Branding Strategy and Identity Breakout Session- Reinvent Your Marketing, Messaging, And Mindset.
Tackling The Branding Challenge Head On
Brand strategy is one of the most obvious gaps in the home services industry. The vital question is how do you build a brand that makes your company unique and allows you to distinguish your business from so many others in the same industry. HVAC Company branding in this day and age is one of the most important challenges to tackle and one of the most important questions to answer in an arena that is highly competitive. E-commerce stores are becoming more popular and could become a threat to brick and mortar business. Without a brand identity that screams out to the actual desires and needs of your customers you could be left behind.
Break the Mold
Creativity, inspiration and innovation are the only ways to step out of your comfort zone and break the mold. It is time to recreate and redesign who you are as a business. You cannot create or design a brand that speaks to only you. You need to realize that your customers are feeling, thinking people who are all entirely different from one another and from yourself.
Creating a brand with the idea that all humans are a clone of yourself is a fast track to coming across as disconnected. You need to understand how the customer experiences your brand rather than what your expectations and perceptions are. You have to design something that incorporates the culture of the region in which you operate. A brand has to make your customers feel a sense of ownership when speaking of your company. Your brand is a gut feeling that grows within the hearts and minds of your customers.
Invisibility Is Not An Option
Products that you actively engage with on a daily or regular basis are more easily able to achieve unintentional branding. Things like your HVAC system are less likely to work in this manner. This is the type of system that you only engage with from time to time or when something goes wrong. You, as a business owner in this industry need to create a brand that sticks with customers. Create a name that is memorable. Make yourself a resource for every customer. Work on your brand all the time and add value to your customers lives. Use the available tools to stay in front of your customers all the time. There is no excuse for invisibility.
The Apple vs Android Dilemma?
The discussion raised over the two brands that stand out at the moment. Apple or Android? Each person is specifically inclined towards their own specific brand for their own personal reasons. This solidifies the fact that you need to target your customers on a personal level and make that personal connection. Obviously you need to take into consideration the socio-economic factors a well. Brands when done well will make money. Look at Apple for instance. Even though they own only a percentage of the market and they are on the higher price range scale. The fact is that their branding is such that they still make money. They are a multi-million dollar company. Is your brand unique and strong enough to convert customers to your brand. Being a small brand does not determine whether your brand will be one that stands out. You can accomplish this regardless of your size or where you are.
Successful Branding Starts With You
What brands are part of your day and why? How do these brands make you feel? These are questions you need to ask when creating your own brand. How does it make your customers feel and why is your brand something they can’t live without? Does your brand make your customers feel happy? Important? Special? Branding when properly implemented and followed through, can promote all of these feelings with just a mere mention of your company name. It is extremely important to identify your target audience and use that as a starting point. It is vital to continuously evolve your brand and identity.
Different brands evoke different emotions. Decide what emotions you want associated with your brand and create something unique and something that stands out from the rest. Your customers keep your business going. In saying that, it is these very customers that need to have that special connection with your brand. Grow, change, evolve and develop accordingly.