What is The One Secret That All Great Branding Strategies Have in Common
Do you think that the best product is always going to beat the competition and be the highest selling product on the market? No, not necessarily! Product marketing still steals the show as brand development takes longer. However, one of the most common mistakes that startups make is not having a brand. With a good brand image and voice, what you do is “humanize” your company, because emotion draws today’s consumers. They respect it when the brand delivers their promise.
All great brands have an unmistakably clear brand promise that sums up why people should choose their brand and express their primary value proposition. Define a clear and simple idea. And it’s common for all branding strategies, no matter what industry you’re in. There are some challenges that all branding strategies must tackle to achieve success.
- The story. Your brand promise needs to translate into a story. All great branding strategies tell a story, and there are many ways to do it. How does the product change their lives when they buy it? Does it improve them in any way? What’s going to be different? By defining your relationship with your audience with a story, your brand promise then takes the wheel.
- Where does a brand promise originate? Your vision. For you to understand the power of a vision, we’ll take a look at Shadowserver. A company that’s involved in cybersecurity, Shadowserver wants to make the Internet safer for everybody. That’s their vision that it helped them build credibility and pioneer a shift towards transparency and collaboration in their field. You can make tactical efforts as soon as you know precisely what you are aiming for and why. How does your vision benefit your customers? Once you give yourself an answer to that question, you’ll know that you’re driving down the right road.
- Have you defined your unique selling proposition? If you have, does your brand promise communicate it? An essential component of every brand, it helps you claim your position on the heavily saturated market. Your USP defines who your customers are and why they care about you. Once you have it, you should aim to build on it with your essential messaging components and visual identity. Don’t undervalue branding but use it to develop an edge over the competition.
Product marketing is a tool, a short-breath strategy. Step back from it and reflect on your company’s essence and your vision. What do you do? Why do you do it? What’s so unique about you? And if your customers do care, then what is it that makes you? Tell it with a story. A brand promise is a secret shared by all successful branding strategies, and if you are patient and follow these guidelines, your brand will emerge.
As an impact-branding firm focused on financial services, Blackhawk Partners Inc. is here for providing you with business solutions. We equip our clients with resources and intelligence to create a healthy, growth-driving brand strategy and bridge their business goals.
