If you own a small business you may have tried a variety of marketing tools and tactics but found little result in your efforts.
So, why do you think your marketing has failed to bring in more sales?
It could be as simple as how you’re positioning (or not positioning) your business.
Positioning your business is branding 101 but many small businesses forget to do this. In fact, a lack of brand clarity usually results in diluted messaging that doesn’t truly reflect your business and what differentiates you from the crowd. It also misses the mark because it doesn’t speak to your ideal customer.
How to build your small business brand
Position your business for success by creating a finely-tuned positioning statement—your tool for clear messaging.
Now you may be asking, why do I need a positioning statement?
Well..
You may have heard that many small businesses fail within the first year. And part of this might be misdirected marketing.
They start with big marketing goals, but meander and stable with little result.
Why?
I think most often it’s because they don’t start at the ground level. They take a tactics before strategy mindset and this is truly bad for business because it’s like jumping in without an end in mind.
I see this every day. Many of the small business owners I work with want to focus on things like web design and social media first. But it’s so much more effective to take a step back and work on positioning your brand before you do anything else.
Why position your small business brand?
Solid brand positioning is the source of effective marketing communications, design and copy.
Focused brand positioning becomes the foundation of your brand.
Clear brand positioning becomes the filter which everything marketing related runs through.
And rock-solid brand positioning will make your marketing so much better in so many ways.
And in my opinion it has to be your first step to building a brand that sells.
When it comes to branding your business, are you feeling a little stuck?
Are you often worried that you are spending your time on the wrong stuff?
Then simply start answering some basic questions. It’s the most painless way to get started…
1. First define your target market. Who exactly are you trying to reach? Who is your ideal customer. If you need help, start here.
2. Now that you’ve defined your ideal customer, what are their specific needs?
3. How, specifically, does your product or service fix your ideal customer’s pain?
4. Is there something unique about your business that makes it stand out from the competition? (It helps to look at this from a potential client’s perspective.)
5. Work to define the unique benefit(s) your product or service offers. And highlight that extra special something your company brings to the client experience.
Now work to make this as concise as possible. Try not to complicate your positioning with too many benefits or by focusing on a wide range of customers. Clear and concise is key.
Be clear.
Be brief.
Write a 1-3 sentence statement based on the above.
Here are three big reasons this positioning exercise is so important to your marketing…
A. Great positioning clarifies your purpose.
B. A positioning statement helps your brand stand out.
C. And focused positioning makes your marketing efforts so much easier, because good positioning filters all your marketing messages.
It drives all touchpoints from your site copy to PR. It makes your brand clear, cohesive, and attracts the people who will want to buy from you.
So, ultimately it’s about attracting the right customers.
Do you think you are now reaching ideal prospects?
If you answered “no,” it’s time to write out this statement. Here’s the link. Get busy!
Do you want to bring your brand to life? Taking a few minutes to complete my brand audit will help you think about your current marketing efforts and what might need to change. It will also help me suggest several ways to improve your branding and marketing now: http://mcbreenmarketing.com/contact/brand-audit/
After you complete the form, we’ll contact you to schedule a time to go over the results and see how we can help.
If you are interested in learning more about our branding and marketing process, sign up for my email list below.
The post How to Build Your Small Business Brand (Step 1) appeared first on McBreen Marketing.