Branding
Don’t Just Sell the Steak. Sell the Sizzle!
By: Marna Courson

Whether you’re selling a product, a service or yourself in the marketplace, take a tip from the Fortune 500s - branding works!

Branding is the core piece of marketing, and should be imbedded in your business strategy. But it’s more than designing a distinctive, attention-grabbing logo - although that helps. In this market-savvy age, countries, universities and colleges, and, of course, businesses selling products or services should build their marketing strategies around their brand.

A brand is a combination of attributes communicated through a name or symbol. From the recipient’s (customer’s) perspective, your brand communicates specific psycho-social or product-specific attributes. It triggers essential concepts or messages in the mind of the client or customer: “I’m up-to-date.” “This proves I’ve made it.” “I’m intelligent.” “I’m chic.” “I know quality.” “I have good taste.” “This tastes good.” “This organization’s reputation is great, so by using their services, I’m showing I have good business sense.”

Big companies clearly understand the importance and psycho-social aspect of brands. They don’t just sell the steak. They sell the sizzle - the product and the implied messages. Your Nike cross-trainers, your Starbucks coffee, your Levi jeans, your Movado watch, your David Yurman ring and your Kate Spade purse all show it.

You’re branded by using those products. And you want your company and its products or services to be branded, too.

Brand value for the customer or client is in the expected delivery of a consistent product or service. If you eat a Big Mac, you know exactly what to expect - no matter where you are in the nation. Coca-Cola wouldn’t be what it is if one week its product was sweet and another week it was sour.

Brands clamor for our attention daily. But brands are more than just a product or company name. Brand management should be the foundation of your organization and drive your business strategy and culture. This ultimately will pay off in increased sales. By establishing a solid and positive brand, your organization will increase brand loyalty from current clients or customers and will attract new ones.

The last is critical. It can take as long to build a brand as it takes to establish a person’s reputation Ð for good or ill. Through focused branding, consistent positioning, consistent product and delivery, strong advertising and promotions (including consistent association with basketball star Michael Jordan), it took Nike about 15 years to build one of the strongest brands in the world. Hearing “Just do it” in a conversation or seeing the familiar swoosh on a shirt likely will trip your mind to think of Nike. That’s the kind of branding we all aim to achieve.

Nike deserves kudos for providing a textbook example of branding. The company is relentless in delivering a consistent (there’s that word again!) brand message with customers and audiences with every contact, including:

1. Product
2. Advertising
3. Distribution
4. Merchandising
5. Marketing Materials
6. Website

Brand management is equally effective for service organizations. Brand management can make a firm customer- or client-focused. It can eliminate barriers between people, functions and processes to ensure the customer or client is “Number One.” This brand management results in integrating all organizational functions, enabling your business to deliver consistent value to customers - ideally exceeding their expectations. That builds brand loyalty. And, that will help build your business.

A Solid Brand Includes: