Entries Tagged 'Branding' ↓

There’s no room for personality in business.

Really?

Are you sure about that?

If you are the type of business owner that believes all your marketing communications should be straight, professional and (for want of a better word) boring, it’s time to be enlightened.

Have a think about the marketing messages that resonate with you.

What was it that made you sit up and take notice.

I would hazard a guess at the way it ‘spoke’ to you. After all, if the message is boring and mundane it’s going to get lost amongst the many thousands of other marketing messages out there. If it’s to get noticed it must have personality.

Let’s face it, when you go into a store, if you’re met by disinterested store assistants who look bored to be there, you’re more than likely going to walk straight out the door again.

Likewise, if you land on a website in your search for that new wonder gadget you’re after and are faced with reams of boring text that tells you nothing other than it’s colour, power outage and that it’s “ground breaking” without any qualification to back that statement up, you’ll hit the back browser and look elsewhere.

That’s why your marketing, no matter what shape or form it takes, must have personality.

Brand POW or brand pop?

Every piece of marketing you put out must reflect the brand image you’ve worked so hard to build.

You do have a brand image, right?

The idea behind this consistent message is that your customers will get to recognise you from your style, colours, words and images.

OK, sure, small companies are unlikely to get the instant recognition enjoyed by the big players such as Apple, IBM, Nike or John Lewis, but a consistent message will help people identify you with the values you hold dear.

Building your personality

If you are a sole trader or an individual service provider, you shouldn’t need to work too hard on building your personality – it’s already there.

All you have to do is write your marketing materials from the heart.

When customers read your stuff, it should be consistent with the person they meet. If there’s a huge disconnect, they are less likely to do business with you.

Why?

Because from the moment they read your brochure or website, they began to form a relationship with you. They have, in their mind, an impression of who you are and what you’ll be like to work with. If, when they meet you, the real you is completely different that relationship will break down.

How do you get your personality across?

Write as though you were having a conversation with your customer. Picture yourself in your favourite pub, relaxing over a glass of wine (beer etc.) chatting about how you can help them. In real life, you’ll use simple language, no jargon and you’ll explain things in a way that makes them instantly accessible. This type of approach will make your customers warm to you and be more likely to talk to you to ask your advice because you won’t be going in for the hard sell.

It takes a bit of practice and goes against all the rules of academic writing that were drilled into you at school, but it will pay off if you persevere at it.

If you run a larger company my advice is the same.

The personality that comes through is that of your business, which means clearly identifying the values you want to reflect. Again, a simple, jargon-free conversational tone will work best in your marketing copy creating an impression of warmth and openness.

To create your personality:

• Think about the values that are important to you
• Write in a simple, jargon-free conversational tone
• Think about how you want your customers to see you

Author – Sally Ormond, Briar Copywriting Ltd

Branding your business is tricky. You have to make sure it comes across as appealing, a ‘must have’ brand that’s not too pretentious.

Over time, your company will change leading to a need to refine your brand image, but even the smallest of changes can affect your target market and their perception of your brand.

Clive Rohald has written an interesting article in The Drum about how to give your brand identity a makeover without alienating your customers. Here are some of his thoughts.

Every company, at one time or another, will feel the need for a brand refresh. The question is, how can that be achieved without it turning into a disaster.

1. Why is there a need for change?

Clive’s first point is to identify why there is a need for change.

What is it that needs updating? Where is your current brand failing? How can your brand better service its employees and customers? Do you need to define a new brand or is evolving your existing one enough?

Its imperative you make the difference between  your brand and operational issues. Clive uses the case of Malaysia Airlines as an example. In this case it’s issues were down to poor communication and its inability to act transparently, which are operational issues and can’t be solved by rebranding.

The key is to focus on ‘why’, not ‘how’ your brand needs to change and what the brand promises your customers.

2. Are you still relevant?

If your brand is to survive after rebranding you must ensure it remains relevant to your target market.

Research is everything; it helps you understand your brand perception, value and familiarity. If your research delivers strong results without an obvious threat to your brand, you may not need to review it.

