Brand Development 101

      Brand development is a strategic approach to shaping and differentiating your company's image, products, and services from those of your competitors. This process involves aligning your brand with your business goals, effectively communicating it to your target audience, and refreshing or reinforcing your brand as needed.  It is a continuous process of communicating your values and aligning your actions with your mission and vision.  Even if you offer identical products to the same customers as your competitors, effective brand development can be the deciding factor that makes them choose you.

     Begin by reflecting on the questions below to uncover the foundational elements of your brand identity. 

          1) What are the core values of my brand, and how do they connect with my target audience?  Consider they key beliefs and principals that define your brand.  Think about how these values align with the needs, preferences, and expectations of your target audience.

          2) What sets my brand apart from its competitors?  Focus beyond price and features.  Consider the value your brand brings, the story it tells, and how it integrates into your customers lives.

          3) How is my brand currently perceived by customers and within the broader market?  Assess how your brand is currently viewed by customers and wider public.  Be prepared to explore your reputation and the image your brand projects.

          4) How consistently are my brands message and visual identity communicated across various channels?  Begin evaluating your brands messaging and visual elements across all platforms, including social media, your website, advertisements, physical marketing materials, and internal communications. 

          5) What are my brands long term goals, and how does my current brand strategy align with these objectives?  Reflect on your long term business and branding goals.  Evaluate your current brand development strategy.  Does it support your objectives and identify any adjustments or improvements needed to align with your future vision.   

     Brand market research involves exploring different elements of a new or established brand to gather insights that can enhance its value.  A key aspect of brand research is that it is always conducted in relation to competitors.  Your brand's value is determined by how it stacks up against others in the market.

     Brand analysis involves interpreting the insights gained from your brand research.  It assumes that we have already completed our research, allowing you to evaluate the results, draw conclusions, and identify actions that will guide the brand in the right direction as part of your overall brand strategy.

     Brand research can vary greatly in depth, ranging from very comprehensive to relatively simple depending on factors such as the brand's age and size, your research objectives, and crucially, the tools available to you.  The aim of Brand Research is to generate actionable insights that can effectively shape enhance, and expand your brand value.  A couple of terms to know:

• Brand awareness - refers to the extent to which people recognize your brand, either prompted or unprompted.  This could involve naming your brand when asked to list companies in a particular industry, identifying it from a logo, or recalling it after purchasing a product or seeing an advertisement or other marketing material.
• Brand associations - Associations can be both positive and negative, so its important to be realistic and anticipate that customers may hold opinions on both ends of the spectrum.  Consider asking questions like: Are you known for excellent customer service?  Do people perceive your products as expensive?  Is your brand closely linked with environments
• Brand perceptions - are the collective impressions people form about your brand.  Each time consumers engage with your brand - whether passively through an advertisement or actively through a purchase or customer support interaction they make small judgements to contribute to their overall perception of the brand.
• Brand equity - refers to the added value your brand holds compared to others of similar quality. For example name-brand cereal often has a higher perceived value than a store brand's generic version, even if the ingredients are the same.
• Brand loyalty - relies on metrics such as NPS (Net Promoter Score) and CSAT (Customer Satisfaction Score) to assess how likely customers are to make repeat purchases and recommend your brand to others.  High brand loyalty is a clear indicator of the success of various factors, including product quality, customer service, and effective marketing efforts.
• Brand preference - is a metric that indicates how many people would choose your products over those of a competitor

The benefits of brand research are:

• Brand research can reveal how your brand has evolved and indicate whether your communications are effective
• Improve efficiency - understanding what works allows you to focus on successful strategies and reduce efforts on those that don't make an impact.  When resources are limited, research can help justify where to allocate them for maximum return

     Surveys are still an effective method for gathering feedback on your brand, whether through email, online forms, or phone calls.  You can ask a wide range of questions, and by incorporating surveys into the purchase process, you can collect feedback at any time.  

     Focus groups can be conducted in person by recruiting local participants or held online for greater flexibility 

     Digital listening are people who discuss your organization on social media, third party review sites, via email, and in conversations with your contact center agents.  The most successful brands are those that effectively integrate all this information.

     A target market is a defined group of individuals you aim to reach with your brand message.  This demographic is most likely to purchase your products or services, as they share common traits that naturally draw them to your brand.  The more precisely you define your target market, the easier it becomes to build a brand that resonates with your audience.  A key part of your research will involve determining where your target market is located and identifying the most effective ways to reach them.  You can gather valuable customer feedback through methods like surveys, polls, and questionnaires.  Collecting insights from consumers can help you refine your brand identity and messaging to better resonate with your target audience.  

