Brand tip: What your brand says - part 2

Last week I began a series of four posts looking at what your brand says about your business. Your brand should tell people who you are, what you do, how you do it and where you're going. So how does it do it?

Telling someone what you do is simple enough, isn't it? And for a lot of companies that's the problem - they just tell people what they do. A simple description.

There's nothing wrong in that, but does that description seize the imagination of your audience? Compare these two descriptions:
• The ultimate driving machine
• The best car available
Which company would you choose to buy your new car from? If you're looking for a car, surely you'd look no further than 'the ultimate driving machine'? (Obviously a lot of people do, otherwise there'd be no Audi, Mercedes, Porsche, Lexus etc... but you know what I mean).

Describing what you do, or giving people a list of the products or services you offer isn't enough. Especially in a competitive market. You need to tell people the benefits that your products and services will bring to them. How will your products and services make their life better / easy / happier / simpler / more efficient / more profitable? That's what customers are looking for (remember, they buy emotions, not features).

Your brand is a tool for describing those benefits. And it's not just about a positioning statement - the ultimate driving machine, for example. There's a wealth of options you can utilise: your logo, colour, typeface, imagery, social media, brochures, advertising, website... any communication media you choose. But remember, communication is just one of the brand touch points you can exploit. There's also the product or service itself. There are the people within your organisation. And there's your place of work. Each of these four touch points is an opportunity to communicate the benefits of your product or service to your audience.

So, do you tell people what you do? Really?

If you find that question difficult to answer, you might be interested in our workshop on Tuesday 24 November. If you don't want to wait that long email jonathan@alderandalder.co.uk or call 01392 248107.

You can find more Brand Tips here.