In today’s fast-paced, information-saturated economy, a strong brand is critical for any business if they are to cut through the clutter to reach their chosen market and build sales.
In a presentation titled “The Science of Buzz: How Branding Lights Up Sales,” branding expert Andy Cleary walked ABC attendees through a step-by-step process to build a strong, coherent brand of their own that will define who they are and what they do, both for their customers and for their own people.
“A strong brand is the greatest gift you can give your company,” Cleary said. “It not only gives you strength in the marketplace, but it puts everyone in your business on the same page and moving in the same direction.”
And what exactly is branding?
“It’s is the experience you bring to your customers,” Clearly contended. “It’s the unique promise your business makes to its customers and always keeps, no matter what.”
The Science of Buzz, he continued, is what drives the development of a strong brand. “If you build buzz, buzz will build you,” Cleary argued. “Nothing sells like buzz and nothing sells without buzz.”
Complexity and corporate thinking are the enemies of buzz, Cleary maintained. High-flown mission statements that mean nothing to anyone, endless lists of features and benefits, me-too marketing materials and a business model that hasn’t changed in years are just some of the “buzz-killers” that can prevent effective brand building, he warned.
Instead, he urged, dealers should aim for simplicity. “The most successful and fastest-growing companies in the world have built their business around a simple Branding Promise, a statement that spells out, in seven words or less, who they are and what they do,” he explained.
“Dell has ‘a single point of accountability,’ JetBlue looks “to bring humanity back to air travel,” Cleary offered as examples. “What is your branding promise?” he asked ABC attendees. “How would you define—in seven words or less—what you’re really about, what you will give your customers, no matter what, and where you won’t compromise?” he challenged.
To answer those questions, Cleary outlined his “Genius Simple Branding” system, a streamlined process geared to developing a strategic brand to help grow sales.
Cornerstone of the system, he explained, is the Branding Map, a four-part planning tool that dealers can use to develop their own Branding Promise, create a strong positioning initiative for their company and identify new opportunities to strengthen their position in the marketplace.
“Who are the ‘alpha influencers’ in your market who can help define and spread your brand?” he asked. “What are the apathy killers (people care more about what they are having for lunch than about what you are selling) or to put it in a positive way: what is your “special sauce”? What can make a difference and set you apart from the rest of the crowd?”
“Among big box office supply companies there hasn’t been a decent apathy killer (or special sauce) since the perennial “Easy Button” — an impersonal object which is actually based on a fallacy; i.e. in reality it is much “easier” to buy from independent dealers,” Cleary asserts. “The advantage of being independent is that there is plenty of room for your own unique brand – that’s what customers are searching for. If you don’t get them excited, they will opt for the big box. And yes, independent office products companies can definitely create engaging buzz.”
Cleary challenged his audience to be iconoclastic and counter-intuitive in their efforts to create buzz. “When you go against the grain, that’s the expertise that engages your clients. Take all of the sacred cows in the office supply industry and be willing to flip them,” he urged.
Instead of spending time and energy on a convoluted mission statement, focus instead of your simple, seven-word Branding Promise.
Instead of complex and expensive market research, follow what your own “finger on the pulse” tells you about your market.
And instead of a standard business card or brochure like everyone else has, aim for something that will create a “wow’ effort and provide a memorable and distinctive carrier of your brand.
Find time for “kitchen-table thinking,” Cleary told dealers. “Make an effort to get away from your company so that you can look at it from the outside and find new ways to make it stronger and more profitable,” he recommended. “If you make time and really work at kitchen-table thinking, it will give you those game-changing ideas that can take your business to the next level.”
For more on Genius Simple Branding and a look at how it has impacted some of Cleary’s clients in the office products dealer channel, visit www.orbit-design.com.
(This article was written by Simon de Groot and was also published in the Independent Dealer Magazine)