 |
| Add caption |
Branding is one of
the most important and at the same time can be one of the most confounding
areas for business owners of all sizes. Last week, Forbes asked small business
owners to tweet their questions about branding using the hashtag
#SmallBizHowTo.
The
most common questions had to do with priorities and resource constraints. Does
branding require big budgets? When you have limited budgets, what is most
important to focus on?
In
this column, we look at how authenticity and creativity – particularly creativity
in partnerships – are the real drivers of long term brand quality.
First, let’s dispel
the notion that huge budget guarantees success.
One
only needs to look at the canon of colossal, expensive marketing flops from the
past few decades to see that money does not guarantee success.
Crystal
Pepsi – In 1992, Pepsi jumped
on a contemporary consumer marketing fad around ‘purity’ to launch a clear
version of Pepsi. Pouring tens of millions into marketing, initial sales were
strong, but it was vapor. By the end of 1993, the product was gone from
shelves.
Coors
Rocky Mountain Spring Water – Worried about
reduced alcohol consumption in the early 1990s, Coors tapped into its massive
bottling infrastructure to release a spring water. Unfortunately, it was under
the same brand as its beer, and consumers were confused. Despite millions sunk
into marketing, it never took off and by 1997, the company relinquished all
rights and trademarks in the water space.
Colgate
Kitchen Entrees – What do you do if
you’re a leading toothpaste brand? Diversify into frozen dinners, of course. In
1982, that’s exactly what Colgate did. The logic was that dinner and brushing
your teeth were sequential activities, so the shared brand would make sense. It
didn’t, and not only did the product flop, but it actually hurt Colgate’s
toothpaste sales as well.
The point is not to
ridicule these brands. In fact, it’s the opposite. These are some of the most
successful and enduring companies in the market. If they can even fail with so
much money and smarts behind them, any business can. So, what are the lessons?
1.
Lipstick On a Pig
Sometimes
companies introduce new products that theoretically capture a consumer fad, but
are really just the same thing they used to offer with new marketing. Consumers
tend to be able to smell this a mile away, and even if there is initial
interest, ultimately people know they’re being sold the same old thing all
dressed up.
2.
Every Company Isn’t Supposed to Sell
Everything
One
of the great temptations for business owners is to over extend what they sell.
The Coors example above demonstrates this truth in the context of a large
corporation, but it happens to small businesses as well. Think of the
restaurant owner who constantly struggles with wanting to add new items to the
menu to appeal to niche eaters. Maybe some of that is right, but where is the
balance of no longer knowing what type of restaurant its supposed to be? It’s
essential to remember that every company isn’t supposed to sell everything.
3.
Being Authentic to Your Brand Matters, No Matter Who You Are
With
their intended dinner entrees line, Colgate simply stretch the boundaries of
their brand too far. Simply being related to the mouth does not make you a food
brand. For every business, large or small, the lesson is that your company
represents something specific to customers, and while you can stretch and
evolving that understanding, the core of your brand needs to remain clear and
consistent.
Welcome to the new era of
Authenticity
In
today’s market, nothing matters more when it comes to branding and marketing
than authenticity.
At
its core, authenticity means 1) understanding in what ways your brand matters
to your customers lives; 2) understanding your company’s and your customers
shared values, outside of the business; 3) telling stories that relate to that
value proposition or those shared values.
For small businesses,
this is a lot about understanding the “Why’s” and “What’s.” Why does my
business exist? Why do customers buy from us? What is it about our company that
makes us a better choice? When companies start to change their why, consumers
tend to notice in a hurry.
Consumers
expect authenticity now more than ever. Social media has changed our
expectation of our relationship with the brands we interact with, bringing them
much closer to us and making them much more accessible than ever.
In
the video below, two startup leaders share their perspectives on authenticity
in branding and marketing. While it may be tempting to follow the trends,
customers can tell when you’re not doing something unique and true to your
brand:
In
the video below, two startup leaders share their perspectives on authenticity
in branding and marketing. Brit Morin, founder & CEO of Brit + Co, discusses
how, while it’s tempting to follow trends, it can lead to major consumer
backlash if it doesn’t fit your brand. RebelMouse’s Head of Agency Partnerships Stephanie Bagley describes why brands are moving away
from gimmicky marketing towards more authentic long-term communication with
customers.
How Partnerships Can Help You Be Authentic On a Budget
The
question quickly becomes how to be authentic on a budget. Sure, it’s great if a
company like Pepsi can spend millions of dollars on brand consultants and add
spending, but what about my small business?
1.
Don’t miss out on data
Even
if you only have a few hundred customers, it’s never been easier to know as
much about them. New Point of Sale systems can automatically track and build
customer profiles; companies like Belly, FiveStars, and SpotOn offer
interesting new approaches to loyalty; and even a basic email list can help you
learn an incredible amount. This data can help you better understand who your
customers are, what motivates them, and what else they care about beyond your
business.
2.
Social media is your friend
A
small business owner concerned with the day-to-day of running their business
could be forgiven for ignoring the noise of social media experts clamoring to
sell them new solutions to problems they didn’t know they had. Still, the truth
is that ‘social media’ is just the new place where people come to communicate
and discover. For a small business, social media represents a chance to engage
with their customers directly and one-on-one on the basis of whatever they’re
interested in. One important note: social media isn’t free – it takes time and
effort to truly engage. In small companies, time is at a premium, so it’s worth
thinking about in advance. Still, it’s one of the best pound-for-pound investments
a small business can make in its brand.
3. Partnerships, Partnerships, Partnerships
We’re
moving to an era of partnerships, where there are so many companies
specializing in so many aspects of business, that B2B relationships will be one
of your company’s major determinants of success. We see this every day on Partnered,
where even the biggest companies in the world are racing to find the right
younger companies to work with. In that landscape, there are huge opportunities
to think creatively and differently.
One
tip for small business owners? Look for startups creating interesting new
technologies around some part of your business that needs help, such as point
of sale software, inventory management, new digital marketing platforms, etc.
New startups always need testers and people to give them in depth feedback. If
you reach out and offer to help them understand how their platform works inside
your company, its pretty likely that you can get a free license or increased
support.
Ultimately,
branding is about telling the story of your company. To tell that story, you
have to understand it. Once you do, however, there have never been better
channels through which to articulate it.
Source:
forbes.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment