Defining your desired brand

To define your desired brand, you need to fully understand your marketplace.

If you are not in the habit then monitoring your marketplace can seem a daunting task. Where to get started? How to make progress? Here are 7 quick steps that you can build into your schedule. You may not be able to do all of them, but if you can pick up a few you’ll soon start seeing your market in a new way:

• Visit the retail outlets (or online store) of your competitors: take time to look around, use the ‘extended product’ as a mental model and compare their offer to your own.
• Look to your category, in overseas markets: use the internet to explore your category, in overseas markets. You may just find new products, consumer trends, and ways of doing business that give you an insight into how to build your own brand.
• Check out the ‘brand values’ of your competitors: again, the internet is a great source of this information. If you don’t already know, take time to visit competitor websites, to better understand their desired brand. How does their desired brand differ from yours?
• ‘Mystery Shop’ your own brand and competitors: Call the hotlines, enquire on their websites, sign up for communications, do everything that you can do to explore the ‘points of contact’ for your brand and your competitor’s brands. Are they living up to their desired brand? Are you?
• Keep in touch with the opinion of friends and family: Don’t become a bore about your business, but do let friends and family know that you value their honest opinion. Anecdotes of everyday experience can lead to valuable insights about the truth of your brand.
• Keep in touch with technology: Like it or not, technology is shaping our lives, our brands and our businesses. For some, tracking tech developments is fun, for others it can be a daunting task. Whichever group you fall into, it is essential to understand how technology is shaping your market: so take time to understand the trends.
• Finally, buy some shares!: nothing makes you more focused than owning a slice of the business. Even if it is a very small stake, if possible take time to buy a few shares (your own or your competitors). It’s then a natural point of interest to look out for news, follow performance and keep in touch with the business. You’ll also get annual reports automatically and you’ll be more involved in what is going on in the market. (Of course, you may already own your own business!).

To learn more about how to build your brand, and your business, you’ll need ‘How to Build Your Total Brand’. This manual takes you step-by-step through the tasks involved in building your brand. It includes examples, worksheets, and practical tips to build your brand. Our guarantee to you. We have a “no questions asked” money back guarantee if you’re not totally satisfied. Click here to start building your brand and your business!