WHAT’S YOUR BRAND?

In my previous life, I worked for a woman who was one of the most brilliant marketers I’d ever worked with. She was highly creative, fiercely intelligent, beyond experienced, and always, always had her eye on the end goal. Granted, she could also be hell on wheels. She didn’t shy away from pushing for answers, slicing through red tape, and stepping on toes to get things done.

I learned more about marketing by watching her than I have from just about anyone else. She even branded herself to stand out, being fearless (and looking great) in bright pink blazers and colorful skirts, taking fabulous vacations, and doling out fear of God just as easily as easily as a funny story.

I’d had plenty of experience working with marketing teams and riding shotgun when new promotional strategies were in the works. But, this woman continuously brought me back to one simple question:

What’s your brand?

It’s the question I ask myself every time I develop a new marketing or promotion strategy for my own business. It’s also one of the first questions we ask potential clients when they want our help executing or maintaining their marketing plans.

I know it’s obvious, but I think business owners need to be reminded that their branding message should be ground zero for any marketing decision. I think small business owners (myself included) tend to get mired down in the detail work of specific strategies and forget to bring themselves back to the foundation of their brand.

How will this campaign further the brand I’m working to establish? Will speaking to this particular audience be cohesive with my brand? Does this strategy connect with my target? Does this content really reflect who we are as an organization?

Like knowing the niche for your business, you simply can’t be all things to all people. So, your brand is an important differentiator between you and the competition. If you don’t keep your brand at the forefront, you’ll probably end up being nothing special to everyone in general.

Only you can answer the question, “What’s your brand” and define your brand. It’s something that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Corporations spend millions simply tweaking their brand to complement the current market … look at the business history of McDonald’s, Coke, or Nike. The brands have essentially stayed the same, but the messages behind the already-powerful, solid brands have simply been updated.

Running a business – whether it be a solo operation or a multizillion-dollar operation – isn’t easy. I understand the temptation to skirt the branding question when you’re on a tight deadline or under the gun to introduce something new. But, being able to align your plans with your brand will only not only solidify your space in the industry, but it’ll allow you to allocate those precious marketing dollars to further amplify your position in the market.