     Brand positioning allows you to secure a unique spot in the market, highlighting what sets your brand apart from competitors.  A successful marketing strategy focuses on crafting a brand identity that appeals to consumers in a targeted and meaningful way.  To position your brand effectively in your target market, consider analyzing the following:

• Consumer needs and preferences
• Your brands strengths and capabilities
• Competitors positioning strategies

      Your brand messaging framework should encompass your value proposition, target audience, and a clear statement highlighting what sets you apart from competitors.  Consider your messaging framework as the foundation for your business, supporting all related functions such as marketing, communications, advertising, sales, business development, public relations, customer service, and more.  Effective brand messaging simplifies complex ideas into clear, memorable, and easily understood statements.

• Public relations:  PR teams use talking points to craft press releases for journalists and bloggers.  A thorough understanding of the brand, from the messaging framework, is essential for this process.
• Communications team:  Communication teams rely on a messaging framework to emphasize key aspects of the company's strategy, values, and goals in their internal communications with employees.
• Content creators:  When producing content consistently, its crucial to maintain uniformity across all platforms.  Utilize your brand messaging framework for blogs, podcasts, video scripts, and all other content.  Your content strategy and brand messaging strategy should work as one cohesive approach. 
• Marketing and Advertising:  Core messaging and value propositions form the foundation of all advertising and marketing campaigns.  Consistency is key.  Ensure everyone stays aligned with the same principals by using a message framework.
• Salespeople:  It's essential for everyone in sales to have a unified approach to discussing your product.  Sales teams rely on language that clearly defines the key differentiators between your product or service and the competition.

     There are 3 important components of messaging:

• Target audience:  Do you fully understand your target audience and what motivates them?  Consider these questions before creating a description:

                    A) Where are they located?

                    B) What is their age?

                    C) What is their gender identity?

                    D) What is their relationship status?  Single, married, divorced?

                    E) What is their income level?  What type of work do they do?

                    F) What challenges, or problems do they need solutions for?

                    G) What are their shipping preferences?  Online or in store?

          To ensure your business communications are professional and well crafted it's crucial to first identify and understand your target audience.

• Value proposition:  Your value proposition highlights what your company offers that competitors cannot.  It provides a broad overview of your products or services and services as a persuasive tool to turn prospects into customers.  An effective value proposition also informs your brand promise and shapes other key aspects of your marketing and branding strategy.
• Positioning statement:  A brand positioning statement is broader and follows the development of your value proposition.  Its goal is to persuade someone why they need your particular product or service.  An effective positioning statement highlights your competitive advantages and their importance to customers.  Unlike the value proposition, this statement is not meant for public facing use.

     A messaging framework typically includes brand messaging in various lengths - ranging from a tagline or a single sentence summary to f a full paragraph or one pager.  Think of it as the foundation of your brand.  When crafted effectively, this framework serves s the cornerstone for building a wide range of brand assets.

     Having the following tools will be helpful for promoting your brand.

• Your website: A website serves as your company's online presence, engaging your audience through smart design, multimedia, applications, and compelling content.  Your website should guarantee that every element on each page consistently reflects your brand's identity.
• Logo:  Your logo is a cohesive symbol that reflects how customers perceive your brand.  It should draw attention, make a lasting first impression, and form the foundation of your identity.
• Marketing Material: Marketing materials, such as brochures, sell sheets, mailers, business cards, signs, and displays, are vital for converting leads to sales.  A brochure of business cards boots your credibility and helps you connect with your target audience on a more personal level.
• Content Marketing Strategy:  The main objective of content is to inspire profitable customer action. High quality content is the foundation of all marketing channels, whether digital or traditional.  To effectively reach your audience, a strong marketing strategy is essential.
• Brand Marketing:  In a constantly evolving market, brand management helps you build and sustain customer loyalty through positive associations, regardless of shifting trends or changes in consumer behavior.  A strong strategy enables you to protect brand equity and stay prepared for unexpected market fluctuations.

     In today’s highly competitive and digitalized marketplace, brands that focus on authenticity and actively engage with their audience are more likely to succeed. Effective brand marketing goes beyond crafting memorable logos or slogans.  It’s about building genuine connections with consumers.