Keys to Building a Disruptive Brand
Your brand is more than a logo or tagline. It is a culmination of the multiple emotional experiences an individual has with your organization. It is the constant that sits at the core of what you do, and serves as a framework that guides all communication and business decisions.
Investing in your brand whether you’re a startup working from scratch or an established company undergoing a refresh is a critical step. Every detail from the typeface you use on your website, terminology you use in conversation and copy to the color palette in your style guide should be based on the same unique vision of your brand positioning in the marketplace.
Quite often, particularly with startups, the capital just isn’t there to invest in developing your brand the right way.
So we’ve put together the basic thought exercise framework for you.
Your goal is to identify your unique promise of value: what do you offer that no other competitor does?
Ask your customers:
- How have we made your life easier, what challenges do we solve?
- What has your experience been like with us?
- Who else have you considered, why do you choose us?
- How can we improve?
- What other experiences do you value?
- What are some brands you love?
Ask yourselves:
- What are the “features” of what we do — what services do we offer?
- How do we currently describe ourselves to prospects?
- What value do we offer that no other company does? (hint: it’s not things like great customer service, being the best or “we really care”)
- What will be our challenges in entering the marketplace?
- Who is our most valuable customer?
- Who are my top competitors and what are their positions?
- What services do they offer and how do those compare to ours?
- What about indirect or perceived competitors?
- How are they communicating with my prospects?
Use insights from this exercise to understand what makes you unique and invaluable to your clients, identify what promises your competitors are making, and find the holes that you can fill with your own.
Need help with your brand? Let’s talk! Coffee’s on us.
Originally published at backroom.io on July 24, 2014.
