Your brand should be unique, and your logo should reflect that uniqueness.
Branding internally is just as important as branding externally. This is especially true if your rank and file workers have contact with your customer base. Everyone needs to be speaking with the same voice, and extending the same brand promise.
Branding occurs any time someone in your company comes in contact with the public, so don't forget about your walking, talking billboards - your employees. They may be on the phone with clients, schmoozing prospects at networking events, or simply talking with friends and associates. Train them to conduct themselves in a manner consistent with your brand message (i.e., customer-service focused), and they will be good-will ambassadors to the markets you address.
While your sales manager might beg to differ, as he is always looking for new business, we say treat your current clients well and have them generate new business for you. Presuming that your firm delivers on its brand promise, and your customers are happy, you can expect that they will be inclined to refer more business to you. Keep them apprised of what is going on at your firm - a monthly html newsletter can do wonders to maintain the relationship. Also, your account executives should act like them - which is to say, don't only call when you have something to sell. Contact them to invite them to customer round-tables; tell them about industry events that you may be taking part in; encourage them to use resources like message boards and webinars on your sites to keep them engaged in your brand, but also to solicit feedback that you might not otherwise be able to access.
