Branding Matters

Week 11 - You Need A Roadmap

Wed, 25 May 2011 10:02:55 -0400

How you get to your final destination is just as important as the final destination itself—because without proper attention towards the method of arrival, you’ll never get to where you want to be. Aligning your brand strategy with your business strategy is absolutely essential to your success. But how do we determine the best way? Well, that’s where brand strategy comes into play.

Remember your brand is essentially your company’s personality. It’s not what you think or feel about your business—it’s what your users think or feel about your business. Your brand is what makes your users choose your products or services over your competitors. So the way to determine the best means to get to your destination is to determine the best way to reach your customers. And that is demonstrated in how you brand.

I’ve talked to many who have a good idea of where they want to go, but instead of using this to craft an effective roadmap, they take off assuming they’ll make decisions on the fly and land in a good place. They develop a website, design a logo, or craft a marketing plan without even a thought towards who their target market is, how best to reach that market, and how to effectively spend time, money, and resources.

Without carefully crafted roadmaps, destinations (visions) are nothing more than pipe dreams. A roadmap is your strategy for success, and neglecting to define this strategy can only make your destination harder to reach.

Don’t Spin Your Wheels

A lack of a carefully constructed roadmap is the foundation for many frustrations. Maybe you can relate. Maybe you’ve experienced a lack of growth, or created a website on the fly that never generated new leads, or perhaps the 5,000 postcards you printed for a local trade show are still in the back closet collecting dust. I like to refer to these actions as the business equivalent of spinning your wheels. More often than not, spinning your wheels is not for a lack of desire, a lack of effort, or a lack of motivation. It’s usually for a lack of planning.

Without a properly defined strategy, you’ll spin your wheels, and when you finally get traction, there’s a good chance you’ll head in the wrong direction. If you don’t focus on aligning your brand strategy with your business strategy you are setting yourself up for a lot of frustration, a lot of wasted time and resources, and potentially a lot of failure.

My wife is a certified member of the grammar police, so she is going to hate me for what I’m about to say. Most small businesses and organizations need to stop trying to “do”, and instead focus on “doing smart”. As a business, you must “do smart”.

I love watching “Survivorman” on the Discovery channel. One of the things that Les Stroud, the host and “survivor” on the show always does when he’s in a survival situation is be very methodical, practical, and intentional about his decisions. He must conserve water, decide what time to hike and what time to build a shelter. He must think through how much energy to expend hunting for food versus building a fire. Because of his environment he always has to think through his decisions with the long-term in mind—how will this particular action affect me tomorrow, or five days from now.

Business is not so different—we are all trying to survive. And just like Les we must always be very intentional about our decisions so that we don’t waste energy spinning our wheels. Successful business decisions are optimal decisions.

It’s Not About You

Finally, let’s go back to something I brought up earlier. Remember your brand is not what you say it is, it’s what your users say it is. Yes, it’s important to develop a vision and define a roadmap, but at the end of the day those initiatives aren’t about you, they’re about them. I mentioned before that the best means of getting to your destination is to determine the best way to reach your customers. You must always have your users in mind when developing your vision and your strategy—if you don’t, instead of deploying initiatives that work for your users, you’ll end up deploying initiatives at the expense of your users.

You should follow us on Twitter

—

Art Credit: “Wheat Field Under Threatening Skies”, Vincent van Gogh

Week 10 - Define Your Strategy

Tue, 17 May 2011 21:07:23 -0400

There’s a lot that can be said, and already has been said, about business strategy. We’re not going to get into a lot of details in discussing business strategy - there are many who have gone before us and have written material that really can’t be surpassed. Instead we’re going to focus on your brand strategy — what it is, why it’s important, and how to define it effectively.

First we’re going to assign two simple definitions to your business strategy and your brand strategy. Quite simply your business strategy should focus on where you want to go. And your brand strategy should focus on how you’re going to get there.

Business Strategy: Where you want to go.
Brand Strategy: How to get there.

Destination: Vision

Think of it like taking a trip somewhere. Whenever you take a trip there is always a final destination, and there’s always a means of arriving there. A successful trip has two elements: a clearly defined end point, and a well-outlined roadmap to get there.

Let’s say we’re taking a trip to San Francisco, CA from Orlando, FL. We know what our destination is (San Fran). We know where we’re leaving from (Orlando). And we know what we want to do when we get to San Fran (insert your list of activities here). But how are we going to get there? Are we going to drive? Fly? Swim?

