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Branding Your Business

Mark Satterfieldwww.GentleRainMarketing.com

Why Branding is important

• Brand=Trust• “Pull” vs. “Push” marketing• Becoming the recognized expert in your field• Differentiation from your competitors.• Educating your prospects about what you do.

Avoiding the “best kept secret” syndrome.• Thought leadership• Website…Since everyone can have a website,

everyone does…thus the importance of creating a unique brand message and image.

• Branding is particularly important for services companies. Differences are less readily apparent or obvious.

• However it requires commitment. Branding doesn’t happen overnight.

• The key is to BOTH build brand awareness & maintain it.

Components of establishing your brand

• Market• Message• Name• Tag line• Look & Feel– Logo– Marketing Collateral– Website

Market

• Can’t be known to everyone• Goal is to reduce waste.• Market defined as– 1) Who can hire you?– 2) Who can refer you business

• These are the people for whom you want to create a brand

Message

• Why should someone hire you vs. all the other options available to them including doing nothing?

• Marketing messages are “forward” focused.– Desired outcomes– Avoiding potential disasters.

• What makes you distinctive?– What would your clients say make you stand out?– Why did they decide to hire you?

Message

• How do your competitors position themselves?– What can you emphasize that they don’t?

• Industry?• Types of services?• Advise or advise + implement?• Style? Personality?• Opinion? Soap box? Perspective?

Name• Does it assist in recall?• Advantages and disadvantages of using your

own name.• By all means avoid completely nondescript or

confusing names.– Solution Resources– R-Squared Group

• Ideally your name should reflect and tie into the services you provide.– Gentle Rain

Tagline

• One sentence description of what you offer or your key benefits.– How To Get More New Clients With No Cold Calling or Hard Selling.

• Specific yet encompassing.

• Think…What is the biggest benefit that people get from you?

• Probably one of the most difficult components of the overall branding process.

Look & Feel

• Logo– Aids in recall.– Creates an overall image for your company– May be a depiction of your name, or…– Something separate• Gentle Rain Man

Look & Feel

• Name + Logo Crucial for– Website– Business cards, stationary

• What IMAGE do you want to present?• The answer to that is crucial for the design of

all collateral and development of your website

Gentle Rain Corporate Branding & Image Program

• Name• Tagline• Logo• Website brand banner• Marketing collateral– Business Cards– Letterhead

• $2400…(Don’t need a new name? $1500)• Email mark@gentlerainmarketing.com