Our New Articles
Branding, Build A Brand Identity: 5 Key Elements
by Jed Jones
Often small or midsize companies who create a new product or service tend to go straight to market while skipping the all-important activity of designing a brand identity. This is a huge mistake and one that can be easily avoided.
The brand identity of your product or service is the touchstone of your overall brand campaign. Your brand identity will ensure high levels of consistency across all aspects of your brand campaign, including: the messaging you choose for your ad campaigns, the logo you create, and even how you decorate your office.
Considering the following 5 key elements will guarantee you an air-tight, winning brand identity: Determine Your Competitive Set: Your competitive set is the specific industry and niche in which you will be competing. In order to crisply define your brand, you must take a careful look around at those with whom you will be competing and define the arena in which they operate. Create a Well-Defined Value Proposition: Your value proposition is 1 or 2 sentences that clearly describe why customers should buy from you. In other words: what value do you offer them? Why should they choose you over your closest competitor? A good value proposition statement shows you really know your business and your customer base. Identity Your Key Differentiators: Your product or service must stand out from the pack in some way in order to be successful in the marketplace. How does your offering set itself apart? Put together 4-5 traits that differentiate your product or service from those of the competition. Articulate a Clear Customer Promise: What is the one thing that customers can expect every time they interact with your company? Is it a friendly smile? Guaranteed lowest rates? Do you have someone available to talk with 24/7/365? If so, make sure you articulate this promise. And, make absolutely sure you deliver on it, every time. Outline Your Key Value Dimension Rankings: Finally, you need to be realistic about where you will rank relative to your overall market niche on what I call your key value dimension rankings. Not every hotel has 5-star hotel service quality, but then again not every hotel charges 5-star hotel prices: service quality and pricing are classic tradeoffs. Your company will be able to most precisely define your brand when you can accurately assess where your brand will rank versus the overall competitive set in your market niche in terms of these ten dimensions: low price, first-to-market prestige, durability, luxury appeal, ergonomics/ease-of-use, the cool factor, pre-sales service, quality of purchase experience, post-sales support, and functionality/features. Determine 2 or 3 of these key value dimensions in which you intend to rank among the Top 10% in your competitive set.
About The Author: Building a brand? The eBook "The Anatomy of a Winning Brand" takes you by the hand and shows you step-by-step how to develop your brand. Download your FREE copy at: http://www.jedcjones.com/brandmybusiness/
These articles on lifestyle and more
Return to the selection of branding
You may want to try these articles on marketing
Finance, How To Get Noticed By Editors And Publishers: Make Your Strengths Shine by Shelley Wake Approximately 766 Words
Finance, It’s Good To Be A New Writer: Breaking The Myth That Experience Is Everything by Shelley Wake Approximately 739 Words
Finance, How To Be A Freelancer In Demand: Become A Busy Client’s Best Friend by Shelley Wake Approximately 812 Words
Finance, Linkadage’s Take On Google's New Search Engine Patent by John Lessnau Approximately 1004 Words
Finance, Winning Freelance Work: Beat The Skeptic by Shelley Wake Approximately 586 Words
Finance, Five Vital Questions To Ask Your Vet by Kurt Schmitt Approximately 1014 Words
Finance, Recognizing Blind Spots In Your Fat Loss Program by Bill Herren Approximately 289 Words
Finance, Free Contests May Not Cost You Money, But They Can Still Cost You by Shelley Wake Approximately 814 Words
You may want to try these websites for additional information
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Co-branding
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_branding
http://www.brandidentityguru.com/
The information provided in this article is the express opinion of the author. Exchangenet is not responsible for the content!
Often small or midsize companies who create a new product or service tend to go straight to market while skipping the all-important activity of designing a brand identity. This is a huge mistake and one that can be easily avoided.
The brand identity of your product or service is the touchstone of your overall brand campaign. Your brand identity will ensure high levels of consistency across all aspects of your brand campaign, including: the messaging you choose for your ad campaigns, the logo you create, and even how you decorate your office.
Considering the following 5 key elements will guarantee you an air-tight, winning brand identity: Determine Your Competitive Set: Your competitive set is the specific industry and niche in which you will be competing. In order to crisply define your brand, you must take a careful look around at those with whom you will be competing and define the arena in which they operate. Create a Well-Defined Value Proposition: Your value proposition is 1 or 2 sentences that clearly describe why customers should buy from you. In other words: what value do you offer them? Why should they choose you over your closest competitor? A good value proposition statement shows you really know your business and your customer base. Identity Your Key Differentiators: Your product or service must stand out from the pack in some way in order to be successful in the marketplace. How does your offering set itself apart? Put together 4-5 traits that differentiate your product or service from those of the competition. Articulate a Clear Customer Promise: What is the one thing that customers can expect every time they interact with your company? Is it a friendly smile? Guaranteed lowest rates? Do you have someone available to talk with 24/7/365? If so, make sure you articulate this promise. And, make absolutely sure you deliver on it, every time. Outline Your Key Value Dimension Rankings: Finally, you need to be realistic about where you will rank relative to your overall market niche on what I call your key value dimension rankings. Not every hotel has 5-star hotel service quality, but then again not every hotel charges 5-star hotel prices: service quality and pricing are classic tradeoffs. Your company will be able to most precisely define your brand when you can accurately assess where your brand will rank versus the overall competitive set in your market niche in terms of these ten dimensions: low price, first-to-market prestige, durability, luxury appeal, ergonomics/ease-of-use, the cool factor, pre-sales service, quality of purchase experience, post-sales support, and functionality/features. Determine 2 or 3 of these key value dimensions in which you intend to rank among the Top 10% in your competitive set.
About The Author: Building a brand? The eBook "The Anatomy of a Winning Brand" takes you by the hand and shows you step-by-step how to develop your brand. Download your FREE copy at: http://www.jedcjones.com/brandmybusiness/
These articles on lifestyle and more
Reprint this article free of charge as long as you keep the author's resource box or bio intact and the links active. A copy of the ezine or URL of the page where the article was reprinted emailed to the author would be very much appreciated. branding
Return to the selection of branding
You may want to try these articles on marketing
Finance, How To Get Noticed By Editors And Publishers: Make Your Strengths Shine by Shelley Wake Approximately 766 Words
Finance, It’s Good To Be A New Writer: Breaking The Myth That Experience Is Everything by Shelley Wake Approximately 739 Words
Finance, How To Be A Freelancer In Demand: Become A Busy Client’s Best Friend by Shelley Wake Approximately 812 Words
Finance, Linkadage’s Take On Google's New Search Engine Patent by John Lessnau Approximately 1004 Words
Finance, Winning Freelance Work: Beat The Skeptic by Shelley Wake Approximately 586 Words
Finance, Five Vital Questions To Ask Your Vet by Kurt Schmitt Approximately 1014 Words
Finance, Recognizing Blind Spots In Your Fat Loss Program by Bill Herren Approximately 289 Words
Finance, Free Contests May Not Cost You Money, But They Can Still Cost You by Shelley Wake Approximately 814 Words
You may want to try these websites for additional information
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Co-branding
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_branding
http://www.brandidentityguru.com/
The information provided in this article is the express opinion of the author. Exchangenet is not responsible for the content!