Our choice of travel is dependent on a lot of things — yes, we must take our final destination into account, but there are a lot of other factors to consider: cost, time, and external variables such as weather, with whom you’ll be traveling, etc. It’s not enough to simply keep your final destination in mind, you also must outline and implement a roadmap to get there, otherwise you’ll either never arrive at your destination, or will arrive in a way that is less than optimal.

I’ll stop the analogy there, but you can start to see the point I’m trying to make. We talked in previous posts about discovering your vision - this is your destination. This is where you are traveling to. This piece is essential — it’s like asking should you take a summer trip to the beach or a winter trip to the mountains? You must define which destination is better for you and your business.

But you can’t stop there. Once you’ve clearly defined your vision you must move on to the second essential element in this journey: how you’re going to get there. Too many times, business owners and key decision makers focus only on where they want to go, and don’t focus enough on the optimal means of getting there. Sometimes they take the quickest option (flying). Other times they take the more scenic option (driving). Still other times they might choose the cheapest option (swimming). But which one is the right option?

The right option is different for every business and organization. Just like the final destination is different, the means of arriving will be different as well. Some businesses may successfully use social media and the web to achieve their vision. Still others may find direct mail and face-to-face marketing are the best method. The important factor is not necessarily the means, but rather in determining the best means for you based on your unique vision and situation.

You should follow us on Twitter

—

Art Credit: The Great Wave off Kanagawa, Katsushika Hokusai

Week 9 - How to Develop Your Vision

Thu, 05 May 2011 18:06:30 -0400

This blog is meant to be practical, and I’m including elements from my standard branding process that I’ve used with clients for several years. The next section contains a variety of questions and exercises that will help you craft a vision statement for your business or organization. I hope it proves fruitful and effective for you.

Answer the following questions about your business, brand, or idea. Do your best to answer them based on your vision for your business, not based on your current status.

What do you want to do in your business, brand, or idea?
Where do you want to be eventually with your business, brand or idea?
Where do you want to be in the next year? 5 years? 10 years?
What constitutes a “success” when it comes to your business, brand, or idea?
In an ideal world with no limits, what do you want to accomplish?
List 5 key values that make up your business, brand, or idea.
Please describe your business, brand, or idea as you envision it (not what it is currently)
Now describe your business, brand, or idea in only one sentence (50 words or less)
Now describe your business using only keywords (10 words or less)

—
Now compare your answers from above to the current state of your business, brand, or idea.

Are there any differences between what you currently are doing and what you want to do?
Are there any areas in your business that you would view as barriers/hindrances to attaining your vision for your business? Describe these barriers.
What are the current limitations that you are facing in your business that is affecting your ability to attain your vision?
Are you compromising on your values in any way? Describe.
Does the current description of your business match the ideal description of your business that you wrote above?

APPLICATION: CRAFTING A VISION STATEMENT:
Now craft a vision statement for your brand, business, or idea. A couple of things to remember: a vision statement needs to be simple and concise, ideally no more than one sentence.
Additionally your vision statement should encompass with some specificity what you want to do, who you want to be, or where you want to go.
We’ve also found it helpful to start a vision statement with the words, “To Become”.
—
Art Credit: “the port dieppe” by Paul Gauguin

Week 8 - Define Your Vision

Thu, 05 May 2011 17:54:00 -0400

So we know that a carefully defined vision is important because it provides direction to our decisions, gives purpose to our actions, and influences our practice. Let’s get a little more practical and talk about 3 important elements that make up a properly defined vision:

1. You Must Be Passionate

If you’re a business owner, product designer, or key decision maker, you have to be passionate about your vision. You must carry the banner because for one, you may be the only one who can effectively articulate your vision. Additionally, if you’re not passionate about your own vision, no one is going to be passionate about it.

When John F. Kennedy announced to the nation that his vision was to put a man on the moon before 1970, he captivated the American people with his passion which caused the nation to get behind him in support. Imagine the response had he delivered his speech with the same gusto as Ben Stein in the movie “Ferris Beuller’s Day Off”. Remember that part, when students are falling asleep left and right as the professor drones on about the Smoot-Hawley Tariff and the Great Depression…”Anybody…Anybody?”.

