Brand Development for Every Business
There are as many different types of products as there are businesses marketing those products, competition is at an all-time high.
Those who dare to market must show the differences between your unique proposition and everyone else.
It can be as simple as the differences in your personality or your business culture with brand development and that start is you naming it correctly–so that you can bring in more clients looking for solutions just like what you offer.
CGS prides itself on being able to apply this philosophy by understanding your clients and determining the most effective channel that gets your brand in front of those who need your service.
Results follow when this strategy is then consistently generated, and you reap the rewards soon after.
It is not just about knowing your strengths and weaknesses, though that can be part of it, it really is about developing your practice brand.
So here is a simple guide to get you started with brand development.
Terms to Know
When it comes to marketing and branding (and advertising) the terms can get run together or be incorrectly used.
So first, what are branding and brand marketing?
Branding – Derived from the term used for a name or a symbol for a company (its brand), branding has come to mean any distinction specific to a company or organization–it includes logo, design, symbols or products (like the Nike swish or their style of shoes), but it also includes the idea or thoughts associated with a company.
Brand marketing – Using strategies of branding to push forward or promote the idea of your company, is brand marketing.
All marketing should fit your brand, but brand marketing is specifically getting your brand better known and understood.
Know Thyself
On the temple of Apollo at Delphi in Greece, the writer Pausanias is credited with having inscribed the maxim, “know thyself.”
Indeed, the first step in company brand development is to understand what you do.
What sets you apart?
Whom do you best serve?
It helps to identify the qualities shared by the clients you have helped the most.
It can be obvious, like a specific demographic (children, women, homeowners, whomever you most serve), or more subtle, such as great success with individuals dealing with a problem that needs immediate attention.
Whatever you find that your clients and success stories most have in common, is probably the key to your brand.
Meet Them on Their Turf
Once you have identified who you best serve, you need to figure out how to approach more people like that.
It’s not as straight-forward as hanging up a sign that says, “Everyone with “x” problem, come see me,” but it’s not that far off, either.
Have your signage, paperwork, employee dress, level of service, workshops, tone of your external communications–everything! –fit your brand and meet your potential clients on their turf.
The brand that suits you sums up what you do well.
The marketing that fits will communicate that, and to the people with whom you resonate.
Enlist Your Clients
Sometimes it takes an outsider to see you as you really are.
If you are redesigning a logo, planning events, participating in a sponsorship–anything! –ask your clients for input, particularly those clients whom you have identified as being the type you best serve, and the type you would like to see more of.
If your messaging does not seem quite right, they will often know before you do.
You are not really asking your clients for design input, you are asking them, “Which sign would make you want to find out more?” “Which event would you most want to attend?” “Where could I go to meet more clients, like yourself, that I could help?” You may get direct referrals, or other opportunities to identify and market your brand.
Stay the Course
Brand development also become better known with longevity–that Coca-Cola logo looks the same in any language.
So, identify who you serve, meet more people like them, and persist.
