We have all heard that world does not stand still! Neither do our industry or our individual endeavors. Experts say the “Knowledge Mass” is now doubling approximately every 3 years. In the past year our world has changed dramatically. Have you and your company changed with it? Your BRAND is your identity which is created through your name, symbol, design and reputation. A known brand is customarily a symbol of trust; an unknown brand is no brand at all.
And we must all realize that the world and, more specifically, your market, have no need for another “Me too” brand. The degree to which your brand tells a differentiated story, will often be the degree which enables your success to come about.
Let’s talk about how you might re-energize your brand and image. I suggest you get 6-8 of your best and brightest team members together for a “Brand Brainstorm Session”. This is a platform where you can take advantage of the collective intellect of this group by seeking the input of each of them on multiple brand-related topics. Remember, all of us is smarter than one of us!
Start with an in-depth discussion of what your brand has stood for over the past ten years. What’s good about it? What’s outdated about it? What needs to be updated in the message you want to send to your marketplace?
Next create a mechanism for surveying your current client base to find out what they want and need in your space at this time. Perhaps it is done with your key people making phone calls or personal visits. Perhaps an e-survey would work for you. Endeavor in your meeting to define your current target market. How has it changed in recent years? What identifiable trends have you discovered? Is it advisable to expand your target market at this time? Careful - Don’t try to be all things to all people. If you do you may well end up being nothing to anybody! It’s normally best to make changes in your target market reservedly with well-thought-out reasons and precision strategies.
One way to advance your brand and reputation is to become known for the problems you solve. Now that we have identified what our target market wants and needs, we can fine-tune our solutions to create more value. Then we are tasked with selling our brand value to our target market.
Advertising guru, David Ogilvie once defined brand identity as The intangible sum of an organization’s known attributes. As you increase your capabilities and deliverables, the word will spread and your brand and image in the eyes of your customer will be enhanced.
Also, what do people think when they see your logo? Does it stand for excellence? Is it tired and in need of rejuvenation? The GM logo has been consistent for almost a century – they simply have no resounding reason to change it! And I’ll bet you can picture it right now. Instagram recently created a new and improved logo to rave reviews. BB & T Bank and SunTrust recently merged and are now Truist Bank with a new logo. With good reason, it is sometimes time to step out and update your brand.
This writer believes that your goal should be to gain brand loyalty from those in your target market. If there are some who really don’t know about you and your brand, they are indifferent; from there we need to create awareness; then we want to earn preference status; then we go for brand insistence, and, ultimately, they become advocates of our brand.
The image of a company, product, or employee is never a constant, it’s an ever-changing variable. We are only as good as the last transaction we had with a given customer. Brand insistence is achieved by performing knock-your-socks-off service and a reputation for customer centric behavior! (Which is a discussion for another day)
We are in extraordinary times that call for extraordinary performance! Think hard about your brand, logo and market presence. Reinforce it as is, or tweak it, or change it altogether if need be, but carefully work through what you are saying to your marketplace and the way it will be received.