Passion is contagious and if you are passionate about your vision chances are you’ll get others to be passionate about it as well. Your vision may not seem very grand to you, in the same sense as perhaps Kennedy’s vision was. But that doesn’t mean you can’t be passionate about it.

2. Keep It Real

While passion is essential, it’s always good to have a helpful dose of reality from time to time. Keep in mind, a realistic vision doesn’t have to mean a mediocre vision. Kennedy’s vision was far from mediocre, and it was a “giant leap for mankind” to be sure, but he was confident enough in the knowledge and drive of those involved in the project to get the job done.

It’s important to be realistic in your vision because your vision needs to be attainable, otherwise it wouldn’t be a vision, it would be a dream. But something that’s attainable doesn’t mean it has to have already been attained. Or just because something has always been done a certain way doesn’t mean your vision has to call for the same process. I’ve found the best dose of reality usually comes from those who care more for you personally than they do about your vision. This can be a spouse, a loved one, or a really close friend/colleague. You want to stay grounded, but not at the expense that you can’t look above what’s already been done.

3. Keep It Simple

The simpler your vision is the more attainable it will be. The more complex your vision is, the easier it will be to become bogged down in the details. But a simple vision doesn’t mean an easy vision. Kennedy’s vision was far from easy (putting a man on the moon), but it was simple enough that the American people could understand it, and simple enough that those around him could develop it.

If I could only speak one thought to every client I have worked with and will work with in the future, I would say this: simplify. Simplify your plan, simplify your strategy, simplify your design, simplify your vision. In our businesses it is rare that we ever get to the point of being too simple - in fact, we typically err on the side of the complex.

When it comes to your vision, be bold, be visionary, be passionate, be real - but above all be simple. This will allow you to easily remember your vision, easily communicate your vision, easily empower others to get onboard, and easily equip others to help you reach your goals.

—

Art Credit: “The Verre et pichet” by Pablo Picasso

Week 7 - Why Vision Is Important

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 20:53:00 -0500

A Vision Provides Direction

John walked into an architecture firm on an early Friday morning to meet with one of the partners of the firm. John and his wife Mary were finally ready to build their dream house, one they’ve always wanted to live in. After pleasantries were exchanged the architect asked John what his vision was for the project. John replied, “well it’s our dream house…it’s what we’ve always dreamed of”. “Okay”, the architect replied, “but what exactly do you want it to look like”? “We want it to be great, we want it to be everything we’ve always dreamed of”. “Right, but I’ll need a little more information than that”, replied the architect. “I can’t design your house based on your dream. I need some direction to go on”.

It’s a bit tongue-in-cheek but you get the point - no one in their right mind would walk into an architect’s office and demand a design without providing some sort of direction. Sadly, too many approach their businesses without a clearly defined vision, which results in a lack of clear direction. Zig Ziglar has said “You need a plan to build a house. To build a [business], it is even more important to have a plan or goal.” A proper vision provides direction for your business. Without a vision how do you know if the direction in which you’re currently heading is the right one? Without a vision, how do you know if the decisions you’re making are beneficial?

A Vision Gives Purpose

For the most part, the things we do in life are done for a purpose. Most of us don’t do things just for the sake of doing them - at least on an ongoing basis. Let’s revisit John in the architect’s office. The architect asks John why he wants to build his dream house, essentially inquiring about John’s purpose. John could respond in one of two ways - first he could say something like, “We’re building our dream house because we can…we have the means and now we can do what we’ve always wanted.” Okay, that’s all well and good, but the architect is going to find it difficult to build a purpose around building a house just because one can.

Alternatively, John could respond, “We’re building our dream house because we want to adopt several children from third-world countries and give them a home to live in”. Wow, now there’s a purpose you can get behind. All of a sudden every aspect of this project takes on a new identity. The architect can now wrap his mind around this clear purpose and vision, and as a result, his design of the home will be much more informed.

Now not every vision needs to be as humanitarian as John’s vision, but the principle still stands. Does your perspective change after hearing John’s second response compared with his first response? Which statement do you think will result in a better designed, more “successful” project?

A carefully defined vision is important because gives purpose to the actions that you take in your business.

