Building a brand in a noisy environment is the task all businesses, large and small, are challenged to accomplish. The task is to build awareness in a competitive environment where there are many competing messages. The challenge is to find a way to connect with buyers who have a need, want or desire that you can fulfill. The process of brand building is taking buyers through the buying continuum from unawareness to purchase and repurchase.
Be data focused. What are your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats? Know these elements of your business intimately so you know how to approach your customers and prospects.
Know your competition. What is working for them? What are they offering and how are they reaching their buyers? How is your value proposition being received? How can you deliver your message in a more efficient and effective way to reduce your sales and marketing investments? How can you position yourself so that you are perceived as having no suitable substitute, e.g., gain competitive advantage?
Put a human face on your brand. Brands are perceptions. Perceptions become facts. Brand management is all about story telling. When buyers see your brand, they see the soft side of the business equation. Does it displays the human side of your business? Does it tell a story allowing connection with potential customers and reinforcing current ones? Does it make the connection to allow you to generate greater share of customer purchases?
Integrate your marketing. Effective brand building is part of an integrated marketing initiative that connects you with buyers at a variety of levels. The challenge is to determine what channels your target customers tune into. And, how will you tell it? The task is (1) to get their attention, (2) capture their interest, and (3) convert them.
Making a positive connection with your brand message that demonstrates the values it represents is the foundation of building a positive brand that drives sales.