3. 360 degree thinking

Your brand is more than just your logo, colours and stationery. It is also your tone of voice, customer service, stores and digital communications.

Trust comes from continuity; every time a customer comes into contact with your company the experience should be familiar, whatever form it takes. Your new visual identity should be a true representation of the new brand strategy.

4. Respect your heritage

Although your heritage shouldn’t hold you back, it should remain central to your brand. It is what makes you unique, offering customers a safe pair of hands. By introducing subtle updates your brand will move forward without losing the values it was built on and that attracted your customers in the first place.

5. Cultural perception and differences

Your rebrand must encompass and be accompanied by strong, relevant marketing messages that transcend cultural and language barriers. If you are a global player you must make sure your messaging and image translate into all markets. Clive cites KFC as an example when it launched a new campaign in China. It came unstuck when it discovered that its famous tagline “finger-lickin’ good” was understood locally as “eat your fingers off”. Ooops.

6. Acknowledge change

Even the best thought out plans can go wrong. When you roll out your rebrand – whether globally or locally – be sensitive to any issues it throws up and be prepared to be flexible in your response to any adverse publicity.

You’ve already seen the power of search marketing.

It’s not a coincidence that the dresses you’ve been looking at or the bike you’ve been drooling over constantly appear in on screen adverts and all over Facebook. For a while now Google et al have been watching what you’ve been looking at, reading your profiles and matching subtle advertising with the stuff you love.

Whether you think that’s great or a bit creepy, it looks as though it’s a trend that’s set to continue.

A recent article about Tumblr in The Drum caught my eye.

Apparently, Tumblr is signing a deal with Ditto Labs. If you’ve not heard of them, they’re a firm that analyses photos on social media to look for brand related data. Anything from someone holding a bottle of soft drink to a picture of you wearing a branded jumper.

So what?

Well the deal will give advertisers the opportunity to see what their fans are saying about them and to get an insight into how they are perceived.

Is this going to be yet another way companies get to bombard us with random adverts for their stuff, or just an innocent exercise in understanding their customers in an attempt to improve their brand?

According to Tumblr, this partnership doesn’t mean you will be targeted based on what you’re wearing or holding in your Tublr photos…at the moment.

My own opinion is divided on this particular issue.

On the one hand, it’s useful to only get ads that are relevant to me, but it gets annoying when the item I’ve just bought keeps popping up.

What do you think of all this?

Is it a good thing that anonymous companies have such power over us?

OK, at the moment it’s the subtle placement of (potentially) relevant ads, but where does it stop?

Leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts.

The Power of the Human Brand

Have you noticed the “them and us” of business?

Whether it is networking, general chit-chat or trade fairs, the “big boys” make all the noise whilst looking down their noses at the small businesses.

Just because they’re bigger than you doesn’t mean they’re better. To be honest, they’re way worse than you.

How do I know that?

Because you have the benefit of a human brand.

What is a human brand?

Large corporations have oodles of cash to chuck at their market place. They can afford the biggest marketing campaigns, sign up celebrities and bankroll peak time TV advertising.

You can’t do that, but you can do something else.

Being a small business, you have the ability to reach out and touch your audience. Not in a creepy way, but in a way that leads to trusting relationships. Your customers can get to know you – the face behind the brand. That’s something that doesn’t happen with large corporations.

That’s why it’s important to make the most of your human brand.

If you have staff, it’s also important to make sure they’re involved with the business and share your passion. Investing in them will turn them into brand advocates, so when customers interact with them, they’ll receive the kind of personal service they want.

Making the most of your human brand is essential, but there are also a few other ways you can out do the big boys.

Passion

The chances are, because you started up your business, you love what you do (otherwise you wouldn’t be doing it). That passion is infectious and will shine through in every interaction you have with your customers.

Large businesses don’t have that; they just have executives that are simply there for their fat pay check. Their main concern is that sales targets are hit and shareholders are kept happy. They have no emotional investment in the business.

Agility

If you’ve ever worked for a large company you’ll know how slowly they move.

There are so many levels of management and rigid procedures; any change in policy can take months or even years to happen.

