A successful brand strategy aligns
marketing communications with sales and marketing goals.
So, before you start talking about how to implement a plan using specific tactics,
make sure you’ve properly defined what your brand should be.
If you were to ask any business professional today about the importance of branding, very few (if any!) would say it really didn’t matter. The true question is how to effectively brand your company.
Branding is the single most critical ongoing marketing communications issue facing our clients. The key is identifying how you fit into the needs of the market, so we emphasize developing a well-researched and thoughtfully-executed marcom plan with attention to short- and long-term goals that focuses on your messaging, value propositions and uniqueness.
What areas of your business can you hang your hat on? What elements of your products and services make you stand out? What will customers remember about their experience with you: innovation, problem solving, ROI? It’s the small parts, as well as the larger picture, that enable customers to understand the true meaning of your brand.
To fully embrace the value branding provides in the technical and industrial marketplaces, a company’s brand needs to be effectively applied into all elements of an integrated marcom program…from the graphics, logo and ads to taglines, collateral and content marketing…from name changes and repositioning to introducing new companies in completely new markets.
Strategy is about ensuring you are engaging your target audience in a way that will facilitate lead generation, nurture and growth. As specialists in strategic brand development, we quickly define where your specific business, products or services fit into a crowded, competitive landscape.
Branding defines your company and how people feel about it. Rebranding helps recreate who you are in a new marketplace or regain market share in an existing one.
Business success relies heavily on the trust your brand evokes. Visually, the logo, creative materials need to represent what your company stands for. A tagline that you can stand behind in addition to informative, helpful content give people that confidence to work with you in a mutually-beneficial relationship. How will you ease their pain points?
Search engine optimization needs to follow a strategic plan that’s in line with your overall company messaging. Can you identify the terms and phrases relevant to your customers (How do they look for info? What trends are being researched? What language are they using?) and keep on top of the shifting digital landscape (What’s Google up to now? Are there any more effective ranking tools?). It’s an ongoing effort that takes long-term commitment.
Do you truly know what your customers are asking for or are you looking to break into a new market where you don’t have an existing knowledge base yet? Gathering the right information about your target markets and customers helps build a more comprehensive strategy that positions your business for success.
One of our favorite roles is serving as corporate psychologists…we’re always available for advice and counsel. If you have a question, need to bounce an idea off someone or want more research done, we’re here to help round out your knowledge base.