Want A Reputable Brand? Then Stop Branding

Creating a reputable brand has got nothing to do with shouting the loudest, but doing lots of things very well.

If you want to have a brand that is better than your competition, then stop branding.

What Started This Article

The reason for this post was a direct sales LinkedIn message on Friday morning, naturally this was sent to everyone on the database as the message just kicked in without a ‘Hi Mark..’ and with a sign off of, ‘contact me today to see how much we can save your business.’ So the privilege is in me making contact to find out more with a lazy sign-off and an even lazier way to think that this where my phone contract needs are now answered.

Whilst selling your product to your audience is important, what is more important is what you stand for. Simon Sinek’s ‘Start With Why’ explains this in the fact that it’s not what we do, but why we do it is the most important contributing factor to our business success. Our whole approach has to focus on creating better lives for others and ultimately ourselves as opposed to the other way round. This is what then leads to making sure you are selling a product/service that is accepted as better than your competition.

Going The Extra Mile

It’s all about adding value to the lives of other people and by that I don’t mean the sales tactic of  ‘buy by 5pm on Thursday to receive 15% off’ message. What we need to do is create interesting information that others will pay attention to and can clearly see that you are different and better than the competition.

We need to think and treat others as people and not a homogenous mass, we want others to talk about our values and understand that we stand for something that is true, honest and credible. To hit a ‘send’ button to all your followers on LinkedIn with a bog standard direct sales message is not only deleted within seconds, but also naïve on behalf of the sender that an audience will react favourably to a bulging in-box that is becoming even more busier with lame messages (brace yourself for the ‘Christmas greetings’ gif messages in your in-box in the coming weeks).

It isn’t about broadcasting anymore, it is about creating information for your audience that can influence behaviour, build conversation, engage relationships to an end result of a profitable exchange.

The Shift From A Broadcast To A Content Strategy

A content strategy is one that is now building influence throughout the UK. It’s prominence is clear when looking at the graph below and highlighting within Google Trends the comparison between ‘integrated marketing’ and ‘content marketing.’ The world of integrated marketing’s broadest definition is to use a number of promotional methods (advertising, PR, direct mail), many ‘paid for’ to sell the merits of a product or service in the most effective way. A content approach puts the ego to one side, but intended to help and inform customers and prospects to become more successful.

The way to attract others is to stop branding, for instance, whoever got excited about the ‘About Us’ page of another companies website to read 500 words on why they are better than the rest?

To Sum Everything Up

A credible brand is a by-product of doing other things that are well received by your audience. From valuing customers and prospects, demonstrating knowledge of your industry and what you stand for is key to making a difference. It’s all about marketing smartly for the present and the future.