Influences Practice

Let’s continue on that same thought. If John’s vision for his dream house is to construct a place where needy children can find a home, now the architect can begin to develop direction around the design of the house, and the entire project is surrounded by a sense of purpose. Additionally John’s vision influences the practice or elements the architect might use in designing. For instance, the architect may decide he needs more bedrooms than a standard house would, larger bathrooms to accommodate the growing family, an expanded yard and outdoor area so the kids can play, unique rooms such as a play room, media room, etc.

John’s vision affects how the architect designs the house - the practice - because of the specificity of John’s vision. John describes what he wants to do and where he wants to be - in a house with adopted children from needy areas - and as a result is able to better direct, give purpose to, and influence the practice of his vision.

You’re probably not building a house, but let’s say you’re trying to design a new product to bring to market. The same principles can apply. Without a vision of what you want to accomplish with your product, you will have a hard time providing direction to your decisions, giving purpose to the countless hours you’ll spend in development, and influencing the various practices to bring the product to market (i.e. a website or direct mail campaign? Sales team or video blog?).

Philip Knight, co-founder of Nike said of his vision for the company, “We wanted Nike to be the world’s best sports and fitness company. Once you say that, you have a focus. You don’t end up making wing tips or sponsoring the next Rolling Stones world tour.” Because Knight and others in Nike had a defined vision, they were able to clearly lead and grow the company.

Art Credit: Manet, Boating

Week 6 - You Must Be Able to Evolve

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 20:34:00 -0500

In order to achieve lasting success, and to not end up as just a flash in the pan, your brand must be able to evolve. The first step is to create a unique brand idea. The second step is to define why consumers can’t live without your brand. The third is to develop a long-term strategy for growth that allows your brand to stay ahead of the curve, and evolve with the changing market trends and consumer demand.

We’re seeing this firsthand in the auto industry. With higher gas prices, economic challenges, and changes in consumer tastes, the SUVs are shifting from a product of high demand to a product of low demand. Most SUVs are very unique products. And most car companies have done a good job convincing the consumer why they should care about a particular brand of SUV. But how many of these companies will make the necessary changes for the brand to evolve? How will the changing market trends and consumer demands affect the long term success and failure of this industry - that will be determined by which brands successfully evolve.

In your small business or organization, you must think long term. You must employ strategies and initiatives that not only keep your brand in the forefront of your customers’ minds from a unique and relevant perspective - they must see you brand as one that is not affected by change, but rather as one that AFFECTS change. You’ve got to be a trend setter, a leader, not a follower. It may be different from business to business, from industry to industry, but if you don’t pay attention to the shifts in market demand, you’ll find yourself with yesterday’s news.

Here are some quick questions to ask about your brand evolution:

What are the changes in market trends and consumer demand that I see in my industry in the coming years?
How can I position my brand to embrace change and evolve during those shifts?
How can I embrace technology to help my brand evolve - this can include the web, new media, and social networking.
Where do I want to be in 5 years? How can I position my brand now in order to make sure my brand is still different, relevant, and evolutionary at that time?

In order to achieve lasting success for your brand, especially for small businesses and organizations, you must do your due diligence to create a different, relevant, and evolutionary brand strategy. And you must have all three - it’s an all or nothing play. But if you work to create a brand strategy that effectively employs all three elements, you’ll go far in positioning your brand for success.

Art Credit: Michelangelo, The Sistine Chapel

Week 5 - You Must Be Relevant

Fri, 04 Feb 2011 08:22:16 -0500

Last week, we talked about the first key to branding, “You Must Be Different”. As important as it is though, you can’t just be different. It’s not enough to offer your potential customers more choices - you have to offer them a better choice. Your brand must be relevant. Your brand has to matter to the consumer - otherwise, you may have the most unique product on the market, but nobody will buy it because you haven’t done a good job convincing them WHY they should buy it.

Anyone remember Clear Pepsi? Pepsi came out with the product in the 1990s and it made a big splash initially because it was different. How could something taste like Pepsi but be clear? It’s a freak of nature, what is this sweet nectar!

It was clearly (no pun intended) a unique product. But Pepsi missed one important part of the puzzle, and as a result, the brand flopped a short time later. They didn’t make the product relevant. People didn’t care. They figured, if it tastes like Pepsi, why not just drink Pepsi? Or Sprite if you’re into that clear thing.

The bottom line is that Pepsi created a unique product that people just didn’t care about. And it wasn’t successful. In the same way, you have to position your brand in such a way so that people will care about it enough to shift their purchasing habits. It’s a challenge, but a necessary one in order to achieve success.

