Ep 91: How To Create The Perfect Branding Strategy

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Podcast Show Notes

Welcome to your perfect branding strategy! People use these terms: brand, branding, and brand marketing every day, but they don’t mean the same. Inside this article, I share their different roles that form a perceived image of YOU and what you can do today to communicate to your audience how you want to be perceived.

Branding in Marketing

Strong brands don’t just happen. They are usually the results of a long-term branding strategy that guides how an entrepreneur does business.

My guess, personal branding is how you stumbled upon this podcast and my brand. Or maybe someone told you that you should invest in personal branding and recommended my brand marketing services to you? 

But who’s a brand, what’s branding, and how do you create the perfect brand marketing strategy?

That’s what I’m going to give you an overview of today – their different roles that together form a perceived image of YOU and what you can do today to communicate to your audience how you want to be perceived.

Brand vs Branding

So let me break it down for you in this chart.

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• A brand is external, and branding is internal.
• A brand has fans, and branding creates fans.
• A brand exists only in someone’s mind, and branding is how you influence that thinking.
• A brand is the perception people have about you, and branding is how you make people feel.
• A brand is built by a consumer, and the company performs branding.

What is a Brand?

So let’s dive into the term BRAND first. WHO is a brand?!

A brand is a set of intangible assets of a company, service, or product. It is a definition of an emotional relationship between customers and the business.  Or, in the case of my clients, the business would be YOU. You are the small business owner offering a service or product.

A brand is a person’s gut feeling about a company or person. The way consumers perceive a brand that defines it.

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So when I refer to personal brand – it’s the perception people create about you as a business owner and company. 

How you are introduced to new brands

For example, every day, you discover new products and businesses, especially in the growing online world and marketplace. Whether it is a new product in the Target aisle, a new phone app, or a beauty product you’ve never heard about before.

The more you interact with the company, the more you may become a fan and create like and trust for it. You also form your own external opinion of the brand based on your perceptions. 

Building a brand relationship

From appearance to personality and everything in between, a client evaluates how they feel about you in their mind before they do business with you.

Therefore, extensive competition in the online space creates infinite choices for your consumer. As a company or small business owner, you must look for ways to connect emotionally with customers, become irreplaceable and build lifelong relationships. 

So with that said, a brand is not what YOU say it is – it’s what THEY say it is. A brand is a relationship.

Your brand represents the relationship that you or your company have with your target audience. It’s what your audience thinks that counts!

Brand example: Apple

A simple example is how you feel about Apple as a brand. Things that go into this relationship are how you feel about their promise, the perception you have towards them, the expectations you’ve developed, and the persona and personality you judge them on. All of these factors and more are how you define the company Apple as a brand.

What is Branding? Why it’s important.

Next, let’s dig into Branding and why branding is important. Since branding is internal, it starts on the inside of your business. Branding is the intentional process of creating a unique representation of YOU in your consumer’s mind.

Branding is the tangible and intangible sum of your attributes. And it’s up to you how you communicate those characteristics and give meaning to your company so you can shape your brand in a consumer’s mind.

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Branding a Person

Personal branding is the way you as an individual build your reputation. So, of course, it’s something I’m entirely passionate about. Whether branding affects your consumers, employees, shareholders, third parties, or all of the above – you want people to feel connected and inspired by your brand.

Ep 3: 6 Reasons Why Personal Branding Is A Non-Negotiable

Creating a perfect brand marketing strategy

So how do you create a strong brand marketing strategy so you can influence how clients perceive you?

It’s actually pretty simple.

You want to influence people’s image and perception in their minds when thinking about your brand, both physically and emotionally. 

A product can always be copied, but your brand will always be unique.

The most important thing to acknowledge is that people need emotional navigation. Consumers want connection, relationships, and something new to get behind and inspire them. 

Ep 90: How To Define Your Ideal Client

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Perfect Branding Strategy: Marketing Tools

While there are different tools you can use to help shape your brand perception, the most commonly used in my company, CORE Brand Marketing Group, is:

• Core Foundation: which is defining your brand’s purpose, interest, and beliefs
  
• Niche Statement: who you help and the transformation you provide to help them
  
• Brand Identity: the visual language and everything you can see (logo, colors, design, fonts, etc.)
  
• Marketing: using content and communication to deliver messaging around what you do, how it solves problems for your niche audience, and how clients can get your solution.
  

Ep 87: 12 Essential Business Tools You Need This Year

Recap: Brand, Branding, Brand Strategy

Marion, the Founder of The Branding Journal, said it best… 

“A product is what you sell, a brand is the perceived image of the product you sell, and branding is the strategy to create that image.”

For you to stand out in a densely crowded marketplace, especially for e-commerce business owners…. You MUST invest in a brand marketing strategy. 

I believe you must consistently put in the work to influence consumer perceptions that accurately reflect your brand goals, or your brand is doomed to limited growth potential.

Ep 83: 5 Reasons You Should Automate Your Business

How to outsource your perfect brand strategy

At CORE Brand Marketing Group, we help businesses go from frustrated and dragging their feet to having a clear direction to attract, connect with, and gain new clients organically.

If you are ready to invest in a brand marketing strategy for your business – fill out the application on our site to schedule a complimentary 15-minute discovery call. The website is corebrandmarketing.com.

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Whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. Stay on top of your Content Strategy and keep your Ideal Clients Engaged here.
2. Design a Memorable Brand Identity to Instantly Stand Out from Competition here.
3. Hire us to Build a Done-For-You Digital Marketing Funnel to get your Brand in Front of New People. (Booked out 4-6 weeks)

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