Goldilocks and the Three Brands

Make sure your brand is just right.

If you look up the word “brand” in the dictionary, here is what comes up:

brand  (brænd)
— n
1.	a particular product or a characteristic that serves to identify a particular product
2.	a trade name or trademark

But a brand is a whole lot more than a mark or a characteristic.  There are many imperceptibles that go into a brand, and it is a lot more complicated than just an icon or logo as a successful brand has many elements.

Look up “brand” in business or marketing books, however, and it is overcomplicated, impersonal, and ambiguous:

"Unique design, sign, symbol, words, or a combinationof these, employedin creating an imagethat identifies a productand differentiates it from its competitors. Over time, this image becomes associatedwith a level of credibility, quality, and satisfactionin the consumer'smind. Thus brands help harried consumers in crowded and complexmarketplace, by standing for certain benefitsand value. Legal namefor a brand is trademarkand, when it identifies or representsa firm, it is called a brand name."

(Source: www.businessdictionary.com)

Getting Your Brand Just Right

A brand is personal.  People choose to buy and/or interact with brands they can relate to and that evoke a set of emotions.  The easiest way to define a brand is to think of your organization as a person.  Everyone has a certain consistent appearance, a tone, a set of personality attributes and quirks, likes and dislikes, ideal friends and partners, etc.  This definition is easy to understand and is just right for any business.

While a brand takes a long time to build and define, there is a science behind it.  The great and successful brands of today are personifying their brands, and many have actually hired someone to embody those attributes in order to amplify their brand awareness with consumers.

Some brands that, in my opinion, do a fantastic job of personifying their attributes are Progressive Insurance, M&Ms, and Geico to name a few.  And, while they are actual people, Oprah, Martha Stewart, Donald Trump and even Jennifer Lopez are successful brands.

What words describe your brand?

If you’ve had trouble knowing where to start in defining your credit union or community bank’s brand, take a step back and start describing it as you would another person.  Then you’ll be on the road to getting your brand juuuuuust right. 

Amanda

***Stay tuned for next week’s blog for tips about how to define the different elements of your brand!  

Let MarketMatch help you harness the power of your brand to impact your bottom line.  Our proprietary branding process will target opportunities to obtain new customer relationships, grow existing customer relationships, and build brand awareness.  Contact me for details.

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Branding ... It's Not What You Say, But What You Do.

If you don't think that you can afford to rebrand your institution in this economy, think again.

It’s all in the definition.  Yes, your brand is tied (in part) to your name, logo and visual appearance.  But it is defined by the customer experience.

To rebrand your institution properly, you need to focus less on the creative department and more on strategy and day-to-day interactions.

Check out this great article published on customerthink.com.  

Where are you in the continuum of: do-nothing; basic Customer Loyalty programs; CRM (customer relationship management) and CEM (Customer Experience Management)?

As financial institutions, we know more about our customer’s activities than most any industry – yet we are one of the most commoditized.  We help our customers manage their money – yet we tend to take the emotion and empathy out of our messages. 

This is why branding is my passion!  It’s about people … it’s about turning “potential-customers” into “customers” and converting “customers” into “evangelists!”

When there is little tangible difference between “Bank A” and “Credit Union B,” can you afford NOT to rebrand in this economy? 

Take care,

Eric