Business in today’s world keeps getting more and more competitive. Some of the increased competition comes from small business which is the fastest growing segment of business in most parts of the world. The competitors that businesses face today are no longer just the businesses in their own communities. The competition now comes from businesses in other communities, in other states, countries and sometimes from somewhere thousands of miles away in another part of the world. One of the most valuable assets a business, service, product or individual can own is their brand, which is their reputation. The recognition and value of a business, service, product and a person in the business determines marketing potential. Therefore, branding is a critical element to being competitive and must be an integral part of building a business. Customers and clients must remember your name, service, product so they can easily refer you to others and so you can build loyalty for repeat business. Strategic branding of your business emphasizes the importance of achieving high visibility and establishing yourself and your business in your targeted networks and markets. Gaining high visibility and a positive, trusted position will ultimately enable the building of quality relationships with more people in your niche markets and result in an increased number of prospects. The people who achieve this high visibility exhibit certain characteristics and behaviors. Here are some strategic actions to take to build a strong business brand and achieve high visibility in your target markets.
1. Identify and demonstrate your vision, mission and core values in all that you do. Develop and tell people a story that lets them know the compelling reason you are in business.
2. Perform as a leader in great customer service. Provide guarantees, prompt service and exceptional service after the sale. Strive to always exceed expectations and “over deliver!”
3. Work very strategically to keep your name in front of your target markets. Develop a rapport with almost every individual with whom you come in contact and be a strong communications builder.
4. Provide great value that exceeds your client’s expectations. This means providing ongoing value to your target markets to achieve that respected identity of a “go-to” person in your targeted markets.
5. Be an idea generator so you are seen as a resource who can really help move a business, an organization and/or ideas forward.
6. Become involved and demonstrate your intentions with your actions. In other words “Walk the Talk!” Become someone that can be trusted to do what they say.
7. Always be consistent across the board to increase your brand awareness. Always use a consistent and strategic communications strategy through your logo, profile photos, color schemes, etc.
8. Strategically employ social media for both short term impact and long term success. Strategic use of content marketing can be a very effective means to driving traffic to your website, LinkedIn page, Facebook page or other social media channels.
9. Exhibit enthusiasm and high energy whenever an opportunity presents itself to meet and interact with people in your target markets.
10. Follow and study trends that will be helpful to you, your clients and prospective clients. The ultimate strategic objective of doing this is to be able to use strategic thinking to forecast and see what the target markets will need and what they will look like in the future. And then build the company brand to be in a position to capitalize on those future opportunities in the marketplace.
Successfully building your brand requires a strong commitment to becoming highly visible in your target markets as a strategic marketing initiative to grow your business. And it is wise to remember the following quote from Warren Buffet.
“Your premium brand had better be delivering something special, or it’s not going to get the business.”