Branding – Promises and Connections
A brand is a promise you make to your ideal customer. It’s a promise that the values, language, and aesthetics your brand stands for will align with those of your ideal customers. You have several tools at your disposal for making that promise and convincing your ideal customer that your brand is perfect for them.
Authenticity
Brands that lack authenticity fail to resonate with customers. People have built-in lie detectors, and all they require to feel less than positive about a brand is a hunch. Arriving at your authentic brand is often obscured by first, your competition and the desire to do what everybody else is doing and second, trying to be what some less-than-ideal customers want you to be even if it goes against who you really are. The solution is to clearly and concretely define your brand values, language, and aesthetics in a way that leaves no misunderstanding or misinterpretation within or without the organization about who you are.
Language
The art of expressing your brand takes more than just good writing. It takes research with your ideal customer or target market to make sure you speak their language. If your client says supplier instead of vendor, then you should also call them suppliers. If you client says fractional ownership instead of partial ownership, then you should do likewise. If your client sees their business through the lens of inventory operations, then you should avoid talking about the business from a customer management point of view. Instead, adopt what matters to the ideal customer and frame your message accordingly.
Stories
Information alone is not enough to connect with your target audience. People are driven by story. It’s how we connect with the world and how we choose which paths to follow. Stories provide scenarios that reveal good and poor decision making. They help us orient our place and affirm our optimal behavior to achieve desired end. Stories that reveal your brand as the desired end of good decision making will build your brand in the minds of prospects and customers.
Details
Building an authentic feeling brand image or engaging story often involves details. Essential details build trust faster than vague generalizations. They add realism to descriptions while keeping the customer focused on the things about the van that matter to them. Irrelevant details that seem to add color can distract from the message or story by failing to contribute to answering the question, “Why do I care?”
Branding vs. positioning
Branding is the work you do to build and promote your brand. Positioning is the place you occupy in the mind of customers and prospects. Branding can influence positioning, but it can’t force it. This brings branding full circle to understanding your ideal customer and the place you hold in their mind.
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Shawgo Group Marketing & Creative helps clients connect with their best customers. Feel free to contact us today to setup a time to talk about your needs and how we might best serve you.