MARKETING . PR . IMAGE . DESIGN . DIGITAL

CREATING A BRAND

Having a brand helps differentiate your business from competing firms and build customer loyalty and branding isn’t just for businesses with unlimited budgets. SME’s can also create an effective brand, as long as they understand how their business works and what this means to their customers & how to react to customer engagement accordingly.

WHAT IS A BRAND?

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• A brand differentiates you.

• A brand is consistent.

• A brand is a visual mark that differentiates between you and your competitors, e.g. logo or business name.

• A brand should demonstrate what you and your customers think about your business, e.g. helping customers in their decision-making and creating a perceived value behind what you are selling.

• A brand can be applicable to your whole business or it can be focused on the specific products and services you offer.

• A brand builds confidence, e.g. customers trust a business, product or service when it delivers on expectation & perceived value.

• A brand evokes an emotional response from the customer, e.g. does the product or service resonate with their needs? Does it do for them what they are trying to achieve?

• A brand will give your business a personality that is different to your competitors and will therefore appeal to your target market.

WHAT IS A BRAND?

DO YOU NEED A BRAND?

Every business already has a brand, even if you don’t know it! This is because your current customers and possibly your potential customers (through marketing) already have an idea of what your business has to offer and how it meets their needs.

What is meant by ‘Building a brand’? Simply put, it means that you need to communicate your brand message in a way that your customers and potential customers can immediately associate your business, service or product with their needs.

• Having a brand can help increase turnover by encouraging customer acquisition and loyalty.

• Having a brand can help your business make progress in a competitive market.

• Having a brand can deliver reassurance to your target market if the market sector you work in changes, thus encouraging loyalty.

• Having a brand helps your business stand out in a crowded or competitive market place. Helping your customers and potential customers choose you, as they feel you’ll match their needs.

• Having a brand will add value to your business, making your business more attractive to potential buyers or franchisees.

• Budgeting for a brand? A brand can cost as much or as little as you like

DO YOU NEED A BRAND?

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WHERE SHOULD YOU START WITH CREATING A BRAND?

In order to be able to even start thinking about creating a brand, you need to develop the brand identity. This means you have to understand what you and your customers want from your business, how your business operates (or you want it to operate) and the messages that you want to become known for. These messages will become associated with what you are consistently delivering to meet your customer’s needs. Beware though! Make sure this is a realistic goal for you and your business.

What are your business’s core competencies?

Think about what you can achieve for your customers, not what you offer as a service or product. This is what you can achieve for your customer, not necessarily what you do.

What are your customer’s needs?

Find out what your customer needs are, e.g. value (don’t get this confused with price!), sometimes businesses confuse value with price – quality could be the driver for them, but they need to see where the value is. Do they get more for their money? Does the product last longer? What customer loyalty benefits do you offer?

How is your business is perceived by customers and potential customers?

This is the perceived value of your business to them. Do they trust your business to deliver what you say? Do they know what your business can do for them to match their needs? What does your business mean to them? Low perceived value may restrict your customers doing business with you. On the other hand, high perceived value will give you a platform to grow.

WHERE SHOULD YOU START WITH CREATING A BRAND?

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GET YOUR

BRAND JOURNEY STARTED

Once you understand your core competencies and where your brand currently sits, you can start to define the brand identity for your business. This will almost certainly mean collaborating with your employees & customers.

Decide who you want to lead the process.

• This could be you or another person within your organisation.

• Or it could be a specialist branding agency.

Discuss with your employees & customers what they believe your business’ core competencies and brand values are.

• Don’t be surprised, but what you think about your business and what it delivers, will probably not match what your customers or employees think.

• Work with your employees & customers. Your brand must reflect what your customers and employees believe your business delivers, otherwise you will not achieve ‘buy-in’ from them – which don’t be fooled, you really need!

Document your agreed core competencies and brand values to ensure consistency.

• Make sure that none of the gained insights conflict with where your brand stands currently, e.g. one side believes your business stands for ‘quality’ and the other side believes your business stands for ‘cheap prices’, your branding will already be sending a confused message.

• By focusing on the areas that match, you will be able to effectively identify the foundations of your brand.

GET YOUR BRAND JOURNEY STARTED

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CREATING THE

BRAND

Now finally you can get started with creating a brand, but only when you fully understand the competencies of your business, the brand values, brand messages and the perceived value of your business.

