How’s Your Branding and Marketing Working For You?

We’re more than a month into 2020, which is a good time to take a look at your marketing and branding efforts. Is it still relevant or does it need revising? Are you spending what you should or are you spending too much/too little?  Is your messaging clear and consistent?  Are you utilizing the right marketing channels to effectively reach your target audiences?

You could spend thousands of your marketing dollars on advertising placements, media outreach, and marketing efforts, but if you’re not delivering effective messages in effective ways, that money, time, and energy is all for nothing. Is your branding and messaging resonating, effective, and helping your organization meet key objectives? Is it reaching your primary audiences? Does your brand convey your company’s mission?

So many questions!  But, to ensure your company stays innovative and agile as it grows and thrives, take time to review messaging and consider revising or rebranding based on what you discover.

Check for consistency: Are your language and visuals consistent across multiple platforms of message delivery? All of your messaging should sound like one, consistent voice that speaks to the same key points. If language is inconsistent or unclear, your messages can be confusing to your audiences, thus far less likely to be understood and retained.

Take an internal audit: How do your employees view your messaging? Is there employee buy-in? Do they feel comfortable and able to communicate your company’s story, mission, and messages with clarity? What are they hearing from customers, partners and other key audiences? Do they think it’s clear and concise or are they hearing otherwise? This is a great opportunity to involve your team, collect feedback, see if anything pertinent has changed, and make revisions where necessary.

Survey target customers: Go right to the source! Create a brief survey to ask customers how your messaging appeals to them. This is a great opportunity for an additional touchpoint with your customers. Ask open-ended questions to gauge what customers’ takeaways are and invite suggestions.

Analyze social media metrics and feedback: Which campaigns or messages have generated the most engagement? A look through social media analytics can help identify a direct correlation between types of news or posts that initiate a higher volume of responses. Determine what language, topics, and other information is resonating well and what needs to be changed or eliminated based on the popularity of particular types of posts. Pay attention to what types of images impact engagement, as well.

Review web analytics: It is a good idea to have some type of website analytics set up (e.g., Google Analytics) to track and monitor web traffic, bounce rates, visitors, etc. This information is valuable to understanding how certain pages affect certain behaviors. You can also look at the overall picture – what promotions are you doing to drive people to the most viewed pages, etc.

Conduct a competitive analysis: No need for an extensive 25-page report, but it is important to review the competitive landscape and assess where your company stands in the marketplace. Do you know who your top competitors are? What language and visuals are they using? Are they getting significant attention or media coverage? Do you clearly convey what sets your company apart from the competition?

Your company’s branding and messaging should stand out from competitors, resonate with key audiences, inspire new business, and create repeat customer transactions. Your brand should you’re your target audiences feel something.  It should tell a compelling story that inspires them to take action. Perform a truthful assessment and revise and implement accordingly.  After all, if you continue to do what you’ve always done, you’ll continue to get what you’ve always got.  

If your branding and messaging aren’t producing results now is the time to make a change!

Attention Start-Ups! Your Branding and Website Matter!

It’s no question that starting your own business can be overwhelming.  There are so many plans to implement, tasks to complete and strategies to develop to make your business a success.  It’s crucial to get your name out there to create awareness and establish your brand.  But, before promoting your grandiose idea – it’s important that you understand your business, your message, your brand…and have the tools in place for others to be able to understand as well. 

The first thing your potential customers will see is your brand name. How you have chosen to illustrate this reinforces what sets you apart from the competition. Many small businesses and start-ups do not spend enough time thinking about their brand and this can have a serious impact on their business.

Along with your brand identity and logo, your website is an important branding tool.  This is where people go to find out all about you and your business and the products and services you offer. Having a website isn’t enough.  You need an eye-catching website that serves as your online shop front and explains why visitors need your product and or services.

Why do you need effective branding and an exceptional website?

1. Website and branding build credibility

A website is crucial to a start-up because it’s where you sell your products and ideas, make a connection with your customers and build trust. These days having a website is a basic requirement.  If you can’t be found online or your web presence isn’t up to standard, then you can wave goodbye to your credibility and getting the attention of new customers. Without a website that is easy to find and easy to navigate, you cannot expect your customers to find out information about you and your products.

Your website should be visually appealing and professionally designed to attract visitors. Think about how you want your brand to be portrayed and reflect this in your web design as your potential customers will judge you on first impressions.  And remember, the design and flow of your website should align with your industry and how your target audience does research.

To make sure your website reflects a professional image that is inviting and engaging consider the following:

• Test to ensure your website looks good and performs well in all browsers.
• Make sure your website looks good on a mobile device. Increasing mobile usage means your website needs to be optimized for mobile viewing.

2. Website and branding can present a unified message about your company

A solid branding strategy builds a unified message across all your marketing channels from your website, to social media to printed materials like business cards, posters and direct mail pieces. A branding strategy often incorporates colors, images, fonts and language to convey to your target audience who you are, your brand personality and values. It is important to share this message consistently across different marketing platforms (even if you sell different products or services), so that your audience knows simply and quickly who you are and what they can expect from your company.