Here are some quick questions to ask about your brand relevance:

Why should consumers buy your product or use your service?
What will make the average consumer shift their habits and loyalties from your competitors’ brands to your brand?
What will the average consumer “GET” out of your brand that they won’t get out of others?
Why can’t the average consumer live WITHOUT your brand?

Art Credit: JMW Turner, Snow Storm: Hannibal and his Army Crossing the Alps

Week 4 - You Must Be Different

Tue, 25 Jan 2011 21:24:00 -0500

If you’re a small business or organization and it’s been a while since you’ve looked at your brand strategy, or if you realize you’ve never given any thought to developing your brand, now is the time. Before you make one more sales call, print one more flyer, or invest in new office equipment, why not spend some time focusing on the most important aspect of your business?

You don’t have to do everything at once. Effective brand development takes time, and once a brand identity is created, it must be faithfully managed so it can successfully evolve. You need to craft a long-term brand strategy, where you set your prioritites, figure out what needs to happen and when, and work to harness the various brand touchpoints that will help grow your business.

Every small business owner wants one thing - to grow their business. I would submit to you that by participating in an effective process that discovers, defines, and deploys proven strategies to grow your brand, you will, in turn, make your business more successful. How do you accomplish this? Let’s start with the first of three keys to branding for small business.

3 Keys to Branding For Small Business - Part 1

In an information-soaked world, it is more important than ever for any business or organization to employ an integrated and focused brand strategy in order to be successful. And this is no different for small businesses - in fact, it might just be more important for small businesses. In a small business or organization, rarely do you have the financial support, time, or recognition in the marketplace to simply “plod” along. In a world where thousands of companies and products are vying for consumers’ attentions, it is vital to make sure you are positioning your product or service to cause consumers to choose you.

1. You Must Be Different.

When creating a product, or thinking about how to market a service, it’s not enough to just “dive” into the marketplace. It’s estimated that the average consumer is bombarded by over 6,000 marketing messages every day. It’s no wonder then why consumers tend to develop habits that they stick with - especially when it comes to purchasing products or utilizing services. It’s your job to shift these habits and loyalties over to your organization, and you do that first through differentiation.

You have to be different. In your particular industry (unless you’ve created the next lightbulb) there’s probably several competitors within a 50 mile radius. And likely there’s more when you consider the ease of the phone and the internet. So what makes you different? Why are you unique from your competitors? What sets you apart that will make your target market pay attention?

Here are some quick questions to ask yourself about your brand difference:

Identify your main competitors in your industry - what makes your products or services different from theirs?
Why would “John Q. Consumer” want to use your products or services over your competitors?
Make a list of how your products or services are similar to your competitors. Now make a list of how they are different. How can you positively exploit the differences to draw attention to your brand and away from your competitors?

Art Credit: Caravaggio’s “The Calling of St. Matthew”

Week 3 - Common Misconceptions

Tue, 18 Jan 2011 10:27:40 -0500

When we think about brands and branding initiatives, more often than not we think on a large scale. Global brands come to mind, or Fortune 100 companies. Rarely, when we think about branding, do we think about small business. And if you’re a small business owner, chances are you haven’t given much thought to your branding strategy either.

Small businesses have a myriad of challenges to face and frequently have to face these challenges without the safety net that many large corporations have. As a result, businesses and and business owners tend to drop their branding efforts before anything else, usually because it’s easy to cut these efforts out. Unfortunately, by doing so, businesses cut off their lifeblood, the central line contributing to and driving their growth and success.

Misconceptions of Small Businesses

Here are some of the more prominent misconceptions that I’ve heard from small business owners over the years:

I don’t need a brand, I’ve been in business for 10 plus years, so I’m “established”.
I don’t have a “marketing” budget, so I can’t do any branding.
I have a logo, isn’t that all I need?
Times are tight in this economy, so we’re cutting back on our branding initiatives.
I have a unique product that’s different from anything else on the market. That’s all I need.

