eMarketing Brand Building – How To Develop A Great Brand

When most people think of a branding strategy they consider this is fancy logos, clever slogans and other such items. However, this is an after-effect of brand development, and market share.

When most people think of a branding strategy they consider this is fancy logos, clever slogans and other such items. However, this is an after-effect of brand development, and market share. Logo & slogans do not work very well if you have no developed trust.

Branding your name into the minds of your prospects so they see you as the only solution to their problems is quite different. Once that loyalty has been developed, they will want to continue to do business with you and they will begin telling their friends about you as well. Your branding strategy cannot be focused on you or your company. It must be focused on your customer and only your customer. Your branding strategy has to communicate to people the benefits they receive if they do business with you rather than your competitors. An effective branding strategy creates the kind of loyalty that leaves customers indifferent to the advertising and marketing factors of your competitors. Your branding strategy will be most successful and most profitable if you closely target your market. Focus on getting your company name and advertising in front of your best potential customers… the one’s that have already expressed an interest in what you’re offering, as opposed to everyone.

Brand is synergy – the consistent creative execution of your strategic market position.
What?

Well… To understand branding, you have to understand market positioning. Market positioning is your strategic posture in the market place.
What?

Hmm…
Ok let us forget those tedious explanations again… those things that make you different, better or worth taking a risk over other snake oil merchants that have similar products or services. When you commit to a market position, you are establishing an in-field line-of-sight headquarters on the marketing battlefield, defiantly hoisting your colors and daring the enemy to take their best shot.

Generally, that first shot is the first indication your brand is starting to be successful. Individuals’ current dealing with competitors are approaching them and asking for a similar quality as yours, since they have been already dealing with and prefer not to attempt another risk. Thus, competitors start to mimic your brand.{mospagebreak title=Marketing Position&toc=1} Develop Your Marketing Position
The way to develop your marketing position is by first writing a market positioning statement (which is loosely associated with your mission statement). A market positioning statement defines who you are, why you are great and why the world would be foolish not to beat a path to your door. It should be accurate, precise, written in the dullest, least creative manner possible and (the tough part) — no more than two sentences long. This can be very difficult, as you will find, attempting to narrow down one or two sentences against which all of your marketing, advertising, product and/or services are measured.

A general rule of thumb to appreciate is, if this is extremely difficult ‘ you currently have no brand. You cannot begin to brand your company, products or services unless you can convey to any person, regardlessof knowledge or skill precisely what you do in simple plain language. Your brand is a clone of a market position, and creatively applied.

Nevertheless, remember: brand is synergy – the consistent creative execution of your strategic market position. Once you define your branding strategy, it has to be everywhere on your website. It needs to be in the navigation and usability of you website, the names of your categories, the means by which you present your goods to the public, your layout and even your chosen domain name.

Everything on your website — and in your business — should be branded, right on down to the design of the buttons on your navigation bar, and original graphical artwork. Consistency builds trust and when you build trust, you are building a great brand. Great brands increase customer loyalty, referral business, and even partnerships with like-minded businesses.{mospagebreak title=Branding?&toc=1} Brand is the only thing that changes your bottom line. If you do not stand out in a crowd, the general source of your business is the “accidental shopper” whom in many cases was enroute to a competitor and accidentally happened to come across you.