Direct Selling : Strategy vs. Tactics
Branding with both sides of your brain
January 2008 By Brent Niemuth
|
Branding commonly is considered a critical part of any successful business these days, yet many people still view it as merely a creative endeavor. It’s something people dressed in black and armed with logos, typefaces and fancy color palettes do behind closed doors. But the truth is, branding is just as much about strategy as it is about tactics. It’s thinking and execution. It’s left brain plus right brain. It’s logic plus magic. You need to approach it from both sides to get the full impact from your branding efforts.
What Is Strategy?
Strategy is the thinking behind your brand. It addresses how your brand is positioned against the competition. It includes what you stand for and what makes you different. It’s the foundation on which you present your image.
Please notice that brand strategy needs to be based on what makes you different. That’s what people look for when they’re comparing products and services. All too often companies want to play “follow the leader” and feel it necessary to copy what the competition is doing. It seems like the safe thing to do. But safe brands are dying brands. Brands that take risks in their strategy most often are the ones that stand apart and stand the test of time.
Many companies also feel the need to build their strategy around features and benefits. They try to outperform the competition in operational expertise. But doing things better, faster or cheaper is not a brand strategy. Few companies have competed successfully on the basis of these things alone over an extended period of time. These practices can be imitated or copied quite easily, leaving no difference between you and the other guy. A good brand strategy must be built on something much bigger and more important than mere features and benefits.
Here are three keys to finding a unique strategic position:
1. Your customers currently are seeking it. Before deciding on what will set your brand apart, make sure your customers want it. It must be important to them. If it seems like a good idea to you, but consumers could care less, keep looking.
2. You are uniquely suited to delivering it. If you are defining a strategy for a brand that already exists, it should be based on something you’re already good at. Play to your strengths. If you’re creating a strategy for a new brand, make sure you can deliver on the promise. Don’t set yourself up for something you can’t follow through with.
What Is Strategy?
Strategy is the thinking behind your brand. It addresses how your brand is positioned against the competition. It includes what you stand for and what makes you different. It’s the foundation on which you present your image.
Please notice that brand strategy needs to be based on what makes you different. That’s what people look for when they’re comparing products and services. All too often companies want to play “follow the leader” and feel it necessary to copy what the competition is doing. It seems like the safe thing to do. But safe brands are dying brands. Brands that take risks in their strategy most often are the ones that stand apart and stand the test of time.
Many companies also feel the need to build their strategy around features and benefits. They try to outperform the competition in operational expertise. But doing things better, faster or cheaper is not a brand strategy. Few companies have competed successfully on the basis of these things alone over an extended period of time. These practices can be imitated or copied quite easily, leaving no difference between you and the other guy. A good brand strategy must be built on something much bigger and more important than mere features and benefits.
Here are three keys to finding a unique strategic position:
1. Your customers currently are seeking it. Before deciding on what will set your brand apart, make sure your customers want it. It must be important to them. If it seems like a good idea to you, but consumers could care less, keep looking.
2. You are uniquely suited to delivering it. If you are defining a strategy for a brand that already exists, it should be based on something you’re already good at. Play to your strengths. If you’re creating a strategy for a new brand, make sure you can deliver on the promise. Don’t set yourself up for something you can’t follow through with.
Companies Mentioned:
 |
|
|