Might I suggest a few responses to these misconceptions:

And while your experience and longevity in the local market are powerful tools, you can’t rely just on that. Plus, it may be a time for a re-brand initiative, especially if your brand is outdated and a bit dry.
Branding and marketing are different, don’t lump the two together. Marketing involves driving attention to your brand. Branding involves expanding your identity, differentiation, and relevance. Marketing can be seen as an expense, branding should be seen as an investment.
According to Paul Rand, a logo is the ambassador of the brand, but it’s not the brand itself. Just because you have a logo does not mean you’ve built a brand. The tip of the iceberg still needs a lot of iceberg underneath.
When times are tight, branding initiatives and brand positioning strategy should be the highest priority. Position yourself to explode once the market rebounds.
While a different, unique product is one step in the process, it must also be relevant to your customers. Clear Pepsi was different, but nobody cared about it, and the product failed. Your brand needs to be different and relevant to be successful.

Branding is Essential

The last thing your customers need is more information, or more products. The world is cluttered enough as it is - it’s estimated that the average individual is bombarded with over 6,000 advertisements and marketing initiatives every day. It’s no wonder that most of it goes in one eye or ear and out the other.

But just because there’s “too much out there” doesn’t negate the importance of developing a solid brand. In fact, that should be proof enough that a different, relevant brand identity is vital to your success in the marketplace.

And just because you’re a small business doesn’t mean branding isn’t important. I would venture to say that because you’re a small business, branding becomes even more important. How are you going to set yourself apart from hundreds of other competitors? How are you going to provide a product or service that is different? And how are you going to convince your customers that this product is relevant to their daily life and needs?

That’s branding. If you’re not concerned with that, than you’re not concerned with growing your business. The single most important factor for growing your business is how you create, grow, and manage your brand presence. Don’t neglect the most important thing.

—

*Art Credit: MC Escher - Relativity

Week 2 - A History of Branding

Mon, 10 Jan 2011 13:18:00 -0500

I’m a fan of studying history, and firmly believe that no matter the topic or industry, a study of history makes us better at what we do. We can learn from the ideas, failures, successes, and processes of others, and can find some incredible inspiration for our brands and businesses.

As we look at branding, and seek to define how to build a successful brand, it’s important to look back on where we’ve been. So here’s a quick look at the history of branding. I’ve pulled a lot of this from Marty Neumeier’s “The Brand Gap”, in my opinion one of the best books on branding from one of the top branding minds.

At the turn of the century, products (brands) were defined more by individual features, what the product “has”. Think about the automobile - the car was a relatively new invention, so each added feature was a key brand element. If Ford produced a car that would seat three individuals, Cadillac would produce a car that sat four - and the company’s advertising and branding messages would vary accordingly.

By the 1920s, more and more products were hitting the market with the same features, and brands developed into more of what the product “does”. For instance, let’s say there were 10 major types of household sewing machines on the market during the 1940s all with similar features. But only Singer’s latest model contained every popular stitch technique so all a housewife needed to do was flip a lever and the desired stitch would be produced on the garment.

By the 1950s brand strategists were positing their products around the experience, what you’ll “feel” by using this particular product. The 1950s and 1960s saw a major turn in advertising practice most notably in the boom of Madison Avenue. If you’ve ever read about advertising during this time or have even caught a recent episode of “Mad Men”, you’ll notice that advertising’s main commodity was “feeling”. Advertising executives sold feelings, not products. It wasn’t that you stayed in a hotel, it was that you stayed in a Hilton hotel. It wasn’t about drinking soda, it was about drinking Coca-Cola. It wasn’t about products, it was about feelings associated with those products.

This form of branding morphed and evolved but mostly lasted until the 90s. By the turn of the millennium, another phenomenon was taking place among consumers - in an information, product, and consumption-soaked world it wasn’t enough to simply “feel or offer something different”. Consumers began to change their habits and loyalties to brands that they identified with. It was important for brand managers to build identities around brands that spoke to consumers individually. This stage of branding involves more of the brand’s identity - what it “is”.

With the emergence of the internet and social media in particular we are aware of yet another major shift in consumer habits and practice . What once was a one-way conversation from brands to consumers is now much more a two-way conversation. It’s a shift from a monologue to a dialogue where consumers interact with brands in much more tangible ways. Tools such as blogs allow anyone and everyone to have a voice online, and social platforms such as Facebook and Twitter open up profoundly new channels for brand interaction and conversation. It’s no longer just about what your brand “is” but also how your brand “interacts” with your customers.

What does this mean in real terms? Well, if you’re a company, it’s not enough to create a new product. It’s not enough to create a new product that “does” different things. And it’s not even enough to create a new product that evokes certain emotions. Your product will only be successful if you can get your target customers to build an identity around the product that they trust, that matters to their daily life, and that offers experiences where your customers can interact with the brand.

