Recently I was working with a great agency, around 15 people and some outstanding work. They were well known in their market, but had been defined within that market as a certain type of marketing firm. While there were many pitch opportunities in the area it seemed they were almost never called.
Why?
Over the past few years by not defining their brand they had allowed the market to brand them. And as their capabilities had grown and improved, they failed to communicate that with prospects.
Even worst, the market perception for the firm was out-of-date and just plain wrong.
So here are 4 easy steps to help your brand stand out in the market.
Agency Focus – In this cluttered market place only an expert has any chance of standing out. Business leaders don’t have time to educate someone on their unique situation. An expert understands their product, their service, and knows how it can benefit customers. OR an expert knows their customer better then anyone. OR an expert has a unique view of the marketing landscape. Find something to be your area of expertise. Just being a “full service highly creative marketing firm that offers outstanding service” isn’t enough any more!
Make New Friends - We all now that people do business with people whom they like and trust. Choose to make a new friend over just creating a new business transaction. This will pay off in the long run.
Effectively Communicate - Establish yourself with your target market by creating a dialog on things that you have in common. You must be able to establish a relationship. With lots of people. This generates understanding and builds business over time.
Find Opportunities To Speak – Become a speaker to your target market, and educate people on both the changes hitting their market as well as the challenges they face. Provide Solutions.
There you go… 4 easy-to-forget strategies that can help you establish your brand in the mind of your ideal prospect. And just then, once they’ve heard of you, perhaps know you, and think you have some solutions then they will call you.