Every year, Effie Worldwide and Warc – a global marketing intelligence service – ranks companies along the lines of their branding effectiveness.
In 2012, fast food giant McDonald’s received the honor of being the most effective brand in the world.
You don’t, however, have to be a global corporation with a multimillion dollar marketing budget to have a powerful brand. Effective branding is for everyone. Here are four questions you should ask about your own business’ brand to help gain new clients while retaining existing ones.
How do you define a brand?
Start with a definition. Determine what you want your brand to be and how your brand will be represented in the minds of your clients. When you think of major brands such as BMW or Apple, what images do they conjure for you? Innovation for Apple? Luxury for BMW? The perception of your brand will help carve your place in the insurance community as a broker or agent.
How do you build your brand?
Internally, the most efficient way to build your brand is to ensure it is a living part of your company. All your employees should know and understand what your company stands for and what you want your company to be. Your employees are the face of your brand: Oftentimes they are the ones who interact with your clients and prospects.
How do you help employees represent your brand?
Hire the right people. Your team should embody your brand and everything for which it stands. If your company prides itself on the highest standards of customer service, your team should excel at customer service.
How do you get people to know your brand?
When someone asks one of your employees who they work for, how do your employees respond? You can achieve the goal of easier brand identification by properly training and communicating to employees. It’s also important to regularly seek feedback on your brand from your employees and customers. Just as importantly, you need to act on that feedback. If employees aren’t communicating the proper brand message, give them access to additional resources, training or lines of communication. They’ll not only get the message but convey it more clearly as well.
