When most people hear the word “branding,” they think of a logo, color palette, and maybe some general messaging. That’s fine, and they’re not wrong. But if you partner with the right branding agency, your branding solution can be so much more than that.
Some of our best clients don’t come to us with branding problems. Many of them come to us with business problems that is navigated through communications and their brand expression. For some, that means taking a completely fresh look at their competitive positioning in the marketplace. For others, it means restructuring their website or business operation around their ideal customer or value proposition. Unfortunately, too few people understand the impact their brand has on their business. A great brand extends well beyond the marketing department.
Here are just a few ways that a branding solution can solve unbranded business problems.
Finding a Branding Solution For Sales Problems
We hear this same complaint from clients and prospects every day.
“Honestly, all I want to do is sell more products.”
We’ve had a great track record helping clients solve their sales problems with a holistic branding solution, but far too often, business owners and executives ignore branding as a solution to their sales problems. Instead, they rely heavily on attending conferences, seminars, and sales training.
This is a great solution for some, but it only solves one small part of your sales cycle. If you struggle to generate enough prospects or warm leads, that’s a brand marketing problem. If your prospects are going to a competitor because they don’t understand the value you provide, that’s a brand messaging problem. If they’re showing up to your website and bouncing to a competitor because you don’t look trustworthy, that’s a brand design problem.
We always recommend starting with the brand and then working backward. If it turns out that your messaging, website, collateral, and sales pipeline are all spotless, a sales coach is a great place to go to solve your problem. If not, it probably makes sense to start with marketing.
Finding a Branding Solution For Employee Attraction, Retention, and Morale
In any organization, turnover is a natural part of doing business. Whether it’s the company or the employee initiating the switch, sometimes things just don’t work out. If your attrition rate is abnormally high, however, there could be an issue with your external or internal messaging.
There’s a reason people don’t want to work for companies with poor employee retention, and there’s also a reason people flock to Google. When people talk about all the perks (or, conversely, all the physical or emotional hazards) of a workplace, they’re talking about that employer’s brand. If you’re having branding issues as an employer, however, ping-pong tables or casual dress alone won’t solve your problems. You need to sit down with a branding professional and assess your own brand as an employer and compare it to your competition. This is the only way you can understand your internal brand well enough to build a deliberate company culture that will attract and retain the best talent.
Finding a Branding Solution For Operations Issues
Operations is the one department that everyone thinks is immune from brand problems. Usually, by the time a process reaches your operations team, it’s gone through the ringer of market research and product development, but if you’re a medium-sized business with an operating budget of $50 million per year, a ten percent increase or decrease of vendor cost, for example, could have a dramatic impact on your business.
So how do you incentivize and motivate your operations team to fight for you? How do you equip them with the tools to negotiate on your behalf? These are admittedly tough questions, and lobbing them a gift card or bonus as an incentive is usually insufficient. If you’re looking to solve this problem for good, a branding agency is usually the best place to call.
Want to try it on your own first? Download this free resource today to maximize your brand impact.
If you think that a branding solution could be right for your business problem, reach out to our team and we’d be happy to chat!
