Brand and Value Proposition: Separating good businesses from great businesses

Brand may be the single greatest asset a company owns. So, what is brand and how can it separate good businesses from great businesses? As words go, brand and love run neck ‘n neck as having as many definitions as there are people defining it.  I offer two words and two thoughts.  Brand is “Value Perception.”

Value = the value you offer customers and perception = how customers view the value you offer. Brand in a product company may be linked to visual identification that solicits an emotion, or value perception. In a service company, brand may be linked to a value proposition or value perception.  In both cases it is what differentiates you from your competitors, makes your value unique and implies a promise to the customer.

If you’ve hung in there and read to this point you are likely saying to yourself, yea, yea, how does this apply to me and help grow my business?  Good question, while I may consider myself a subject matter expert, the best answers always come from others that have faced similar challenges and developed solutions—in some cases very creative solutions. So bail me out here, and add a comment with some of your creative solutions.

Brand requires the least investment to create, provides the greatest long term result and is the most valuable asset for your business. 

The quickest and easiest way to begin branding yourself, your company, products and services is twofold.  Set down and make a list of what you offer and what you promise your customers and how you feel you differ from your competition. This does not always mean better, in some cases it’s just different. Because you stay open until 6:00 when my competitors close at 5:00 doesn’t make you better, but it does differentiate you.

Secondly, talk to your customers, ask them what they like and don’t like, what they think you are better at than your competitors, worse at, what is the first thing they think of when they here your businesses name mentioned, if they ran your business what would they change, what single thing do they value the most, etc?  Be creative, ask real questions and seek honest answers. Frame your questions to achieve specific answers.  If a customer says “I just like everything about your store” you may get a warm fuzzy feeling, but it won’t help much.

Position your brand where your value meets customer perception. The most dominate two or three values, those that are repeated over and over again, become your brand. They are also molded into your value promise, a one- or two-sentence statement that is your commitment to the customer. This should be shared internally as well as externally. 

Once you have established your brand it should be integrated into all your advertising and communications.  It should become a mantra for employees and a perception of value to the customer each and every time your name is mentioned or a visual representation is seen.

The next blog will focus on Lead Generation—developing new customers on a budget.

There have been thousands of books, blogs, webinars and websites dedicated to the subject.  Here are a couple of my favorites for the marketing lay person.

"Small Business Marketing for Dummies" —Barbara Findlay Schenck

"Branding Basics for Small Business" —Maria Ross

Web sites:  

Small Business Branding

GrowSmartBiz