95% of most businesses fail in the first two years. 91% failin the first five. Slow sales, poor location, perhaps a bad idea/investment arethe primary excuses. Yet, my work finds another more intriguing issue-branding.
Branding is value, the value of your product or service andmore importantly the perception clients have of your business. A brand is oftenworth more than the business. Think of the brands you consume; Coke Cola,FedEx, Kleenex to name a few of many. Branding positions your business andmakes consumers desire your offering.
The value of a brand creates an allure to the business.Consumers simply want to conduct business because of its power. Exemplars areKleenex for its quality, Rolls Royce for its luxury and Harvard for itseducation. Building a useful, titillating and valuable brand produces a cachet.Prospective customers will find you, hear about your brand and value your offeringsbased on perception. The value of a brand enables the business to differentiateitself from competition.
Competitive pressures challenge regional and nationalbusinesses. However, a method to thwart competition is a strong brand. If youdo not have one, it is time to build it. If you do yet are unclear of itsvalue, test it. And if you have one big sales lag, it is best to reinvent it.
Brand development, or reinvention begins with yourdescription of customer wants and needs. An imperative pondering question is"What does this firm do to serve our clients?" If you do not know, ask them!A client of mine owns two UPSStore franchises. While it appears simple enough, the owner did not appeal tobuyer needs and subsequently lost business. With intervention from me, wediscovered the client missed a major community demographic of entrepreneursseeking a essential office services, i.e. copying, mailing, faxing, businesscard and brochure development. Redeveloping the brand to a "Entrepreneur VirtualAssistant", and fulfilling the brand provided a 22% increase in annual revenue.
The best tools for brand building are to:
- Survey your clients
- Interview several clients and seek trends
- Fulfill a market need that is congruent with your particular business
- Define the techniques used to help build the brand
Upon completion of your brand, test it and tweak it but donot change what is not broken. Once finalized, you need the time to experimentand decide what works and/or fails. Continue to test and build until you haveexhausted your devices. Brands need time to be understood by customers and timeto link the brand to a relationship wth you.
Finally, branding does not exist alone, it is pertinent tomarket the brand through advertising, promotions, public relations and websites. Not only should you pull consumers to you but they should feel compelledto visit by hearing about you through numerous sources.
With so many marketing distractions you must build a brandthat differentiates, that adds value, and that fulfills a need. With a strongbrand your business will be builton a solid foundation.
About Drew Stevens PhD
Drew Stevens PhD is known as the Sales Strategist. Drewassists organizations to dramatically accelerate business growth. He is theauthor of seven books including Split Second Selling and Split Second CustomerService and Little Book of Hope and is frequently called on the media for hisexpertise. Drew was recently nominated as one of 50 Top Sales Experts. Downloada FREE copy of Drew's White Paper on "Selling Effectiveness" or "BusinessBuilding" e-book at www.gettingtothefinishline.com.