Build the brand in preparation for the tsunami

If the end of the boom is coming, get prepared. You need to consolidate your brand. Here’s how.

Build the brand in preparation for the tsunami

Recently I have been listening to the early warnings about a financial tsunami from the Treasurer Peter Costello and the coming end of the boom by his opponent, Wayne Swan.

That set me thinking about ways to consolidate my market position and build my brand against coming turbulent times.

The way to build a corporate brand is to develop a great communication strategy and a consistent message to the market about how the corporation is represented.

Start with your brand. The brand is a logo, symbol or representation of a product, service or business that customers use to differentiate between them. You should have brands for your products, services and for your entire business.

A brand is a shorthand message of your values, attributes, quality and experience that your customers can associate with your product. Brands can be worth lots of money and assist your company to charge a premium for the brand equity over and above a commodity product or service.

To build a strong home business brand:

• Analyse the market – conduct customer research, understand the market trends, market segments and competitor positioning
• Design a corporate logo
• Decide on how the company will be represented in the marketplace
• Choose a color scheme and images to represent the company
• Decide on how to present the brand to the marketplace
• Choose messages that are consistent with your brand’s positioning
• Define the personality of your brand
• Build brand awareness
• Position your brand in the marketplace in relation to competitor’s brands
• Target your brand to a specific audience
• Build long term repeat customers loyal to your brand
• Conduct brand research
• Consciously manage and strengthen your brand
• Bring to market new products and services in line with your existing brand
• Build long-term brand heritage and brand value

The best plan for the future of your business will be based on a close examination of the marketing mix that is working for you. Take each product or service that is contributing to the growth of your business and identify the selling and marketing you have done that has led to them being the foundations of your cash flow and financial success.

Think about how you are getting your business messages to the market, your communication strategies and relationship marketing processes. Your lead generation and database management may need an overhaul to generate more income and capture market space. Invest in a really good website and if the costs of the set up are exorbitant, get a website you can amend yourself to reduce costs.

Every marketing effort should be contributing to building a relationship with your loyal, repeat customers and building a brand for your home business. Building a brand and improving your business reputation can be extremely valuable to your business over both the long and short term.