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Examining Your Brand
A brand assessment doesn't mean upsetting the applecart and spending lots of cash -- you won't necessarily have to redesign a logo or print new materials.
Your brand is your company out in the world and looking at the total picture can help you build your brand by targeting the right customers, approaching them in the right way and sending out the right message. Here are some things you might consider to be sure you know your own brand; and to leverage what you've already got.
~ Why are your customers yours? Why aren't they going to your competition? If you think you already know - ask anyway - you might be surprised by the answer.
~ Examine the brands in your customers' world. Does yours fit in? For example, if your customers are high-tech, is your brand techie friendly? Does it speak the same language and reflect the same culture as the other brands in their world?
~ What is the level of your target market's familiarity with you? Do they know you exist? Have they had an experience with your company? When is the last time you provided them with a positive experience just for the sake of "getting to know you" - no sales, no pressure?
~ If your competition closely resembles you in terms of product, price and accessibility, what makes customers choose one over the other? Are they proud to be associated with your brand? Is your brand "cool" or "trendy," or is it "traditional" and "comforting?" Is it "tried and tested?" Know why your customers love your brand. |
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A Brand is Not Just...
~ A Name
~ A Logo
~ A Product
~ A Look
~ An Idea
~ A Reputation
~ A Presentation
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It is More...
~ An Experience – a special feeling your customers associate with the experience of patronizing your business and interacting with your product
~ A Promise – a guarantee of the benefits, value, quality and the overall experience that they can always expect
~ An Expectation – your customers know and want exactly what they are getting; a consistency that extends from the design elements in your collateral and your on or off line space, through the quality of your product and service
~ A Vision – specific and comprehensive, deriving from an intimate understanding of your product; your presentation; your customers; your service; and the uniqueness and desirability of your approach to all of these |
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Everyone Markets! Customer Complaints
Customer complaints can help you build your brand! Customers with problems generally appreciate real communication so it’s a golden opportunity to find out what your customers perceive and feel about your brand.
Valuable information to gather from unhappy customers may include some of the following:
~ They can relate, first hand, the “experience” your brand brings to the market.
~ They can identify bugs or problems with your product or service.
~ They can help you understand better what your customers need from your brand; and what assumptions they make about it.
~ They can point out how you are being compared you to the competition.
~ They can help you identify what your brand is not and state this in a a positive way by explaining why you’ve chosen to do things your way. |
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SHOP TALK Cont'd
Sometimes it’s just a matter of putting yourself in a position where they’ll think of you and your company first when the need arises.
One of the most effective tools that I’ve found in my ever-expanding search for new networking avenues is local Chambers of Commerce. My business belongs to four Chambers, but the one that we work with the most frequently is the Berkeley Chamber. To capitalize even further on the opportunities to meet and greet that were being offered by the Berkeley Chamber, and as a way of giving a little bit back, I became an ambassador. As an ambassador, I attend a monthly breakfast meeting, various Grand Openings for new members, and several evening or breakfast networking events per month. What I get back, amongst other things, is endless opportunities for learning and networking with members both old and new. This, in turn has brought me many new clients and frequent referrals! You can find Shiloh at Spengers Fresh Fish Grotto, www.spengers.com |
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FREE $20 COFFEE CARD
SHARE AND WIN!
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SPECIAL OFFER
This Month: Logo/Branding
$150 off!
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Do not speak,
unless it improves
on silence.
- Unknown
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SHOP TALK
What's going on in your marketing world? |
THIS MONTH:
Braving the Networking Waters
By Shiloh Alexis Elias
Director of Banquet Sales
Spengers Fresh Fish Grotto |
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Networking wasn’t something that came particularly easy for me in the beginning. I remember vividly the first time I walked in to a networking event, alone but for a handful of my new business cards and the nervous smile glued to my face.
Once I loosened up, it got a little bit easier, and somehow, I got through those first mixers. In the four years since then, I have come to enjoy and even thrive in networking situations. I’ve learned that, as a representative of my business, I don’t have to talk about myself, but merely extol the virtues of my company, and this has made it easier to get over the initial shyness that keeps some of us stuck at the punch bowl as other, braver folks work the room around us.
New business comes in many forms, and networking is one of the most powerful tools that we have at our disposal. If you think about it, most businesses or individuals will need and use what you’re selling at one time or another.
(Cont'd)
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