Brand Development Online

Be Distinctive

• Why is your business different from others ?– Better customer service?– Better / unique Products ?

• What ever it is – lay it on thickly in everything you publish• Make your name and clearly recognisable logo synonymous

with what makes your business distinctive

Deliver Great Products or Service

• Mediocre / Adequate / Good enough isn’t worth talking about

• So create buzz and enthusiasm (and the all important testimonials) by being legendary, brilliant or otherwise outstanding

• Don’t forget the emotional benefits of your product / service

Keep your Promises

• Not your contractual promises but your Brand Promises• Brand Promises aren’t legally binding, but they are no less

important, because they:– inspire customer loyalty– reinforce your brand

Be Consistent

• Brands must be consistent in everything they do– Send the same messages– On all channels– Walk the talk

• Skype branding is great! – Everything feels informal, new, young and exciting– Brightly coloured speech bubbles emphasise the important things, but

it never feels legalistic and heavy handed– The software works well and is incredibly easy to use by all ages

Grow your Community

• Popular brands have a community around them. Apple is the best example, surrounded by groups who never miss an opportunity to do Apple’s advertising for them:– Mac bores– iPhone bores– App developers

• The App has created a market for the skills of developers who have become huge brand advocates

• On a SME scale, you can create a community– Tuesday club for restaurants – try new recipes on loyal customers, mix them

up– Briefings for favoured clients of financial advisors– Can you create a mechanism for channel partners to benefit from promoting

your business ? (eg Apps)

Stand for /Against Something

• If a brand takes a stance, then publicity can run away with itself:– Body Shop seemed to be against everything at one point

• Body Shop products offered solutions to the campaign issues– Firefox browser set itself up as the “not Microsoft” browser– The “Dollar Shave Club” is against Gillette’s expense and branding– Zipcar’s car sharing scheme is against car ownership

• Sympathisers will promote your business and social media provides a very low effort to do this

Find your Voice

• Not just “what you say”, but “how you say it”• Skype uses speech bubbles and informal , non technical

language• GE likes lots of photographs of cool kit and talks “dirty” (in

technical terms) about their products and projects – great for their audience

Empower your Customers

• Customers own your brand – the brand is their shared beliefs about your business that counts

• And especially, their testimonials, which will have far greater impact than anything you say or do

Summary

• Be Distinctive• Deliver Great Products or Services• Keep your Brand Promises• Be Consistent• Grow your Community• Stand for / against something • Find your Voice• Empower your CustomersRemember, even if you haven’t started work on your brand, your customers have…..

For more information, contact SMEsOnline

James Gunnjames.gunn@smesonline.co

+44 7855 406652