Ensure your brand message is integral to every touchpoint with customers and potential customers.

• This must be from the outset, even before any customers have any direct dealings with your business.

• All marketing activities should reflect your brand messages & values. This could mean a complete overhaul or refresh of your company logo and website, giving immediate visual recognition of your brand.

• Evaluate your marketing strategy. Does your marketing activity reflect your brand? This is applicable to where it is placed, what it says and what it looks like.

Make sure your employees are fully briefed and understand what your brand stands for.

• It helps to involve employees in the development of the brand.

• Ensure the employees can demonstrate the right behaviours to encourage the success of your brand, e.g. your brand might reflect ‘customer service’, but it only takes one bad review regarding your customer service to damage your brand.

CREATING THE BRAND

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MANAGING THE

BRAND

A brand will take time to establish, it will develop credibility and strength over time, but only if your business demonstrates that it can deliver on its brand values. This is vitally important to your long term success.

Ensure your employees remain involved with your brand.

• Your employees will be responsible for delivering on the brand values, so consistently ensure that they remain part of the journey.

• Keep your brand values at the forefront of everyone’s mind who is part your business, discussing with them how your business is performing against your values.

• Encourage those who are part of your business to get involved as to how you might be able to improve your business to remain in-line with your brand values.

Keep an eye on how your customers respond to your brand.

• Regular reviews on how your brand values are communicated is vital.

• Your customers are your advocates, so, engage them and get feedback, ensuring your brand is meeting their expectations.

• Difficult job to do, we know, but…asking unhappy customers why your brand didn’t meet expectations, is also incredibly important. Sometimes you’ll learn more than through positive feedback.

Use your brand with new customers

• Once the brand is established within your own business and with existing customers, now would be the time to roll out your brand to potential customers.

• Most customers will want to know ‘What’s in it for me?’, e.g. what value do they get? So, make sure you show the benefits to them of using your business. Expanding from ‘what you do’ to ‘what you can do’.

• Even if they are not a customer yet, every communication with potential new customer’s needs to be consistent with your brand values.

MANAGING THE BRAND

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EXTENDING THE

BRAND

A successful brand WILL help your business grow, but don’t become complacent through this growth period. You will probably be adding new products or services and if you are, then you must ensure that you remain in-line with your existing brand values.

If you introduce new products or services…

• Then please consider how the new product or services will fall in with your core competencies, brand values & brand messages. Only then can you brand them in the same way as your existing products & services, leveraging the benefit of your brand.

Consider whether a ‘sub-brand’ would be suitable.

• A ’sub-brand’ carries a different message and it’s own brand identity, but they can still tie in with your existing brand.

• The tie to your existing brand would normally be If new products or services remain within your core competencies, but not your brand values.

• But be aware! Any problems with a ‘sub-brand’ will also damage your overall brand, so treat the ‘sub-brand’ with the same focus and dedication as the main brand.

New product or service doesn’t fit the existing brand?

Please do not try and make the product or service fit, you must brand them separately.

EXTENDING THE BRAND

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ENJOY THE

BRANDJOURNEY

Once a brand has been created, enjoy the journey, but make sure you keep some simple processes in place to ensure the brand continues to go from strength to strength.

Keep your customers at the forefront of your mind.

• Always shape your business to achieve your brand goals.

• Meeting customer needs and expectations are the most important factor for your brand, but sometimes the customer may try and tell you that your brand needs changing…stay focused, stay true to your brand…no exceptions.

Ensure the brand message is consistently and effectively delivered at all times.

• Every touch point with customers, e.g. your website, your business card or the way your phone is answered, must demonstrate that you will meet their needs and deliver on your brand messages.

Keep your employees involved with your business and your brand.

Your employees are the biggest brand advocates you’ll have for your business. So, make sure every one of them is part of the brand journey, that they believe in it and want to make it work. No one else can do this job better!

Meet and exceed the expectations of your customers and keep the brand on track.

Never ‘under-deliver’, this could be the point of failure for your brand. Always try and “over-deliver’ on your customers’ expectations…they’ll come back time & time again.

ENJOY THE BRAND JOURNEY

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CONTACT USInfo@kioomarketing.co.uk

www.kioomarketing.co.uk

01752 344555

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MARKETING . PR . IMAGE . DESIGN . DIGITAL