Having a strong brand improves your return on investment, makes you less vulnerable to competitors coming into your space and ensures longevity for your business. Being able to stand out from the crowd and truly connect to your target customer will increase sales, drive customer loyalty, give you more pricing power and increase your valuation. Developing a strong brand means understanding what your points of differentiation are, knowing what is most relevant to your customers and how to capitalise on this through branding.
What is your point of difference?
A strong brand is derived from a point of difference that is relevant to its customers. This can be achieved through a variety of means, such as developing a brand identity, key features and benefits, as well as look, feel and tone of voice. Successful businesses have a point of difference that gives them a competitive advantage. This allows them to naturally stand out from the crowd and connect to their target customer in a relevant, unique, and authentic way.
What is most relevant?
Businesses struggle with branding when they aren’t focusing on the thing that matters most to their customer. First determine what is relevant to your audience: is it the quality, speed of delivery, customer experience or price point? It can also be more niche: is it the material used, the purchasing experience or the relationship with the sales rep?
Businesses that don’t understand what is most relevant are at risk of wasting hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars on a branding effort that is flawed from the start.
A great example was one of our clients in the manufacturing industry who needed our assistance refreshing their brand. They believed the quality of their product was what mattered most to their customers. We challenged that and through a workshop process we discovered that although product quality was important, speed of delivery was the key factor differentiating them from competitors. We worked with them to reposition their brand, emphasising speed of delivery as a core feature. Since the change they have accelerated their growth, gained new customers, and retained their existing customers.
Relevance can change over time, as happened for our client. Businesses need to continuously monitor the market and their audience to make sure the focus of their branding is relevant to their audience and a true point of differentiation.
Building a brand
A relevant point of difference needs to be communicated to your audience. It is not enough to just be different; people need to know how you are different.
Effective branding creates a distinct image for a business in the minds of consumers, making it easier for them to remember and recognise you. This leads to increased brand awareness and customer loyalty, which ultimately drive sales and revenue for the business.
Our Specialists work with businesses on several key areas:
- Understanding your business and key customers
- Defining the brand with a relevant point of difference
- Creating a visual identity
- Communicating the brand through appropriate channels
- Delivering on the brands promise
- Continuously evaluating progress and results (ROI)
Creating a strong brand relevant to customers takes time and ongoing effort but enables you to stand out from the crowd, providing a substantial return on investment. Talking to the right customers, in the right way, through the right channels is key to drive sales and a strong return on investment.
We can help you with that.
To book a free consultation with one of our Marketing Specialists, click here.
