Why Your Marketing Might Not Be
Achieving the Results You Need

How to Build a Strong Brand Identity Helps Your
Business Stand Out and Attract Customers

By Kuda Majonga
Marketing is frequently regarded as the activity farthest
removed from the components of business operations that
add value, and it is the least prioritized when allocating
resources. However, this viewpoint overlooks the integrated
role and nature of marketing in supporting business growth.
This article will look at how you can approach your
marketing more effectively.

What Sets Good Marketing Strategy Apart ?
According to a 2018 survey by the National Small Business Chamber of South Africa,
33% of small business owners felt their failure to market was the biggest mistake in
their operations. This position can only be worsened by viewing marketing in a limited
way, such as focusing solely on advertising to deliver on all business objectives.
Marketing is essentially how businesses communicate and facilitate value exchange
between customers and businesses. Ultimately there are a number of ways to share
and communicate the value you offer, which don’t always involve a campaign or
trying to spend the same amount as Apple’s marketing department.

Although our digital age presents more avenues and challenges, the principles that
support marketing have not changed that drastically over time. The key is not to make
a single great campaign but to commit to an ongoing process of learning and
improvement.

The Importance of Clear Strategy

Image source: thisisnotadvertising.files.wordpress.com

Having a clear business strategy is a necessary first step towards business success. If
your competitors fail to do this, then you gain a natural advantage over them. A good
strategy provides clear direction, coordinated actions, and resources that help you
gain an advantage. Take Apple, for example. At the time of its famous “Think
Different” campaign, Apple was in a death spiral, only two months away from
bankruptcy. Steve Jobs returned to the company and completely shifted how the entire
company worked to save it.

His approach tackled fundamental issues with clear actions: he built a relationship
with Microsoft to secure funding, reduced the company’s bloat by axing nearly 80% of
their inventory reduced production costs and established an online store to reduce
Apple’s reliance on distributors. Jobs revealed that the need for this change had
become clear to him after a chat with a friend, where he realized that Apple had
become too complicated, hence things needed to be simpler.

The product line-up was too complicated and the company was bleeding cash. A friend of the family
asked me which Apple computer she should buy. She couldn’t figure out the differences between them
and I couldn’t give her clear guidance, either. – Steve Jobs

Therefore, the best way to ensure effective marketing and branding is to consider the
key issues your customers have and how your business will address them. This clarity
will help you define an identity that distinguishes you from your competition.

How Branding Amplifies Your Marketing Efforts

Branding and rebranding have been in vogue in recent times, though one might be
forgiven for thinking to brand only started around the 1990s with campaigns like
Apple’s “Think Different” campaign. However, branding has been with us way longer
than that. We have Neil H. McElroy to thank for giving us the discipline of branding
back in 1931. As a 26-year-old employee at Procter & Gamble, he shared a memo
outlining a new approach to their marketing strategy, which was to be brand-focused
as opposed to the then-typical top-down functional approach of the 1930s; this memo
would later come to be known as the brand management system.

At its core, branding is the process of creating a distinct identity for a product, service,
or business. This identity is achieved through a combination of factors that help
distinguish your offering from your competition. Branding is another tool at your
disposal for communicating the value your business delivers, helping you build trust for
your business. According to American designer and author Marty Neumeier:

A brand is a PERSON’S gut feeling because brands are defined by individuals, not companies, markets,
or the public. – Marty Neumeier

As people, we naturally gravitate towards services and products that we can trust and
rely on. Branding serves as the foundation for reinforcing such interactions. It’s like
giving a face and character to your business. Just like how we recognize and
remember people by their faces, branding helps customers recognize and remember
your business

The Power of Strategic Thinking

When creating a marketing strategy, your branding communicates your business’s
values, mission, and personality to your target audience. It sets you apart from your
competitors and helps customers better distinguish your brand. Imagine meeting
someone with a unique character and memorable face. You are more likely to
remember and recognize them in the future. Similarly, if your business has a strong
and distinctive brand, customers are more likely to remember you and choose you
over competitors when making purchasing decisions.

Businesses exist to provide value for society, and when they lack an effective way to
grow, they will likely fail. Branding is an effective tool for communicating that value to
customers and a clear business strategy is key to successful marketing efforts. By
understanding the role that marketing plays in your business and taking a holistic
approach to it, you can develop a strategy that helps you achieve your business
objectives and build a resilient reputation.

Remember, effective marketing isn’t just about creating a single great campaign; it’s
an ongoing commitment to finding new ways to provide meaningful value to your
customers. By taking a customer-centric approach to marketing and branding, you
can create a strong identity that sets you apart from your competitors and builds trust
with your audience.

So, don’t overlook the power of marketing in growing your small business. By
approaching it strategically and holistically, you can make it an effective tool for
amplifying the work you do and achieving your business goals.

Sources:

1. “Good Strategy, Bad Strategy”
   • Author: Richard Rumelt
   • Publication Date: 9 June 2011Summary: The author emphasizes the significance of having a clear business strategy as a fundamental step toward achieving success. It discusses how a well-defined strategy provides clear direction, coordinated actions, and necessary resources, offering a competitive advantage over rivals.
2. “The Brand Gap”
   • Author: Marty Neumeier
   • Publication Date: 2000Summary: “The Brand Gap” emphasizes the importance of branding as a powerful tool for communicating value and creating memorable interactions with customers. The book highlights that branding is the process of creating a distinct identity for a product, service, or business, setting it apart from competitors.
3. National Small Business Institute Survey
   • Publication Date: 2018