Branding Conclusion
- Harley Killgo
- Dec 10, 2018
- 3 min read
As you’ve read, you know that a brand is a name, term, design, symbol, or other feature that distinguishes an organization or product from its competitors.
We’ve seen practical ways that companies have branded themselves to stand out in unique ways and provide matchless services to their customers. This starts with connection and allowing your brand to be one that is trustworthy and loyal.
Over the last couple of posts we have studied various examples on how popular brands differentiate themselves in the same market as their rivals. We then broke down our study into three topic areas that included Brand Marketing, Social and Digital Media Strategy, and Mobile Applications. We saw how top brands such as Apple Music, Spotify, Uber, Lyft, Delta, Southwest, Netflix and Hulu performed in each of these topic areas and what made them stand out from their competition.
I want to reiterate and remind you of the Differentiation Test and look at the three qualities that every prospective differentiator must have in order to prove successful.
True – is what differentiates you true and honest to your brand? What sets you apart must be realistic and achievable.
Relevant – is what you consider unique to your brand unique to your customers? Is what’s differentiating you relevant or important? Your customers are your focus, so you must find what is important and valuable to them or it won’t matter.
Provable – is your brand able to prove the qualities that it claims? You must not only speak of your brand in a certain way, but you must act and present yourselves in a way that is true and attestable.
Throughout this series it has been interesting to determine what sets apart tops brands that are ruling our world today. It was also intriguing to see that what I personally considered my top brand, out of the two that were presented, wasn't always the more successful or best brand. I never would have noticed this because of my loyalty to certain brands. I believe that once you have become trusting and loyal to your favorite brands, it’s easier to stick with that brand as long as they continue to provide exceptional and unique service. This was why it was so fascinating to me to see how two brands who are performing in the same industry create different techniques to attract a variety of people.
I think it comes down to the idea of our own opinion and choice. We are going to attract to a brand that aligns with our values and maintains qualities that we deem essential. This is why relevance is so important on the Differentiation Test because it’s all up to the customers. We want to feel connected to a brand and develop a relationship within that brand. People are always going to differ based off of personal preference and choice, but as long as your brand has a key set of values and a strong purpose that you believe aligns with a group of individuals, you are headed towards success!!
Lastly, I want to leave you with the 7 Ways to Differentiate Your Company That Makes a Difference by John Graham.
Get inside the customer’s head.
Create a sense of excitement.
Eliminate doubt.
Create buyer satisfaction.
Give it a name. Make it yours.
Breathe life into the company.
Practice creative destruction. Think of new possibilities.
Thanks for reading through my Branding series! I hope you learned a little bit about brand differentiation and can even begin to notice this taking place among other brands that you love and trust. If you have any questions, leave them below and I will get back to you. Also, if you have any thoughts or concerns regarding any of the content I’ve discussed, leave that below too!
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