Hot Gossip > Opportunities for Optimists

Taking advantage of the recession gap
 
Whether you like Donald Trump or not, most business optimists will agree with his recent blog comment "... In fact I'm a little tired of the negative cloud we seem to be under these days”.
 
If you find yourself getting sucked into the downward spiral of economic doom and gloom, then take heart. Not everyone in business thinks that times are bad.
 
Like the topic in our previous newsletter and seminar series ‘Marketing in a Recession’. Mr Trump also knows (and his success has proven it) that there are opportunities to be found in a difficult market - they are just more of a challenge than they have been.
 
In fact most businesses don't need to look far for an opportunity to leverage something they already have - their brand.
 
And we are not just talking about your logo here. We mean the view your customers, clients, employees and prospects have of your business. Your business style, approach, culture, personality.
 
The popular website, 'Go-to-Market Strategies', call the brand a 'company's promise'. The expectation your stakeholders have of your business each time they deal with you.
 
Your brand doesn't start and end with your logo - your logo is simply one of the ways you communicate your brand. If your business is young, cutting edge, ideas driven, solution based then your logo will (should) reinforce this. As will everything else you do in your business; from how you represent those values to your staff, and how, in turn, your staff represent them to your customers. So you see it is much more than a logo on a business card!
 
It isn't necessary to have a marketing budget the size of Coca Cola to leverage your brand. All it takes is awareness and consistency - first knowing what your brand stands for and then communicating it consistently through every aspect of your business.
 
 
Here are Five Key Brand Elements - courtesy of 'Go-to-Market Strategies' Sales and Marketing Tips Handbook:
 
1. Define your brand position

• what your organisation does
• who you do it for
• what your unique value is
• how your customer benefits from working with your product or service
• what your key difference is from your competitors
  

2. Define your brand promise

• the most important thing that your company promises to deliver to your customers.
  

3. Brand personality

• five adjectives that describe your business traits
  

4. Brand story

• how your business got to where it is now, in order to bring value and credibility to your brand.
  

5. Brand Associations

• the embodiment of your brand personality, promise, position and story in the logo (colours, by-line, fonts, etc.) and all other marketing communications and collateral.

You may well ask where the opportunity lies for your company in doing all this?
 
For the most part this simple exercise in brand development and consistent application is done badly by most businesses, if at all.
 
The tendency for many in sales roles is to cut corners during busy times at the expense of the brand. The good news for you is that many of your competitors may have done this, leaving the door wide open to the company that takes more care about how it is represented to its clients ... yours! 
 
Just think about it... how can they expect their customers to know what their offer and business stands for if they themselves don't know it or consistently communicate it!
 
To find out more about our marketing seminars or suggest some topics you would love us to explore, contact Mark Lincoln at Hot PJ on (03) 374 9929.
 
For more knowledge on branding issues read: "Do you own your own logo?" on the Hot PJ Blog.

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