Smarter Branding without Breaking the Bank - by Brenda Bence
Smarter Branding without Breaking the Bank Part 1
In this first of a three-part article, we will discuss how smart branding and marketing is always possible, whatever your budget may be.
Why do 90% of businesses fail when times are tough? It's the same reason that any business can fail when times are good: faulty marketing.
Faulty marketing (or no marketing at all) means no customers. And that means no sales, no profits, and no business ... fast. Marketing to build a powerful brand is all about identifying the needs of a target market and taking action to satisfy those needs better than the competition. So, embracing a customer-led mindset throughout the company is critical to success. Every decision on all aspects of your business - from product design and pricing to supply chain and distribution channels - must revolve around customers and their needs.
Empty Pockets, Full Marketing Plan
I often hear business owners and managers say, "That sounds good, but I don't have enough money, people, or resources to market effectively." The key to success is to change your mindset from what you don't have to what you do have. In fact, I guarantee you already have five powerful resources in your company that can help you market effectively. For business owners who are prepared to build and maintain a solid marketing foundation, these five resources can be leveraged to bring you greater success.
In this article, we'll focus on the first marketing resource. But, we'll cover four more in upcoming articles:
- Resource #1: Positioning - The way you want customers to perceive, think, and feel about your business versus competition.
- Resource #2: Customers - We'll talk about how to effectively market to keep your current clients coming back for more.
- Resource #3: Your Products and Services - Learn to review your portfolio through the eyes of your customers, and drive more business.
- Resource #4: Your Team - Uncover powerful ways that your team can help you market, day-in and day-out.
- Resource #5: Your Competition - How can your competition help you grow your own business? We'll explore this in the final article of this three-part series.
First, let's turn to Positioning.
Resource #1: POSITIONING
Why is positioning important? Without positioning to differentiate your brand or business in a meaningful way, your products or services become commodities, and you end up competing on price alone - a precarious market position at best. So, businesses without well-defined positioning statements are not in the driver's seat. After all, if you aren't exactly sure what your company stands for, how can your customer be sure? In fact, if you don't take charge of your positioning yourself, there's a good chance your competition will step in and define your positioning for you.
I often hear business owners say, "But, positioning is only for big companies or companies who sell direct to consumers." Or, "We've never written it down, so we don't even have a positioning." The truth is: Your company already has a positioning whether you know it or not. Large or small, your company's positioning is how customers perceive, think, and feel about your brand or business versus competition. Since your clients are already out there perceiving, thinking, and feeling about you right now, your positioning already exists in their minds. The question is: Do you have the positioning you want?
Another popular myth is that small companies don't need positioning. In reality, it's just the opposite: Smart positioning helps level the playing field for businesses with less resources. While large companies often have deeper pockets to help communicate what they want their business to stand for, companies with fewer resources must work smarter to identify and solidify that one particular "sweet spot" that they, and they alone, can and want to own.
Taking charge of your existing positioning is one of the most powerful activities you can do to stand out from the competition and win in the marketplace. And, it doesn't have to cost you a lot.
How to do that? The key is to spend quality time with your management team defining and aligning on the six core elements that make up your company's positioning: Target Market, Need, Competitive Framework, Benefits, Reasons Why, and Character. These six fit together like a jigsaw puzzle to form your Positioning Statement. Once defined, your positioning should become a mantra of sorts for your team, guiding everyone on a daily basis and helping to make important decisions. That's how you build a powerful position in the market without spending a lot to do so.
Look up "Smarter Marketing without Breaking the Bank Part 2" for the second of this three-part article to learn about the next two marketing resources that you can use to create a powerful, but inexpensive, marketing plan for your business.
Smarter Branding without Breaking the Bank Part 2
In the second of a three-part article, we will discuss the next two resources that will make successful marketing possible for your business, whatever your budget may be.
We have already discussed the #1 marketing resource that every business already has at its disposal - Positioning - that can build your brand or business successfully at low cost or no cost at all. Now, let's cover two more.
Resource #2: EXISTING CUSTOMERS
Many companies put their focus first and foremost on trying to market to new prospects, but I contend that the key to success is to market to existing customers and let them help you bring in new prospects. In fact, statistics indicate it costs 6-9 times more to attract a new client than to keep an existing client happy. You can grow your business faster - and less expensively - by marketing to your existing clients.
It's all about creating a dialogue and building a relationship. So, it's key to keep your business or brand name in front of your clients regularly. That way, when the need for your product or service arises again, yours is the first business that comes into your customer's mind.
What are some inexpensive ways to do that? Provide regular two-way communications with your customers in the form of a newsletter or regular e-mails where you can offer them important industry updates. Make sure to keep existing customers aware of any new products you are offering and/or of any new product or service improvements.
Make sure your existing customers are happy with your offerings. How can you be sure existing clients will keep coming back for more? Get to know them and their needs as well as you know your own business. If you don't have the money for a full-blown market research initiative, and you don't have the time to sit down with every customer and ask questions, you can still:
- Do DIY Focus Groups - Informal, in-house research sessions are ideal for testing new products, understanding attitudes, and getting immediate feedback.
- Treat Complaints Like Gold - A dissatisfied customer is your best resource for information on how to make your business better. Make it easy for customers to complain, and watch for trends.
- Conduct "Man on the Street" Interviews - Ask prospects, new customers, and returning buyers about any unmet needs they might have.
