The
start of the New Year is a natural time to take stock and set objectives for
the year ahead – not just for personal development but for business growth and
development too. Typically, business objectives focus on financial goals which
is reasonable as financial achievement represents success for most businesses;
however, the strategy required to reach these financial goals is often less
obvious.
Whether
you are selling products or services, your customers will be considering both
the tangible and intangible benefits of your offering - in other words, what
your business is providing in terms of quality, price and convenience as well
as how engaging with your business makes them feel, what they gain emotionally
from doing business with you.
Tangible
benefits are important but are easy to copy and don’t tend to deliver long term
competitive advantage – they are generally the benchmarks you need to achieve
to be in the business you are in. Intangible benefits are more difficult to
replicate, they form the basis of a unique look and feel and tone of voice for
your business and help you to emotionally bond with your customers which leads
to longer term customer loyalty and greater financial gains.
Emotionally
engaging with customers – both end user consumers and business to business
partners, is the key to success and something that great brands do very well.
They have clear brand propositions that are easy to understand and compelling
brand personalities that instil trust and confidence, perhaps offer a sense of
fun or enjoyment or of responsibility. They may make us feel we have made the
right ethical or moral purchase or leave us with a thrilling sense of reward.
They have an emotional impact, build strong bonds and often help to deliver
strong, internal cultures that positively impact productivity and loyalty of
employees.
Big
brands have complex brand strategies and access to big budgets to pay for
expert advice and support but the benefits of a clear and concise brand
platform are as important for smaller companies as they are for bigger
businesses.
A
clearly defined brand platform helps you to clarify who
and what you are, which will positively impact your relationships with investors, partners, customers and employees. Clarity on your brand
will also save you money longer term as
there will no longer be a need to reinvent the wheel every time you communicate
your brand whether by mouth, through a brochure,
product packaging or online. You will know how your brand looks and speaks in a
concise, simple and compelling way.
BRAND IN A NUTSHELL is a
fast track, low cost approach to solidifying a
company’s core brand principles. It is a unique branding process
that we've developed at Brand Arkade to give businesses with smaller budgets access to the value and
benefits of brand thinking. We’d love to help you.
