Is your business too small or too specialized to warrant the time and energy it takes to develop a brand? No! Brand building is essential for any business. A strong, positive brand is just as important for a 200-person technology company as it is for a 3-person retail shop.
One of my clients, Sean, is a chiropractor. When Sean started his business, he knew he had two branding challenges to overcome:
Every business has to be able to attract and satisfy customers predictably and consistently if it is going to thrive. One of the best ways to do this is to build a strong, positive brand in the minds of your target markets.
When people encounter your business, your products or your services they will either think negatively or positively about it depending on your brand. Ultimately, it is your brand that determines if people actually do business with you.
A good branding strategy takes time and attention to develop and implement in your business. You need to have a very good understanding of the purchase decision needs of your target markets and how your business meets or exceeds those customer expectations. You (and everyone else in your business) need a clear idea of what brand you are trying to establish in the marketplace so that you can look for any and all opportunities to reinforce that brand when dealing with customers. Your brand building efforts should also be tracked and quantified over time so that you can keep doing the things that strengthen your brand and identify the innovations that will improve the things that aren't working.
There are three basic steps you can take that will allow you to start building the right branding strategy for your business:
Sean worked through the three-step process outlined above and quickly started seeing the difference as his chiropractic business began to grow and gain a reputation. Through his research, he was able to articulate that people in his target market ultimately wanted quality health care and treatment that immediately helped them experience more functionality, a better quality of life, and less pain or side effects. He used that to create and document a Brand Objective Statement using a Dual Branding Strategy approach that pinpointed how his company specifically (and chiropractic medicine in general) would appeal to his target markets.
He then set about integrating his branding strategy into all of his business systems from advertising through sales and client fulfillment. After six months of operating with this new brand awareness he had quantifiable results that his efforts had paid off. He sent out a customer survey which helped confirm positive customer perceptions of his business. His internal meetings with staff helped confirm they were getting consistently positive feedback from customers. He measured a rise in clientele and client retention.
Additionally, he noticed that, since his brand was strong, his customers gave his business the benefit of the doubt when something did go wrong. His customers viewed mistakes and inconsistencies as merely temporary aberrations that the business would recover from quickly.
Interestingly, Toyota (as mentioned in point one above) is facing some brand setbacks right now. They’re experiencing a high volume of recalls for safety defects in certain vehicles. Do you think that this is going to permanently tarnish the Toyota brand? Do you think the company will be able to recover? Newsweek posted an interesting article on the topic that you might want to read.
flickr photo credit: planetc1
Great article, i would like to find out more information on branding. I started my business three years ago but just until now found necessary to start working on my brand.
I would like to find books, articles and everything else that could help me out with my company re-branding, thanks in advance
Submitted Mar 10, 2010 5:08 PM
When we started our business in 1981 we were the only balloon safari company in South Africa so it was easier to sell the product and build the brand. Since then having witnessed our success more companies have entered the fray, many of them with cheaper prices, reduced services and lower quality. The downside is that as we are without doubt the top of mind throughout the country and, in many cases the "only" company in this business we tend to get tarred with the same brush, especially when a negative comment, originally about another company, permiates the market place after the first or second onward transmission. The bad story survives and becomes distorted in the telling, and no one can remember exactly which company was the culprit, this affects the perception of the product (hot air balloon safaris). Thus as we are generally considered the "only" operation we often get the blame.
Thankfully our branding and market penentration is strong enough to overcome these minor intrusions but we are always mindful and focused on ensuring that our SPs USPs and UUSPs are brought into the relevant sales and marketing dialogues to separate us from the crowd at every opportunity.
Submitted Mar 10, 2010 10:12 PM
this is a great article. please let us have more information on brand building. also, in the case of retail outlet, what method of branding is suitable.
Submitted Mar 11, 2010 3:25 AM
Excellent article!
It's also great to see chiropractors tapping into the principles taught via the E-Myth Team.
Since our profession doesn't have the luxury of tapping into a healthcare delivery system like medical doctors do, it's extremely important that chiropractors understand that just because they are doctors doesn't mean they'll be successful.
A true understanding of the E-Myth is mandatory upon graduation as chiropractors take on the roles of both doctor and entrepreneur.
Dr. Patrick MacNamara of Next Generation Chiropractor
http://www.nextgenerationchiropractor.com
Submitted Mar 21, 2010 9:14 AM
Good Statistic. Seems like most people have the vision part, but absolutely no decided direction. They just pay attention to the end goal, and think that everything will be go in the strategy are there, we have the some tips which will be so helpful in the Developing the Brand strategy..
Vision
Direction
Action Plan
Just we have to go forward on this 3 steps on which we moving on..
Thanks & Regards
Caroline Brown
www.datarecoverysoftware.com
Submitted Mar 21, 2010 10:38 PM