Branding 101: Developing a strong brand that drives business

Branding 101 What is your business iden0ty?

What We’ll Cover Today

1. What is Branding?

2. Understand your place in the market

3. How to develop clear brand messages

4. How to stand out in your market(s)

5. How to create a 360˚ brand experience

What do you think when you see….

How would you define branding?

Is this a brand or Pavlov’s bell?

Effective brand advertising campaigns capture the essence of the brand

Branding is the 360˚ experience of a company through its services, its products, its marketing, and its customer community





4. Modifying your message by market(s)


Do a SWOT Analysis: List your company’s Strengths,

Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats

STRENGTHS (Internal)

O7en become marke0ng messages

WEAKNESSES

OPPORTUNITIES THREATS



WEAKNESSES (Internal)

Service & delivery threats to your brand

OPPORTUNITIES THREATS





OPPORTUNITIES (External)

Poten0al growth areas for your brand

THREATS





OPPORTUNITIES (External)

Poten0al growth areas for your brand

THREATS (External)

Industry condi0ons that could hurt your brand

Spy on your competitors: What do they say about themselves?

How are you different?

How can you monitor competitors?

  Listen to buzz and rumors in your industry   Watch your competitors’ websites, social

media, advertising or sales people   Communicate with prospects – who else is

bidding on the job? If you didn’t get the job – who did and why?

  Pay attention to association participation and industry related LinkedIn groups

Create a Google account and sign up to receive Google Alerts

Use your analysis to craft your message. Get beyond your services

list to what makes you different.

Focus on talking about WHY you are a better choice

 We can help you grow your business  We can help you streamline operations  We can help you expand your capabilities  We can help you make better products  We have the best customer service  We have the most experience  We have the lowest price (be careful with this)  We are local

Put these messages in your elevator pitch – your standard answer when someone asks

“Tell me about your company?”

2006 Web Company

2009 Full Service Agency

2012 Modern Strategic Communica0ons

Company

…while our core brand personality and strengths haven’t changed

Seeing this in practice: How Red Sage’s brand messaging and positioning has adapted over time…

Identify & prioritize your target markets

They can look very different and need different marketing approaches and messages to reach effectively. Good marketing is not one size fits all.

Target market examples

  Existing customers   Board members/stakeholders   Homeowners   Retirees   Small business   Government contractors   Women

Then drill down even more

  Small businesses within a 30 mile radius, at least 3 employees, preferably in the following types of industries, chamber members

  Women, age 25 – 50, in the workforce

Adjust your message for each market

Red Sage to small business:

  We are an award winning strategic communications company that has helped small businesses like yours grow and succeed through better branding and marketing in their websites, print, and social media.

Red Sage to big business:

  We are an award winning strategic communications company that supports and streamlines the efforts of corporate marketing teams by providing responsive, cost effective, and results oriented branding and marketing solutions for web, print, and social media.

Red Sage to communities:

  We are an award winning strategic communications company that has helped communities like yours attract new industries, new residents, and increased tourism through better branding and marketing in web, print, and social media.

Your core brand messages need to stay consistent in all markets

Control your service delivery – the buying experience is part of your brand

Reassess your brand messaging at least once a year

AUDIENCE PRODUCT/SERVICE MESSAGE BEST WAY TO REACH

General Business Branding, print design, web design, marke0ng & social media consul0ng

We can help you be more strategic with your marke0ng so you get results

Networking, public speaking, sales reps, referral program, social media

Economic & Community Development Organiza0ons

Web design, retail recruitment guides, presenta0on materials

We can help your community aOract the aOen0on of site selectors and retailers

Industry Tradeshows, sponsorships, referral program, e-‐newsleOers, blog

Exis0ng Customers All services – with a focus on new services

Don’t forget we can help you with a wide range of services

Direct mail, referral programs, e-‐newsleOers, calls

List each Audience…

…and the service/product you want to

provide each

…and the message you

want to tell each

…and the best ways to reach each

Build your marketing strategy

Make sure your messaging and visual presentation is

consistent in every area   Website   Business Cards   Brochures and other print   Advertisements   Social Media

Make sure your brand and messaging is distributed in as many places as possible

What are your brand message delivery options?

  Associations and advertising opportunities   Sponsorships   Newspapers and local magazine ads   Trade magazine ads   Online advertising   Networking – Chamber, WBCNA,

HASBAT, etc.

What are your options?

  Radio   TV   Billboard   Social media   Blogging   Direct Mail   Press Releases

  E-newsletters   Speaking

engagements   Promotional

products   Etc. etc.

How do you choose?   What can you consistently deliver? Is a

monthly e-newsletter realistic?   What can you afford?   Biggest rule: Have a presence in as

many places as possible within your budget: a small ad four times is better than a big ad once

  Spread out your visibility over time

Develop your 12 month plan and budget Do date/pricing research for print ads, events. Then plug in around those.

Your #1 Rule for Branding

Materials for Economic Development

Materials for Small Business

Don’t forget the personality aspect of branding

Thank you! Ellen Didier

[email protected] 256-560-0098

twitter.com/ellendidier facebook.com/redsage linkedin.com/in/ellendidier

Branding 101: Developing a strong brand that drives business

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