For the small business change is easy. You have no red tape to dodge and no board of directors to appease. Decisions can be made quickly and changes implemented instantly helping you react to you market’s needs.

Service

There are only a few large companies out there that give exceptional service, the obvious ones being John Lewis and Apple (from my experience).

The people that work for large companies, especially at the lower end of the pay scale, are just there to do a job. They are unlikely to go out of their way to help you because it’s no skin off their nose if you go elsewhere. But when it’s your own business, every customer is like family. If they’re unhappy, you’re unhappy so you’ll do everything in your power to make sure they fall in love with your company and come back.

After all, even if you’re a little more expensive, they’ll happily pay a premium for excellent personal service.

Getting your human brand out there

To make an impact, your online presence has to be every bit as chatty and warm as the service your customers receive.

That means one thing – getting social.

Although you must have a stonking website that’s full of useful copy that tells the reader the benefits of dealing with you, it’s also important you have an active presence on social media.

Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn etc., must be used regularly and actively. Don’t just use them as a soap box from which you can promote your business; talk to your customers, build relationships with them and give them useful information.

This openness is what will set you apart from other businesses. Be yourself; if your avatar is your logo, make sure you sign off your update with your name to let your customers know whom they’re talking to.

When you’re competing with big companies you’ll never be able to beat them on cost. That’s why it’s important you concentrate on the level of service you provide because that’s an area they’ll never be able to beat at.

Treat your customers and staff like family and you’ll build loyal, trusting relationships that last.

Author: Sally Ormond, Briar Copywriting

Can the term ‘brand’ be defined, or is it just a bit of fairy dust marketers and PR agencies sprinkle on clients to make them believe they really are worth the astronomical fee they’re charging?

According to Wikipedia a brand is “the name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller’s product distinct from those of other sellers.”

But I’m not convinced.

Sure, when you see Apple’s apple, or Nike’s tick or Chanel’s interlocking ‘C’s, you instantly recognise the company. But surely a brand has to be more than just a symbol. It must also stand for what you get from those companies.

For me Apple isn’t just a fruit with a bite out of it, it’s innovative, cutting-edge, cool, it just works. To me that’s Apple’s brand – how it makes me feel about them.

This whole ‘what is a brand’ thing kicked off after reading Dave Trott’s blog about ‘brand Beckham’. Despite what your thoughts are about Victoria Beckham, she certainly understands brands. After all, she’s morphed herself and hubby into a brand worth about a quarter of a billion dollars.

I wanted to find out what other people think about the term ‘brand’. Here are some of the responses:

“It’s the logo, colours and a recognisable style.”

“It’s the name of the manufacturer.”

“A brand is the personality of a business.”

“It’s how you want others to perceive your business.”

“Your brand is the emotional experience that a customer has with your company.”

“It’s just a way of recognising a company.”

“It’s the personality and feel of a company.”

“It’s a promise of what you sell/offer/deliver.”

“It’s what the customer thinks the brand is that matters.”

“It must portray the thoughts of the company and be understood by the customer.”

“It’s the way a company is perceived in the public domain and the emotion and experience someone has when buying into that brand.”

“Farmers used to brand their animals with the name of their farm before sending them to market. It was a promise that the product was of a particular or uniform standard. That’s what a brand is, plain and simple. Everything else is marketing, advertising or PR.”

“It’s your company’s sole.”

“It is the foundation on which you build awareness of your business to your customers.”

“It’s something visual or auditory that makes people recognise your product or company.”

Not many agree with Wikipedia.

Your brand is everything – it’s your look, your ethos, the way you deal with customers, the service you offer and the feeling your customers get when they have your product.

Going back to Apple again, because my experience of them, their service and their products has always been good, to me their brand is that their stuff works, no ifs or buts, it just does what it’s supposed to do. And of course, it looks great too.

What do you think?

How would you define s brand?

Is it just something visual, or do you think it’s more than that?

Leave a comment and let me know your thoughts. Do you agree with Wikipedia, or with one of the other views in this post?

Author: Sally Ormond, Copywriter and MD at Briar Copywriting Ltd. Follow her on Twitter and Google+

Image courtesy of Naypong/FreeDigitalPhotos