When thinking about a strong brand, it can get a bit crazy. The quest for this magical creature that you hope will inspire, spark discussion and propel your product or service into the very forefront of the audience’s consciousness can seem daunting.
Happily, there is method to the magic. When you consider brand you are delving as deeply as you can into your organisation’s notion of self – who are we, who are they, where are we, where are we going and how on earth are we going to get there. This is where the method kicks in.
The very first thing that you need to do is conduct an audit of across your existing brand activity.
What is your message?
How do you share your message with the world? What channels are you using?
Now ask your customers what they think your message is. Ask your staff. Is it the same message that you identified? If you find differences, change your message or your audience, but don’t ignore your findings.
Now, take a look about the marketplace. Who else is there and what are they doing? Who are they talking to and what are they saying? This is the time to sit down and get to grips with who, what and why you are you.
There are several ways to do this – here’s two simple ways: Carry out a SWOT analysis and include your competitors. Or look at the POD’s (Points of Differentiation) and POP’s (Points of Parity). Your SWOT will give you a good overall base from which to build your brand. Your POP will tell you how you rank with your competitors, but your POD will tell you what sets you apart from them. This is the key to your USP, your ‘you-ness’.
You are now way down in the depths of your brand, at the core of the centre – it’s time to start building back up.
Write your brand story and develop the propositions and messaging which will be your anchor in the marketplace. As well as a brand story, this is a good point to assess whether a brand persona would be helpful. Giving your brand personal attributes can be helpful to staff in communicating how they can convey the brand when dealing with customers.
Work out what you are going to do with your story. Where will we see you pop up, when can we expect to hear from you, how will we hear from you?
Next, get the look. Create or update your logo and make sure your tagline, if you have one, says exactly what you mean it to say. Only a line to write, but getting it spot on may take some back and forth. You can test it in your target audience and staff for re-assurance or direction.
Now, you can implement all your hard work.
So, where is the magic? Much like baking, take right the ingredients and a little heat and you get a fluffy, light, spongy cake. With a brand, combine all the elements in the right order and you will have a success on your hands.
Top tip: Research, research research!
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