In the last edition of Clearbridge Digital Digest (see the July 24th issue of SNJ Today), we learned about three of the five questions that every business owner should ask themselves as they start to build their brand. Whether it is for a product or service, a strong brand is vital. Your brand is how customers perceive your company and plays a role in their purchasing decisions.
Start with identifying your customers, and not just the ones that you currently have, but the ones that you would like to have as customers.
Next, identify what problem your product or service solves.
Then, get into your customers’ minds, by thinking about how feel they about your company when they see your brand. Once you have identified these first three steps, you can move on to steps four and five.
In this week’s Clearbridge Digital Digest, brands need to move deeper into their personality type and even analyze their own competitors’ brands. This might be uncomfortable or perplexing for some, but understanding these will help not only shape your brand, but how you can market to your consumers as well.
4. What kind of personality will your brand have?
Just as you have to consider the personality of your target audience, you have to do the same for your brand. Think of your brand as a person. Who would they be? Are they funny and witty? Dry and serious? Sincere and knowledgeable? Would this person be friends with someone in your target audience?
From snarky and fun brand voices (think Wendy’s Twitter) to serious and professional (LinkedIn’s Twitter), a good brand personality will reflect the product being sold and the customers who use it.
5. Who are your competitors and what is their brand position?
Only after identifying your competition can you try to understand their brand position. What do consumers think and feel about their product? And, most importantly, do you want consumers to feel the same way about yours, or do you want your brand position to be the complete opposite of your competition? How is your product more relevant to those consumers than your competition’s version, and what are the key points of difference between your brand and theirs?
Keep in mind that you can’t definitively define your brand. Your customers and how they perceive your brand help to shape it as well. But when you can satisfactorily answer these five questions, you can start to put the pieces together and develop your brand and guide your audience’s perception.
From there, create a marketing campaign that captures your brand’s personality, the feeling that your brand creates and that speaks directly to your target audience.
As originally published on Forbes.com. Clearbridge Branding Agency is a digital marketing agency located in Glassboro. Visit ClearBridgeMedia.com.
