The connection between Branding and Inbound

Most of us, if not actually all of us will prefer one brand over another. It's perfectly natuiral. Just a quick look at your own personal inventory will show if you’re brand loyal or a completely free spirit. As an example, the store I go to has about three different brands of pasta sauce plus an own brand label, yet I always go for the same one. What about your favourite clothes? Do most of them come from the same store or a particular designer? Even the products under your sink will have a brand attached to them that you have either consciously or unconsciously chosen over another brand. But is one floor cleaner very much different compared to another?

And that’s the thing, there are plenty of products out there that all do virtually the same job but in our psyche, we seek out brands that we feel align with who we are as people. What you’re really looking for is the brand you feel you have a relationship with rather than the product itself. A great example of this is bottled water. In nature, it’s free but once you put it in a bottle it’s a billion dollar industry. Now, I’ll admit that I’ve never witnessed people doing a blind taste test of water and choosing which brand is which, but I think if you can match the water to the brand every time you should go and buy a lottery ticket.

So, how do you get someone to choose your water over the water next to you – on the same shelf – in the same fridge?

Who Are You?

It’s difficult to differentiate yourself in the modern business world. There are a huge number of companies who pretty much do what you do and some of them even do it, almost, as well as you. And, assuming you’re also competitively priced you’re going to need something else to make you stand out. But, you need to remember that your brand is not all about your logo and your slogan, it’s about your story, your personality and what your brand means to your customers. That is what will draw them to you and keep them coming back.

Find your Why

To make your customers care about your business, they need to know why you care. What result do you hope to get out of this? What is your purpose or your belief? What makes you get up in the morning and excited about the new business day. This is known as your “Why”. You can also use your why to help you to form your mission statement.

The Biggest Sports Brand in the World

To take an example from real life, let’s look at Nike. When they burst onto the scene, they immediately put the likes of Adidas, Puma and New Balance in the shade. Their merchandise was top quality and very quickly, major, international sports stars were wearing and promoting this brand. Their adverts were epic masterpieces, and such was their popularity that they were shared widely on social media. To this day, their ad featuring a bored Brazil football team waiting at the airport to go to the World Cup is still a firm favourite among fans.

Adidas though, with a similar ad spend could make the same claims about their products, as could Puma and even New Balance. So, what were Nike doing differently? What was their “Why?” They set their stall out on being an inspiration for people to be the best version of themselves they can be. And their slogan at the time of “Just Do It” reinforced the message that their commitment was to empower people through their sportswear to do their best. The way they actually phrase it in their mission statement is like this,

“To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete* in the world.” *If you have a body, you are an athlete.

Throughout their communication with the customer, they are friendly, competitive, fun, and showed the enjoyment of sport. They also had a good sense of humour with getting Ronaldo to miss an open goal in the airport ad and imagining EPL players playing in amateur Sunday league teams.

And The Inbound Marketing Bit?

As you already know, inbound marketing is all about building a relationship with your potential customers. The best way to do that is to use your brand personality to tell your story and explain your “Why”. If we go back to the example of Nike and look at their brand personality of friendly, competitive, fun, sport loving and with a good sense of humour, it’s easy to see how that’s appealing to people. What’s more, if you can translate that appeal into copy, you’ll be able to capture customers who react positively to those attributes. So, this means that your inbound efforts will rewarded with customers who identify with your brand's personality and see it as 'like them.' More than that, you'll also have set your brand apart from all of your competitiors.

Ready to get stated?

At Branding IQ, we can build your brand from the floor up or refresh one you already have and provide you with content that will generate a loyal following and an inbound marketing plan that will boost your sales from warm leads. So, if you’d like to see how this could be the answer you’ve been looking for, get in touch.

For a no obligation consultation, just fire over a quick email to [email protected], message me in the contact section or call +31 6 27 11 91 11.

Looking forward to speaking to you.