Just a few clicks can start a business. But in the competitive business world, how do you attract attention and find customers? Here are the brand secrets to building a company that people really care about.
What is a brand?
Jeff Bezos says that “A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn reputation by trying to do hard things well.”
Basically, a brand is more than just your corporation. It’s how your business is recognized and thought of.
Why brand matters
Marketing expert Seth Godin explains that “A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another.”
Why should people choose you over the competition? A well-built brand answers this question in the minds of consumers.
The 7 questions to help YOU build your brand
This article is gonna look at 7 big questions to help you define your brand, once and for all:
- What do my customers care about?
- How do I find my “why”?
- How do I describe the technical benefits, or product features, that my business offers?
- How do I describe the way customers will benefit from doing business with us?
- How do I describe the experience that customers will have?
- How can I craft a simple message to convey all of this about my brand?
- How can I make my brand alive?
What do my customers care about?
The customer always comes first. The industry you’re in will determine the kind of customers you’ll have, but within your field, your specific customers might have specific wants and needs. For instance, every mobile phone manufacturer knows that their customers want mobile phones. But Apple knows that its customers want a sleek phone and the latest operating system, while Samsung knows its customers care more about customizability and affordability.
How do I find my “why”?
This is your company’s mission, and it will shine through in your branding. This is the reason you’re doing what you’re doing.
Let’s say you own an athletic clothing company that collaborates with artists to produce original designs. Your mission could be to provide top athletes with practical clothing that’s also beautiful. If you open a cosmetics store, your mission could be to help people have the clearest skin with the simplest routine. Usually, your “why” should be something that’s important to you personally.
Once you nail down a “why”–what it is you and your company really care about–you’ll always be able to figure out the “how”. On top of that, your drive and passion is essential to drawing in business.
How do I describe the technical benefits, or product features?
Apple describes its iPhone 14 Plus as having these features:
- Super Retina XDR display
- 6.7‑inch (diagonal) all‑screen OLED display
- 2778‑by‑1284-pixel resolution at 458 ppi
These very technical details will be useful to people who want to compare the iPhone with other products, but it’s also important to advertise features that will sound good on their own, such as:
- True Tone, HD display
- Splash, water, and dust resistant
- The best Apple camera to date
All of these things describe what the product factually is. This puts your products and services on consumers’ radars. While the technical features are very important, the next two questions are even more important.
How do I describe the way customers will benefit?
What does your customer get when they buy your product?
Let’s say you own a lawn care service. How could you advertise that you help save people time?
“You work all week, so you have to mow your lawn on the weekend. But do you really want to? If you hire our lawn care service, you’ll have more precious weekend hours to yourself.”
This can be done for any product or service. Tell potential customers not only what your product is, but how it will benefit them in their day-to-day life. Let them know the stakes of whether they go with your product or not.
How do I describe the experience?
How do your customers feel because of your product or service? Let’s continue with the lawn care example.
“Saving time and knowing your lawn is in good hands will give you the peace of mind you deserve. Isn’t it worth it to have time with family or to relax instead of working on the lawn?”
Ask yourself, how will my product or service benefit the customer emotionally? Make promoting this benefit an integral part of your brand. People need to associate your brand with a good feeling.
How can I craft a simple brand message?
“The Ultimate Driving Machine.” “I’m Lovin’ It.” “Just Do It.” Do these sound familiar? Did you almost immediately think of BMW, McDonald’s, and Nike? That’s the power of a simple, memorable message.
Some popular messages like these took years of research and refining to get where they are today. However, there are ways for you to shorten the path to making your own product positioning and messaging.
Brainstorm using questions like these: How do we want people to feel? Why do people need us? What’s our ultimate goal? And how we can combine these things into a coherent slogan and brand image?
How can I make my brand alive?
Taglines and mission statements alone don’t sell products. Instead, they help your company to focus on what it does, and this focus directs your company’s decisions. It helps you create the right content to educate, entertain and advertise to your potential customers.
Your brand should align with your personal values and goals, and it should have an effect on the way you and your employees live your lives.
What do all of these brand secrets mean for you?
Your brand, or the reputation of your business, really matters. Find what makes you different, and bake this into the personality of your company. Pinpoint your message and determine your mission statement. These brand secrets are the path that will lead your company to customer appeal and success.
