The core of branding is not only logo or creatives but understanding a brand vocabulary. Thus, in this Expert Insight Interview, Randy Herbertson discusses brand essentials for new and growing businesses. Randy Herbertson is a recognized brand strategist, conceptor, creative director with over 20 years of experience in marketing and innovation, and a Principal at The Visual Brand.
The interview discusses:
- Finding brand essentials
- Discovering target market
- Presenting the brand message
The Essentials
A starting point for good branding is knowing who you are, who your customers are, and how to position and communicate your ideas. Brand vocabulary is words and phrases that you consistently use when talking about your brand. Thus, everyone in the company must have a clear understanding of it. That way, you eliminate the possibility that customers get many different interpretations of that brand.
Target Market
When asked about their target customers, many companies say that everybody is their target customer. However, even then, there are subsets of customers and reasons why they are targets. Different people have different interests when buying products. Some people prefer products with pretty form, others want functionality, while somebody’s first criteria when picking a product is sustainability. Thus, a company should add an extra layer of wording so that all those groups can find the same product attractive.
The best way to find out whether a product can fit a specific target group is through research. Even if sometimes a particular niche seems pretty narrow, there might be different reasons for other groups to find a use for that product as well. A product can have multiple audiences, and the company will miss out on many opportunities if they do not find a way to promote it.
The Brand Message
Changing your brand and not communicating clearly about it can create confusion or disagreement. A customer, employee, or even an investor can ask why the change. Thus, it is essential to understand where that change comes from and how it will benefit both – the company and its stakeholders.
Sometimes a brand needs to go through a dramatic change. But, many times, it just needs to evolve from its current position. There are some things that a brand cannot lose. Some highly recognizable brand elements have to stay so the brand does not lose its current customers to gain new ones. That way, it gets modern branding that still fits the previous one.
Also, a common trap that many companies fall into is wanting to be like their competitors. However, the point is not to copy the competitors but to research why they are so successful in what they do. That way, the company can create that same success but in a completely different and authentic way.
Our Host
John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist, he has conducted over 1500 video interviews of thought leaders for Sales POP! online sales magazine & YouTube Channel and for audio podcast channels where Sales POP! is rated in the top 2% of most popular shows out of 3,320,580 podcasts globally, ranked by Listen Score. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.
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