Take BMW for example. For many, a BMW automobile is more than just a car (what it has) that offers certain features (what it does) that looks rich and sophisticated (feelings). For most BMW owners, their car is part of their identity, it’s part of their lives because a BMW is more than just a car, it’s a statement about the owner, and a reflection of their lifestyle. Furthermore, a BMW owner not only finds value in their identity that is made up in owning the car, but they also find value in being a part of a growing community of BMW owners.

So as we look at how branding has evolved, we realize how important it is for brands to keep a pulse on the market trends in order to effectively target consumers. Where is your brand in the veritable “timeline of branding”? Are you stuck back in the 1920s or 1960s? Or are you pushing forward, giving your business the optimal chance to succeed?

Week 1 - Definitions

Tue, 04 Jan 2011 10:52:23 -0500

Branding is almost a secret code word, used by many but understood by few. If you ask 10 people to define what branding is, only three would give you a honest answer, and each response would probably be different.

It’s no wonder then that most small businesses and organizations don’t understand or simply don’t care to understand the practice of brand building. The key is not only to understand branding, but also to understand how to integrate a focused brand strategy into your business or organization. And that’s where the disconnect comes in. There are a lot of books on building brands, brand strategy, and branding initiatives - some very good, some not so good. The very good ones are usually those written by folks who have done branding for companies for years - the bad ones are usually way to academic and impractical.

But one thing I’ve noticed about most of these books is they tend to share one thing in common - very rarely are they targeted at small businesses. As I’ve mentioned before small businesses and organizations are a totally different animal. I don’t mean that large corporations don’t face challenges - because they do - what I’m simply saying is that the challenges that small businesses face are unique. As a result, any ideas, strategies, and recommendations for small businesses or organizations must provide solutions to those unique challenges.

We’ll look at those unique challenges shortly, but before we get too far along, I’d like to provide some definitions to help get us all on the same page.

Definitions

SMALL BUSINESS - According to the US Small Business Administration, a small business is defined as “one that is independently owned and operated and which is not dominant in its field of operation.” Additionally, the SBA offers ranges for the size of small businesses, which varies across industries, but usually employs less than 100-150 employees.

For the sake of argument, when I mention small businesses or organizations, I am referring to organizations that are local in nature, employing less than 150 individuals, and will likely have annual sales under $25million. For the remainder of the blog I’ll just use the term small business - keep in mind this also means organizations such as churches, non-profits, and professional companies such as medical practices, law firms, etc.

BRAND - Marty Neumeier has said that a brand is a “person’s gut feeling about a product, service, or company”. “The Dictionary of Brand” produced by the American Institute of Graphic Artists says that a brand is “A person’s perception of a product, service, experience or organization”. They say basically the same thing, that a brand is what a person “thinks or feels” about something.

A brand is not a physical entity, it’s a collection of visual images, experiences, emotions, and senses that define a person’s collective opinion on the subject. Marty Neumeier in his book “The Brand Gap” has likened this collective opinion to a computer desktop. According to Neumeier a brand exists in your mind, and each brand that is on file in your mind has a “mental file name” that shows up on your computer’s desktop. The bigger the brand - i.e. the more you know about it - the larger the file becomes.

Let’s take Starbucks for example. When you experience the Starbucks brand - maybe by walking into a Starbucks store, or sipping a cup of slightly-overpriced-but-elegant coffee - you mentally “click” on the Starbucks file name in your mind. When it opens the various images, experiences, emotions, and senses are set free. You feel something and you react in a certain way. Whether the collective feeling is positive or negative depends on a variety of reasons. As Neumeier has said, a good brand is worth “saving” on your desktop.

What’s the key point to take away for small businesses? Well if there’s one thing that I see more and more often in small businesses than in larger corporations is that small businesses tend to base their brand image on what the key decision maker thinks it is. In other words the brand is what the small business owner defines.

One of the most important aspects about a brand that we must remember is that a brand is not what YOU say it is…it’s what THEY say it is. Ultimately it doesn’t matter what you think or believe about your businesses because you’re not the one making the final decision whether or not to choose your brand. This is a key benchmark because your perspective on this issue will dramatically affect the decisions you make about your brand and about your business.

