by Megan Moyer
In my previous post I talked about the importance of explicitly defining your brand from the outset and offered some things to think about when identifying the attributes you want your product to be known for. Today, I’m going to focus on how a well-established brand saves time by guiding marketing and sales decisions, as well as saves money in the long-term.
Having a clearly-defined brand provides direction as you make all of your go-to-market decisions. Marrying what you’ve identified that your target market values with what you want to be known for is the basis for all of your marketing and sales efforts. It informs messaging, logo, packaging, the media channels you choose and the promotions you invest in, and the stores or e-tailers you’d like to carry your product.
How does having a strong brand definition help you save money? It goes back to the sales and marketing initiatives mentioned above. Essentially, you don’t have to start from scratch every time you need to create a new campaign, decide to use a new media channel, add a product to the line, or develop your category strategy. Your brand is your guiding principle, and the foundation for all of the decisions that follow. That saves time and money and can help you be a proactive marketer, rather than reactive, which usually doesn’t lead to a consistent message, strong image, or wise use of resources.
Putting careful thought into what you want your brand to be is worth the up-front investment. Often it helps to get an objective viewpoint involved – individuals knowledgeable about the industry at least; familiar with the category as well is even better. Enlist help from your board of directors, investors, or a marketing agency. Enjoy the process – there’s a lot riding on the creation of your brand, but it should be an invigorating exercise that solidifies what your company is about and identifies for your associates what to strive for.