Brand, Baby, Brand

“You have to promote your brand!” This is what many of the marketers tell us. Dictionary.com defines “brand” as “to impress indelibly.” It’s harder than it sounds. Few of us can buy 30-second Super Bowl commercials at $2.5 million. But indelible impression is achievable for any size business with focus and intent.

For a brand to be compelling it must represent a value proposition and establish empathy with the customer. People will seek out and pay more for a known and trusted brand.

Your company, defined

Branding is more than a catchy name and slogan. You won’t likely be memorable claiming to have the best customer service, the most experience, or the best price. Your competitors are probably claiming that as well.

Branding is about connecting your name with a true differentiator, defined as “something your competitors won’t do or can’t do without great effort or expense.” What is it that makes your company truly unique? What niche do you fill that your competitors don’t?

A shipping company I work with in Florida was putting out tons of bids and not getting much return for their efforts; they couldn’t compete with FedEx and UPS. They needed to recognize their strength: They were experts at handling the logistics of overseas shipping and awkward/hazardous items. They customize services in a way the big companies can’t, so they branded around that pain/solution with the URL www.ExtraordinaryShipping.com. Once you have established your compelling value proposition, you need to promote it aggressively and consistently.

Target your advertising.

Many executives assume that everyone is a potential customer if only they were aware of your product or service. Most often this is not the case. Customers can be grouped by location, product type, and the emotional need to buy your product or service.

Identifying your likely customers this way will lead to more bang for your buck than advertising in national publications.

If your demographic is based upon company type, it’s easy to buy lists of business categories and public records fitting your customer profile. Businesses with a local geographic focus can successfully blanket their entire market area for a relatively low cost through local publications and cable TV.

Direct mail and email continue to return a high response despite the fact that we’re all fed up with junk mail and spam. Postcards are particularly beneficial for branding since  people see your message even as they throw it in the “round file.”

Use social media with purpose.

In terms of generating direct sales, Facebook and Twitter are still outliers; direct email marketing is most effective. Therefore, building up your mailing list should be your primary social media focus.

Posting relevant and topical information regularly on these sites can help you build the list while gaining additional brand exposure. For b2b companies, LinkedIn can be a powerful brand-building tool. Create relevant discussion groups and post comments and provocative topics to other group posts to get your name out there as an industry mover and shaker.

Go to video.

There is no better way to imprint a branded idea into someone’s mind than a clever video. With low production costs and easy distribution through YouTube, it’s simpler than ever to get your video in front of would-be customers. The challenge here is to not create the same old boring video with meaningless narrative and testimonials (“I love this place! I come here all the time!”).

Keep it short. Most people won’t watch anything over three minutes long. If you’re not inclined to tap your inner Spielberg with a Flip cam and iMovie, there are plenty of reasonably priced video companies out there today that can help. Just be critical. If their idea doesn’t impress you it likely won’t impress your audience either.

Speak and write as an expert.

Many companies grow their brand by leveraging internal expertise at industry conferences. Creating workshops and giving lectures allows you to powerfully engrain your brand through education. It’s worth getting trained in public speaking and engaging creative writers to help you be entertaining and make an impact.

Even more powerful for creating brand awareness is the written word. Whether it’s a white paper, book, article, or blog posting, well-written, relevant material can etch your brand into the mind of a prospect and increase sales conversion.

Today, many companies have a blog, but branding opportunities are often squandered with useless topics or dull prose. Some companies are hiring freelance journalists to jazz up their written communication.

Consider a provocative approach, such as busting myths or addressing common fears in your industry. Once you find a style and approach that works, be consistent and prolific. The more people learn from your postings, the more they associate the brand with industry expertise and leadership.

Leverage your website.

Your website is the central spot to which all other branding efforts should point. It must reflect your value proposition in a way that is clear and concise from the moment a prospect lands on the home page. It is a place where you can reintroduce writings, speeches, video, and marketing materials to help reinforce your brand in the mind of your customers and in your industry. It needs to reflect your other marketing and what your salespeople are saying.

When I’m asked which of these methods is best for brand building, my response is simply, “All of them.” Successful branding requires the broad and aggressive approach of getting your value proposition and name in front of your target audience, often. The more channels you hit, the bigger and more powerful you seem.