posted by admin on June 11th, 2010
Yesterday’s post introduced you to a powerful technique to help you instantly position your brand in the minds of your audience—making your brand more desirable through positive comparison. The idea is that the brain habitually seeks familiarity—and familiarity feels safe.
Today, as promised, I’ll share some easy fill-in-the-blank exercises to help you compare yourself (your company, product, offering etc.) to something your audience is familiar with. Please fill in the following blank…
We are the ______ in our category.
The blank should be another positive brand that you can compare yourself to. This brand should already be known for the positive associations that you want your brand to be known for—for example ‘We are the Cadillac in our industry’. For most people, the Cadillac brand equates to premium and stylish. By connecting your brand to another known brand instantly positions your brand in a clear and compelling light.
Another fill in the blank:
We are like _____ in these ways, but different in these ways _____.
This method compares your brand with a competitive offering, which your audience already understands, but also ensures you stand out. This technique reinforces familiarity to ease any concerns from the buyer, and then tells them how you are unique.
An example of this can be found on the website of a Credit Union based locally in Kitchener/Waterloo. See how they highlight how they’re similar to other financial institutions, but also highlight their differences?
Fill in the blanks and please share your insights.
~ Brenton Schmidt
Tags: brand association, brand marketing, building brand identity, positive brand building, web marketing
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posted by admin on June 10th, 2010
Here is a powerful technique you can put to use immediately to get the attention of your audience and make your small business brand more desirable. This technique ensures that the value of your product or service is understood.
The trick is to compare yourself—and by this I mean your company, product, offering, or whatever you’re marketing—with something your audience relates to. You can probably see the value of this when introducing new technologies or offerings that are unique to anything else on the market. This technique satisfies the brain, which habitually seeks familiarity because it feels safe.
Remember, you are being compared to someone or something in the mind of your customers and potential prospects, so it’s important to realize that is your opportunity and responsibility, as someone who cares about your brand perception, to actively position yourself the way that you desire.
If what you offer is unfamiliar, it’s perceived by your potential prospects as risky, so in all likelihood it will be rejected. And if you have ever had the pleasure of presenting a new concept to a corporate team, you’re already familiar with the eye rolling and blood pressure boiling reactions. This is a habitual reaction to what they recognize as unfamiliar—and thus, unsafe. However if you tie your brand to something positive and familiar, then you’ll get their approval.
In tomorrow’s post, I plan to introduce you to some techniques that will help you anchor your brand in a positive and familiar way. But in the meantime please share some comparisons that come to mind when you think of your brand. Remember, think of comparisons that your audience understands and has positive associate with.
~ Brenton Schmidt
Tags: brand association, brand techniques, brand tips, building brand identity, positive brand comparisons, positive brand identity, viral marketing, web 2.0, web marketing
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