McDonald's has secret sauce, and you should, too. We don't mean on your cheeseburger, we're talking about your marketing initiatives!
The inner workings of the marketing machine can overwhelm even experienced marketers. Figuring out your target market, creating engaging content, distributing it and converting leads is multi-faceted and time consuming.
Don't put all that energy into a project that is set up for failure.
There's a secret ingredient marketers must get right. Without it, marketing initiatives are flatter, lower performing, and yield less positive results. We are talking about consistent branding.
The Recipe for Creating a Plan for Consistent Branding
According to the B2B Content Marketing 2014 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends Report, "82% of marketers cite brand awareness as their top organizational goal for content marketing." Branding your company is vital if you want any other marketing objective to show a high return on investment (ROI). So, tie on your marketing apron, and read our 5 1/2 ingredient "recipe" for creating a plan for consistent branding.
#1: Start with the basics. Turn on those big marketing brains and decide on branding building blocks like company colors, a logo, and blessed font options. Write down your company's overall marketing message and mission statement.
#2: Add your company's image. It's vital to uncover and consistently share your company's "personality." What is your company's image? For example, if you deal with sensitive data, you need to portray security and trust. If you sell technology, it may be innovation and expertise.
#3: Assign all company employees a piece. Branding consistency is not just marketing's baby, nor is it only important in big advertising campaigns or social media posts. Every employee must engage with the company's brand, and understand his or her role. Everyday interactions like email taglines, voice messages, and how they answer the phone must mesh into the overall brand for consistency's sake.
#4: Sprinkle it across all products and interactions. Once branding basics are in place, implement it into every piece of communication and interaction. Consistently utilize your branding in social media, advertising, press releases, and all other pieces of content. Done right over time, this process builds brand recognition, creating client trust and loyalty.
#5: Write down your recipe. Don't hide your company's branding message in the marketing department. Create a branding guide and distribute it to all company employees. Include all parts of the branding layout, and follow up to ensure all parties are clear on how they are expected to impart consistent branding, every day, all the time.
And the 1/2: Review and oversee. Marketing must keep an eagle eye on the branding. This is crucial to branding consistency, as, over time, branding efforts tend to meander away from the original plan. This dilutes the brand. Immediately squash any interaction that includes non-branded or improperly branded items.
Branding is a powerful "secret ingredient" marketing can leverage to achieve big results. Consistent branding is sure to bring your company greater recognition, stronger loyalty, and more long-term clients. Follow our recipe, and look forward to taking big bites of impressive ROI and expanded sales revenue!
How are you currently accomplishing successfully consistent branding? Do your potential clients recognize and appreciate your brand? If your branding strategy needs a boost, give Marketing Essentials a call at 419.629.0080 - we can help you build a powerful, consistent branding strategy!