3. Website and branding allow you to stand out against competition

A strong, easily recognizable brand makes it easier to cut through the clutter and help you stand out from the competition. From your color combination, to the font, pictures and messaging, your choices help set you apart in the minds of your customers.

4. Brands generate referrals

Word of mouth is one of the most popular ways to grow your business.  Let’s face it - people love to give and receive recommendations. In today’s digital environment, where we are all so connected, word of mouth is extremely important. Today, our friends and family can easily share recommendations through social media channels or we can access social media influencers. This is why it’s so important to create a strong brand that is memorable in your customer’s mind.

A functional and fantastic website and a recognizable brand give your customers a reason to engage further with you. While your goods and services might be a great idea, they cannot stand on their own. First impressions count, so how you portray yourself through your branding and website is your chance to make your company shine.

Not sure how to develop an authentic brand?  Need assistance developing a unique, engaging website?  Contact the experts at SKConsulting!  From concept to creation to implementation – we’re there with you every step of the way!

Not Your Mama’s Marketing

Gone are the days when all you needed to do to find new clients was post a billboard and a few TV commercials. Thanks to technology, the entire philosophy of marketing has shifted, and the demographics of your target audience have likely shifted, too. Back in the day, women held the purchasing power.  Businesses and brands targeted their advertising and messaging to women in the hopes that they would share their experiences with family and friends.

Today, teens and young adults have more purchasing power than ever before.  They’re an incredibly savvy group, so in order to capture some of that purchasing power requires that you speak their language and spread your message where it’s most likely to be heard.

How to Capture Young Audiences:

Include useful information in your marketing message -– not just “advertising” statements.

Today’s young people are bombarded with more advertisements than ever before.  From pop-up and sidebar ads on their favorite blogs, to commercials on music streaming apps, advertisements have become a part of their minute-by-minute experience. Simply stating that your product does x, y, and z or your organization does x, y, and z is not good enough. They’ve heard that claim before – perhaps from your competitors. Instead, include information that grabs their attention.

Remember, your viewers will only see your ads for a second, and then their attention will be on to something else. Make sure that second counts by including only the most pertinent information about your product or service in the ad.

Focus on providing engaging, interactive content on your website and social media pages.

To capture a dedicated, young customer base, you need to provide them with more than just your key product. Draw them to your website or social media pages with content that they want to engage with. Don’t make it all about selling your product. Trust that after they grow to love your company for its witty, interactive content, they’ll come around to giving your product a try on their own terms.

• Make Facebook posts about day-to-day life that encourage your followers to respond. For instance, you could post a status that says “How many people have already gone swimming this season?” at the beginning of summer.
• Keep your blog updated with regular posts related to current events in your industry. If you sell clothing and accessories, you could make bi-weekly posts about the latest trends in the fashion industry and what celebrities wore to certain events.
• Post pictures on Instagram of things you come across that are related to your business. If you sell healthy snacks and you’re driving past a strawberry field, take a picture of the strawberries.

Your goal is to draw your target demographic (young people) to your website and social media pages with great, engaging content – then let them make the decision whether to learn more about your product and perhaps purchase it on their own.

Make it clear that your product or service solves a specific problem.

The companies that have been successful in selling their product to the younger generation all have one thing in common – their products solve a problem. 

To encourage young people to try your product, your advertising needs to make it clear that your product solves a specific, real-world problem, thus making their lives easier. Wording such as “Are you tired of, xyz? Our product eliminates xyz by…” is very useful. And, USE VIDEO.  This is a must when catering to young people. Depict someone struggling with a problem, and show how your product solves it. This will make your ads relatable.

Develop a company mission that’s deeper than sales – and make it clear to your customers that you really care about the cause.

Today’s young people are caring and passionate about the world around them. They want to do their part to preserve the environment, save animals, fight homelessness, feed the hungry, and support other worthy causes. They want to buy from businesses that share their morals and values. 

If you want to market your business to young people, you need to show them that you care about more than just making a profit. Choose a cause that you and your partners or employees are truly passionate about, and get involved. Participate in fundraisers related to that cause, or pledge to donate a portion of your proceeds. Then, let your viewers know what you’re doing. Post about it on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Ask your viewers for their opinions about the cause.

Young people will appreciate that your company is “about more than just the business,” and you’ll gain not just any customers – but loyal customers who share your passions.

Marketing to the young generation is not simple. You must take a multifaceted approach, carefully tailoring messages on your website, social media accounts, and other outlets to ensure they are in line with your target demographics’ values and needs.

Above all, engage! Respond to comments on social media. Go where the young people are.  Don’t wait for them to come to you.

What is Your Message? Why Do We Care?

How do you describe your business to the world? What words sum up your brand identity and what you have to offer? Are you clearly explaining your business value?

It takes a little time and thought to get your marketing message right, which is why so many small businesses fall back on their “About Us” page or product descriptions to describe what they do and for whom. But, that just speaks to the business itself and not the people you are trying to connect with - your customers.

Getting your marketing, positioning, and brand statements right is an essential step to building your overall business identity.  You need to understand your message – your marketing platform – before you start to actually MARKET your business!

