We kick off ONDEMAND CMO’s 7 STEPS OF MARKETING series with branding because it is the lifeblood of a company. We talk about why branding is important, and how to start with the Fundamentals!  Remember, a brand sets the tone, unifies a company, and acts as a perpetual north star — and our guide will help you ask the hard questions to see if your brand is reflecting the best of your company.

Summing up a brand can seem difficult — in a way, it’s like trying to sum up, in all our quirks and complexities, a person. But perhaps that comparison isn’t so alarming: these days, the more personable your brand, the better. In these post-COVID times, now more than ever we are longing for brands that foster connection and champion our humanity. So while your company may encompass many branches, a range of products, or various programs, a brand should have, like all of us, core values and unifying principles. 

Perhaps you’ve had a hard time crafting a mission statement, putting ideas into action, or increasing your client or customer base. Or maybe you feel your company is doing fine, but can’t quite explain why it’s plateaued. All of these might be symptomatic of a brand that is unfocused or unclear to your audience. Wondering if your brand isn’t as sharp as you’d like? If you’ve ever said the below, it may reveal if your brand needs fine tuning. 

“Not enough people know about us”

Lack of awareness is often tied to weaker branding. What makes your services unique? How do you stand out with a great social presence and compelling content? What campaigns are you investing in to build your following and e-mail list? An unfocused brand can make it hard to secure and grow an audience.

“We don’t have a tagline”

Sometimes a company lucks out: brands with names that communicate their services — like the apps Slice, AirBnB, and Snapchat — are both clear and memorable. If your company name is a bit vague or too long, you might need a tagline to spice things up and catch more ears.

“We’ve wanted to rebrand for a while but can’t agree on next steps”

This is the perfect moment to reinvent! During such a tumultuous time, many companies are doing the difficult work of looking at old habits, practices, and content strategies to see how they can shake things up and get into the present tense. Bring your company into the future, together, with a brand that excites the staff, rejuvenates your mission, and perhaps even re-engages your clients/customers. 

“Our mission statement hasn’t been looked at in years”

The mission statement should be the actions and ethos of your company distilled into a meaty paragraph. If you haven’t looked at it since your founding or in a number of years, it may be time to revisit it. And if you make changes, make hay of it! A revamped mission is an exciting piece of content that should be dispersed through various channels: website, video, social media, email communications. It can be daunting to “teach an old dog new tricks,” but better to rethink than just sink.

If you don’t stand out, you will have trouble growing your business.  Why is Branding Important? Starting with these fundamentals is literally the foundation for your social strategy, communication campaigns, and customer targeting, so it’s important that you get it right.

To see how you can hone your branding and widen awareness, consider downloading the first part of ONDEMAND CMO’S 7 STEPS OF MARKETING, a guide that walks your company through the seven building blocks of successful marketing. Let’s take a specific and forward-thinking journey together, one step at a time.

Download Step 1 Now:

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