Resource #3: PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
I'm always surprised by the number of people who tell me they don't regularly use the products or services they market. This is a big mistake. There's nothing like personal experience to help you form an opinion. As such, your company's offerings are a continuous source of inexpensive marketing information.
Give your products and services a regular "test drive" and look at them with the fresh eyes of a prospect. Your never-used-this-before perspective will help you scrutinize every aspect of what you sell, giving you insights about potentially vital improvements.
Better yet, get some unbiased people to "mystery shop" your products and services and hear what they think. No one on your staff should know those individuals are mystery shoppers - they should remain anonymous - then ask them to use your products or services, write up what the experience was like, and share it with you. It doesn't cost you much, and you're likely to glean great new perspectives from it.
And, of course, it's also important to be honest about whether your products or services are "truly" superior to the competition. Are you really selling a better mousetrap? If you are, is that superiority immediately visible and noticeable?
If you do have superiority that is noticeably different to your customer in a single use, get your product in the hands of potential customers - even if you have to give it away free the first time. If it's that good, customers will be back for more.
If you don't have superiority, or if your superiority is hard to prove, create or focus on a meaningful point of difference. Find a niche need in the marketplace, and cater to the people who need exactly what you have to offer. Turn that into a competitive advantage, and make it ownable/exclusive.
Look up "Smarter Marketing without Breaking the Bank Part 3" to discover the two remaining marketing resources you already have which can help you build a better brand without breaking the bank.
Smarter Branding without Breaking the Bank Part 3
In the third of this three-part article, we will discuss the last two resources that will make successful marketing possible for your business, no matter the size of your budget.
Resource #4: YOUR TEAM
In your company, who is responsible for marketing? If you think "the Marketing Department," I couldn't disagree more. The truth is: No matter how big or small your company, every single person that has the ability to impact your brand or business is in "marketing." Learning how to enlist that team of people can help grow your business exponentially, and it doesn't have to cost you much.
Do your employees know the full extent of your company's offerings and your desired positioning so that they can be your company's biggest cheerleaders? Each member of your team represents a walking/talking potential billboard for your company. They are literally "free media" for you, providing on-demand marketing for your business every time they shake someone's hand and introduce themselves.
After all, what's the first question that someone asks after you're introduced? Usually something like "Where do you work?" or "What do you do?" Think of the hundreds or thousands of people your employees meet throughout any given year - both personally and professionally. You can turn that seemingly inconsequential "where do you work?" question into a potential business-building one by training your employees to speak effectively about your business to others.
Remember: Employees can't represent the company well if they don't understand what you do. Ensure that they have the key message you want to get across by developing for them an "elevator speech." That's a 20-second synopsis of your brand or business that could be delivered in the time it takes to go from floor to floor in an elevator. Everyone on your team should be trained and ready to deliver that message in a convincing way.
Also, offer incentives for all staff and team members to bring in new business, even if they're not in sales or marketing. The incentives can be modest (buy them lunch) or more substantial (a small percentage of new revenues when a new client signs up). It doesn't have to cost very much, but it can be extremely motivating and can potentially bring in a lot of business.
Resource #5: COMPETITORS
Surprised that your competitors could be a marketing resource for you? It may seem counter-intuitive, but your "enemies" can actually be your allies in developing a successful marketing strategy for your company. The key is to know your competitors as well as you know your own business. You may know your competitors by name, but do you know the product benefits they emphasize, how well they're meeting the needs of your niche, or how they are perceived by their customers?
This is why athletic teams watch and analyze the competition before they play against them - to assess their strategies, figure out how they operate, and turn that information into a winning game plan. You should do the same when it comes to marketing, and it doesn't have to cost much.
Begin by developing a strong grasp of all aspects of your competitors' operations from positioning to distribution to marketing to production. It takes more than looking at a web page to answer these questions, but even the most financially frugal enterprise can troll for information inexpensively. Here are just a couple of ideas:
- Creating an in-house "clipping" service: Designate one member of your staff to gather website info, newspaper ads, and other materials about your competition on a daily or weekly basis.
- Become a subscriber: Opt-in to your competitors' mailings. They're free and filled with the type of information you need.
Lastly, don't be too quick to assume your competition isn't any good. Their customers obviously think differently, so take some time to figure out why. The goal is to uncover not only what your competition is doing wrong, but - more importantly - what they are doing right.
An Abundance of Marketing Assets
The ideas shared in this three-part series are just the tip of the iceberg. With a little ingenuity and guidance, there are dozens of additional low-cost or no-cost ideas out there just waiting for you to market your brand effectively. Now, that's smart marketing.
About the Author:
Brenda S. Bence is an internationally-recognized branding expert, dynamic speaker and trainer, certified executive coach, and author of the award-winning How YOUTM Are Like Shampoo series of personal branding books. With an MBA from Harvard Business School, Brenda's 25-year career has included developing mega brands for Procter & Gamble and Bristol-Myers Squibb across four continents and 50 countries.
Now, as President of Brand Development Associates (BDA) International, Ltd. Brenda travels the world speaking, training, and coaching individuals and companies to greater success through corporate and personal brand development.
Brenda has addressed audiences at conferences, conventions, and companies all across the globe for clients such as Citibank, Danone International, Deutsche Bank, Hershey's, KFC, Kraft, Johnson & Johnson, Mattel, Microsoft, National Starch, Sheraton Hotels, Standard Chartered Bank, Pizza Hut, and United Airlines.
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