1. Understand Your Target Market and Niche

If you want to connect, you have to know with whom you’re connecting. You need to determine your niche. Ask yourself what you are selling and to whom. Are the benefits of dealing with your business clear and are they aligned with the needs of your target customers? Answering these questions will help you focus your messaging and play to your strengths in that niche. 

2. Research Pain Points, Challenges, Needs and Desires

Every business, product, or service responds to a customer’s pain point: a need, a problem, a desire, or a challenge. How you address these “pain points” is critical to your messaging. For some businesses, like a plumber, for example, these needs seem obvious. Restaurants or retail shops may not be addressing a pain point, but they can design their message to speak to the benefits of shopping or eating at their establishment (fine dining on dime budget, Hollywood style at resale prices).

3. Tell People About your Product - Concisely

Products are a key part of what you do, but they are not everything. Your product or service should only be a small part of your overall message.  Yes, it’s what you bring to your target audience, but you are offering more – customer service, agility, convenience, reliability, experience, etc. So consider all these issues in light of what they mean to your customer. What’s the “so what” factor? What benefit is it to them?

4. Add Proof Points

A proof point backs up what you have to say about your business. Think of it as a “don’t just take our word for it” statement. Proof points include customer quotes, success stories that you write, case studies, and references. They’re important because they show how your business has solved the problems of others. A few words or paragraphs can convey the customer’s challenge, the solution you delivered, and the results they gained.

5. Figure out how you are Different

What makes you unique in your niche and to your target market? You’ve outlined your product and you know your customer, but how are you different from the competition? At SK Consulting, we are not an agency.  Our customers are not clients.  We work WITH them.  We teach as we develop and implement a plan, a project, a message.  Our difference? We want businesses to have control of their own marketing.  We don’t want them to rely on us.  We want them to want us!

6. Decide on a Messaging Platform

What you are aiming for is flexibility. You want to be able to slice and dice your messaging to suit your audience, your collateral, a promotion, or a sales pitch.

A common approach is to create 25-, 50-, and 100-word versions of your message (:15 sec, :30 sec, :60 sec elevator pitches). The shorter version can be used in advertising copy or sound bites in broadcast or online materials. The longer versions give you more flexibility to add specific services, benefits, and value statements, backed up by proof points, about why customers should do business with you.

7. Use Your Messaging Consistently

Once you have your message developed, make sure everyone is singing from the same song sheet, from your sales people to your front desk and across your social media platforms, website and marketing pieces. The more your customers hear it, the more likely it will be to resonate and stick.

If you need help developing your message or are unsure how to market it, contact SK Consulting.  From Concept to Creation to Implementation, we’re there with you every step of the way!

What’s Your Branding Story? (Part 1)

Developing Your Branding Story

When we think about the important aspects of building our brand, most people focus on Name, Logo, Identity, Colors, Marketing and Strategy. While those along with your product and services are important components to your business success it’s amazing how important the story is too. People want to buy from those that they know, like and trust, and your story is how they first feel something.

A lot of businesses under estimate how important their “about us” page is, or how important the story of their why is.

To develop your story answer the questions, “How did you get started, why do you do what you do and where are you going?”

Many people think about branding in terms of logos, pictures and other graphics that are on our letterhead, business cards and websites. But today, it’s so much more than a picture. Branding is about an attitude. It’s feeling that is conveyed by the story you tell consumers about your business, eliciting enough feelings of trust from the buyer that they happily open their wallet and spend money on your product or service.

To properly brand your business you need to answer the following questions:

• How did you get started?

• Why did you get started?

• Who is your target audience?

• What is your product or service?

• What makes your offerings unique?

• Where do you see your business going?

Sure, you do need to choose your logo, general colors of your marketing collateral, website graphics and so forth. But, it’s more important to answer the above questions ensuring that you accurately represent your answers with the themes you choose.  Any marketing that you do should further the ideas that the answers provided. By being consistent through all your marketing efforts you will expand your brand.

What’s Your Mission?

Once you answer the questions, you can then use your answers to assist you in creating a mission statement and an appropriate tag line. Your mission statement and tag line can help you define yourself even further in terms of expressing to your future customers or clients who you are, what you stand for, and what you do. Not only will the answers, and the resulting mission statement and tag line help your clients understand you, they will help you stick to your goals.

Knowing your mission, your reason for being, will help spread awareness about your brand to your target audience. A mission statement provides focus for every area of your business from A to Z. You have to remember that branding is a process that evolves and develops over time and consistency and persistence is an imperative component to that process. Knowing your why enough to create an effective mission statement will take your business to the next level.

Branding is about getting clear concerning your business so that you and your entire staff can be laser focused on every aspect of your company from ensuring you are marketing to your ideal client, creating products and services for your ideal client, and expressing what your business stands for to clients, contractors and employees. The mission statement is an expression of your brand, written in a clear and concise way that helps not only your customers understand your business focus but you and your business partners too.

You should be living your mission statement every single day, which will in effect promote your brand. Live your mission on social media. Live your mission on your website. Live your mission in all your marketing collateral, products and services. Yes, part of that is knowing which graphics to include that expresses your brand, but as you see branding is so much more than a picture.

The next part in Your Branding Story is TELLING it.