BRANDING - If you understand what a brand is it won’t be difficult to understand the definition of branding. Branding is the practice to get people to think or feel a certain way about your brand. From these thoughts or feelings, consumers will make a decision whether or not to purchase, use, or interact with your brand.

Branding is done on the business-side, with the goal of driving the consumer somewhere. Remember a brand is not what you say it is it’s what your customers say it is, but you have a role to play in the images, experiences, and emotions each customer collects when interacting with your brand. Branding is everywhere, and you are always branding whether you realize it or not. That is why it is essential to have a focused brand strategy built around a central brand idea, otherwise the signals you send to your consumers will be jumbled at best and irrelevant at worst.

When someone clicks on their mental file of your brand, wouldn’t you rather the first thing that pops up be the brand idea that you want them to have? The more control you have over a person’s mental image or “gut feeling” about your brand the more effective you will be in turning that consumer into a customer. That’s branding, and that’s why branding matters.

Getting Started

Fri, 31 Dec 2010 09:31:36 -0500

Running a small business or organization is challenging stuff. In a small business you don’t have the luxury of a bloated savings account, a posh marketing department, or a “who’s who” board of advisors. At times you struggle just to keep payroll from bouncing, and you’ve probably spent countless late nights crunching numbers while watching your to-do list grow ever longer.

The last thing you need is another set of abstract “how-to-grow-your-business” tips that may or may not help. Right?

I couldn’t agree more. I’m a small business owner, my Dad is a small business owner, and I’ve spent most of my life around those managing and serving in a small business or organization - so as cliched as it sounds, I get you’re coming from.

And because of that this blog isn’t just another “how-to” manual filled with grandiose ideas with little in the way of practical application - those drive me nuts, and I’m sure you can relate. Rather this blog is designed to be practical at its very core. It’s filled not just with good information, but also with easy-to-implement strategies proven to help you be more successful.

Now you may be thinking, “okay, great, but why do I need to learn about branding? Shouldn’t I be focusing on how to increase my cash flow? Or get more customers through my doors? Or find better ways to manage my staff?”

Yes. That’s why you need to focus on branding.

What if I told you that the single most important thing you could do for your business or organization is to design, develop, and deploy a focused brand strategy?

Maybe you’d think I was crazy…maybe you’d smile and nod and excuse yourself as quickly as possible. No hard feelings.

Okay, let me try this one.

What if I told you that by implementing 5 simple strategies you could increase your customer base, increase customer loyalty, empower your staff, reduce stress, and maybe just maybe start achieving a positive cash flow…would you be interested?

I thought so.

You see, branding matters. And it doesn’t just matter for large corporations and organizations with fat budgets and a global reach. It also matters for every small business and organization. Let me reiterate that. When you think of branding, most likely 10-15 mega brands will come to mind - perhaps Nike, Apple, Starbucks, Toyota, Coca-Cola, etc. When you think of branding you probably don’t think of small business, right?

This blog exists to put branding back into small business. Frankly, the gap between successful corporations and small businesses in this area is astounding. You wouldn’t disagree with me if I said it’s important to learn financial strategy from large businesses and work to incorporate those strategies into your business. Or maybe it’s management strategy, customer service, or HR. The bottom line is that small businesses often try to emulate large corporations on a variety of fronts - as well they should.

So why is it that strategic branding is one of the most oft neglected elements in a small business or organization? If branding is so valued by large corporations and organizations, why does it receive such a low priority among small businesses and organizations?

Well, it’s due to a variety of reasons, but the key reason, I believe, is because small businesses

A) don’t understand it,
B) don’t see the value in it, and
C) can’t figure out how to specifically apply it.

The purpose of this blog is two-fold: first to outline why branding matters for small businesses and organizations, and more importantly, to learn how to harness the power of branding to position your business for success

The reason I founded this blog is because I’m passionate about small business - small businesses and organizations are the engine of a healthy economy, and most of the world’s best ideas are developed and refined in and through small businesses. But more than that, I founded this blog because frankly I’m tired of watching too many small businesses neglect proven strategies that larger, more successful organizations employ every day.

It’s not just for the “big boys” and it doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg…or even a toe. Brand strategy can be done efficiently and effectively, and it’s absolutely essential to any businesses’ or organization’s success. Through this blog I hope to show you how you can do that.

Thanks for reading.