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about themselves and express themselves in new ways.
Products like the Macintosh computer, the iPhone,
iTunes, even the iPad, have all done that. Apple’s brand
is structured to build products that empower their
owners, and that’s where their amazing and valuable
brand loyalty comes from. So, make your brand a
strategic part of what you do as a business, not just a
fresh coat of paint.
MI: From a tactical point of view, what are the most
important steps small business owners and marketers
can do to take their brand image from good enough to
great?
DT:
First of all, do a brand audit of all your stuff. By
that, I mean signage, business cards, displays, website,
promotional products, collateral and advertising.
Everything with your name on it. Put it all in one place
and study it. What do you see? There’s a good chance
you’ll find a lot of inconsistencies and outdated
materials.
So, do a triage. What are the worst offenders? Update
them right away. Put a plan in place to bring other items
up to date on a schedule, like vehicle graphics or your
website content. Review your digital footprint and see
if you are sending too many emails, if your social media
really reflects your brand and if your website is clear
of outdated information. And, please, proofread your
website for errors; 99 percent of all websites have them.
MI: What do today’s marketers value in terms of
channels to grow brand awareness and preference?
DT:
That really depends on the marketer and their
unique set of challenges. Of course, social media,
nonexistent a decade ago, has become a channel for
many marketers. They’ve begun to realize, though, that
it’s a myth that social media is magic and free. A good
social media program takes a significant time investment
and constant monitoring.
Search engine optimization has become important for
many businesses, often because their competition has
beaten them to the top of the results page on Google.
Traditional advertising still plays a major role, and
digital printing technologies have allowed brands
to economically produce high-quality signage,
graphics and displays that used to cost far more.
MI: Is there anything unique to nonprofits that these
organizations should consider?
DT:
The basic principles of branding are still the same,
but usually a nonprofit is selling an ideal rather than a
product or service. People still want to see themselves
as supportive of charitable organizations and other
nonprofits.
But brand is vitally important. Nonprofits have to make
sure theirs is relevant to their target audience as well.
And they should use the principles of branding to get
noticed and support a consistent, appealing image.
This is especially true for nonprofits that compete with
for-profit companies. This often occurs in the health care
and retirement community industries, for instance.
n
“Some companies look at their
brand as little more than a coat of
paint on a house. They paint over it every few
years, but it’s mostly cosmetic. Big, successful ones
tend to look at their brand more like the core structure of the
home. Everything about the house is there to project a solid
and repeatable brand experience.”
– Dave Taylor, Taylor Brand Group
