Branding is Simply Distinguishing Yourself

Branding is one of the single most misunderstood terms in business today. Branding is NOT about your signs, ad campaigns, brochures or other marketing materials. Branding, simply stated, is a way of life for your company and your employees to be successful. Branding is about sending a consistent message to your customer that identifies who you are, what you sell and how being who you are benefits your customers. Your brand is conveyed in your marketing materials, but branding is actually your way of doing business.

To have a successful brand, you must accomplish a great deal more than just identifying and carving out your niche in the business world. You must educate and devote your ENTIRE organization, (from the janitor on up), to understanding and becoming the very best in your niche market.

The best method of branding your company is to distinguish yourself by having a combination of specific products at reasonable prices in significant quantities to create an efficient, rewarding and memorable shopping experience for your target customer. Accomplish this and you don’t have to worry about the rest.

Build your reputation by consistently stocking brands, colors or styles that set you apart from the competition. Sell what mass retail can't and doesn't. You must become a problem solver and interact with your customer by offering solutions and by also offering assistance you’re your customers’ ultimate decisions. You must have the foresight to carry products that will allow the customer to take home a complete complimentary to the items you already carry.

One of the hardest concepts for a retailer to grasp and understand is that you may not be a great store for everybody and you may have to intelligently sacrifice certain customers and merchandise categories that may be yielding profitable results to achieve long term consistency and profitable returns.

"Branding" entails identifying specific customers and delivering them something meaningful that they can't get from the competition. Your vision and the driving force behind your business should revolve around becoming the best at one important criterion to that specific group of customers that you have identified as your target market.

Without defined positioning and branding, a company faces stagnant sales growth, low customer retention, loss of customer loyalty and declining profits. Building your reputation around your brand allows your company to be viewed as an entity that is truly unique and distinct from any other. When you achieve this, your business will grow and become spectacular because your customer is thinking and buying for a reason beyond price.

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