How brand strategy can help grow your business

The most common problem with an ineffective brand is that it tries to target everyone. As marketing guru Seth Godin eloquently puts it… “Everyone is NOT your customer”. In other words, trying to target everyone, is the same as targeting no-one. Human beings are unique. They each have different needs, motivations, pains and loves which help to form their own internal values. People make decisions and react to situations based on the values that matter most to them. This causes everyone to behave differently. What may cause one individual to laugh out loud, will likely cause another to recoil in horror. It’s these differences that makes the world we live in both incredibly exciting and insanely challenging in the same breath. The simple truth is, that you cannot use a generic message and expect to build a strong connection with an audience as diverse as the human race. A truly effective message requires a deep understanding of what you want to say, how you are going to say it and who will want to hear it. A truly effective message targets the few who will listen and politely ignores the rest.  

Despite the fact that we are all different, many of us share the same values. It’s these shared values that lead us to form relationships with Ken instead of Mike; join the chess club instead of the darts team; or shop in Asda instead of Waitrose. It also leads us to work for organisation X rather than organisation Y, simply because it feels right and we believe more in what they stand for. Choosing who to work for is an emotional decision because it involves integrating our internal values with a larger collective. That’s really all a company is – a collection of people that share similar values. Companies may offer similar products or services, but how and why they deliver them depends on their highest shared values. They make emotional business decisions based on those values. They choose to work with companies who align themselves best to those values and can demonstrate a worthwhile solution to their pains. They choose to ignore those who do not.  

BML’s Foundation™ brand strategy process is designed to help you find the few who will listen. Rather than throwing mud against the wall and hoping some sticks, Foundation™ takes a strategic look at your business and asks ‘how can your brand best serve your business objectives?’. Built around an intensive one day workshop, our Foundation™ brand strategy process will ask you a series of meaningful, insightful questions, designed to unlock the door to more effective brand communications. Foundation™ establishes your brand’s inner values and outward personality. It helps define your business market and your place within it. It builds a stronger picture of your customers and how best to communicate with them. In turn that will help you tell more people about what you do, who you do it for and – most importantly – why it matters!

A strategic vision of your brand can empower you to make huge shifts in your business performance. Here are just some of the ways our Foundation™ process can help you grow your business:

Attracts more ‘ideal’ customers

Foundation™ helps you to understand what your business does and why you do it. This in turn helps you to build a far clearer picture of your ideal customer. These are the ones who have the highest desire for what your business offers and most crucially, are the ones most likely to see value in it.

Increased sales performance

Foundation™ helps you to understand your ideal place in the market so that you can understand the customers best suited to your product or service.  A brand that targets more ‘ideal’ customers will result in a greater number of highly-qualified leads, because you have already identified that they want what you have to offer and the type of messages they will respond positively to.

Builds your business reputation

Building and maintaining your reputation is vital to the success of any business. Your brand is the outward face of your business, so should always work in conjunction with the service you offer.Foundation™ helps you to understand where your strengths lie so you can build a great brand around it. A great brand coupled with a great product will help your business reputation to flourish.

Improves business focus

Many businesses struggle to articulate their strengths because they don’t understand the values that make them different from everyone else. Foundation™ helps you to establish a clear set of brand values that give you clarity around the fundamental traits that makes your business unique. This gives your business much needed focus, which helps you tell more people about what you do, who you do it for and most importantly, why it matters!

Helps you ‘own’ your market position

Foundation™ helps you to understand where you fit in the market, both now and in the future. Identifying gaps in the market and what it might take to stand out from your competitors can empower your business to be the go-to resource for that product or service.

Increases customer loyalty

Foundation™ helps you to understand how to build the strongest possible connection with your ideal your customers. By ignoring the many and targeting a smaller, more focused group of customers, you can communicate in ways that will make them feel special and understood. This creates a positive value cycle, which results in the customer being far more likely to buy from you again (and again).

Increased perception of value

Despite what most people think, the majority of purchases are not made on the basis of price. They are based on emotional responses – potential customers ask ‘do I feel this product or service is worth what they are asking for it?’. Foundation™ helps you understand where your highest value in the market lies. A great brand builds a perceived value to your service that can make a significant impact on how much you charge.

Reduces marketing waste

Foundation™ helps you to recognise exactly the type of people and companies who are likely to respond to your product or service. This helps reduce the amount of time and money you waste trying to target people and businesses who would never be interested in the first place.

Improved marketing effectiveness

The ultimate goal of any brand is effectiveness. It should be working for you in helping to achieve your business goals by building value, reputation and encouraging sales. The Foundation™ process is specifically designed to give you the information to enable effective brand communication. Once you have that, your business will be well on its way to success.

For a limited time only we are offering our Foundation™ brand strategy process from as little as £995+VAT. It includes:

• Foundation™ strategy workshop for one business or product at the BML studio for up to 10 of your team members.
• Detailed analysis and insight from experienced industry professionals on critical topics including values, positioning, personality and target audiences.
• Your own personalised Foundation™ brand strategy document.
• Backed up by our unique ‘Happiness Guarantee‘ – if you don’t feel Foundation™ adds any value to your business, we will refund your investment. No questions asked.