Marketing: Your Brand Is About More Than Just Good Looks
By Dean Mercado
First let’s clear up a common
misconception of what a “Brand” really is. A brand is more than
just your company’s name or logo. It’s more than just a particular
type of product you offer such as Q-tips brand of cotton swabs.
It’s more than just the look of the packaging of your product. In a
nutshell your ”Brand” is the culmination of everything your
prospect’s 5 senses can pick up on about you.
It’s the image you present at all times.
From the company’s logo and color scheme all the way to the manner
in which your employees dress.
It’s what your prospect hears from and
about you. From what they hear about you in the media to how your
customer service team handles incoming complaints.
It’s the feeling your prospect gets in all
their dealings with you. From their satisfied or unsatisfied
interaction with you to the relationship building activities you
carry out.
It’s the pleasant or unpleasant scents
that get associated with you covering everywhere from the scent of
your product or facility, to even your employees.
And lastly it’s also the tastes that get
associated with you. From the taste of your product (if it’s a
product meant to be tasted) to the quality of coffee or tea you
serve.
As you are probably beginning to see the
picture I am painting for you, your brand encompasses everything
about you. Hence you can see why it’s important to always put your
best foot forward.
Let’s take this one step further. Even
more important than being perfect in your eyes, is being consistent
in the prospect’s eyes.
Consistency is the key to branding. It is
terrible branding practice and just plain unacceptable to offer
great service one day, and bad service the next. You are better off
being consistently mediocre. Then at least the customer knows what
to expect and is generally more satisfied. Another example of bad
branding is having a different look and feel for your website as
compared to your other marketing collateral (e.g. business cards,
brochures, etc.). Ultimately, your prospect should be able to
recognize you at a quick glance – just by colors, design style,
logo, etc.
For instance, let’s take the fast food
retailer McDonalds. They have done a spectacular job at branding.
Their food tastes consistently the same no matter which location you
eat at – essentially around the world. What you see, hear, feel,
smell, and taste are pretty much consistent and acceptable across
the board.
Bottom line, branding is essential to
establishing your identity in the marketplace and consistency is the
key to effective doing that. Prospects want consistency!
Consistency breeds comfort and comfort is an aspect of relationship
building - a key marketing strategy.
© 2005 Online Marketing Muscle -- All
Rights Reserved.
Dean Mercado is an Internet marketing coach, strategist, author,
and speaker. Dean and his company Online Marketing Muscle help
entrepreneurial professionals leverage the power of Internet
marketing to turn their businesses into money magnets. Visit
Online Marketing Muscle for many more Internet marketing tips. |
