Are you familiar with the idea that you must hire an expert or agency to develop great branding for your business? In the world of internet marketing, this has become "common knowledge."
But, this is one of the most costly mistakes a company can make, simply because there's vast disagreement on what "branding" is, and how to use it to improve return on investment (ROI).
Here's how a few of the legends of marketing weigh-in on branding:
"Every advertisement should be thought of as a contribution to the complex symbol which is the brand image." - David Ogilvy
"A brand is the personification of a product, service, or even entire company." - Robert Blanchard
"Brand refers to the set of characteristics that arise in a customer's mind when that person hears your name or sees your logo." - Bill Chiaravalle
But, what you're most likely familiar with is money-suck, image based "branding" (advertising) that media companies sell to take advantage of business owners who don't understand effective marketing. Think of your yellow page salesmen or the local newspaper ad rep.
What I tell clients when they say that their branding needs help is that it's impossible to pay for great branding. It's something that comes directly from you.
You're already a brand, and you should use your personal branding in your ads, marketing, and sales approaches.
What follows are lists of strategy for how to waste money on branding and then strategies for how to use branding to boost your sales, raise your prices, and skyrocket your ROI.
How to Waste Money
- Experiment with new logo designs
- Pay several thousand dollars for your website
- Buy ads from local sales reps
- Hire a branding consultant to tell you what to do and say, and who to be
How to Create a Return on Investment
- Tell your story
- Showcase awards and endorsements
- Reveal your personality
- Use proven, Direct Response Marketing strategies that produce a measurable return on investment
- Create a Unique Selling Proposition (USP), which answers the question, "Why should I... your prospect... do business with you verses any and every other option available to me, including doing nothing at all?"
It's important to remember that people buy from other people, not from businesses. Who you are being is as important as what you do. Your personality is one-of-a-kind, and can't be copied by competition, mass manufactured, or undersold. That's the power of your own, personal branding.
If you find yourself unable to follow these tips, you may want to get experienced help capturing the unique characteristics of your personal brand.
And now I want to invite you to claim your FREE 30-minute Strategy Session when you visit http://www.jamesclouser.com.
From James Clouser - Direct Response Copywriter & Marketing Consultant
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