Branding On The Web Is Like Mining For Fools Gold

I am sick and tired of marketing geeks touting the beauty of branding, brand building and just spouting branding in any context, especially when the term is used with "internet" or "web" or "digital!" You can't have a conversation today for more than five minutes without some marketing type throwing in a line about brand building!

Branding doesn't work with the net's warp speed - look at some of the leading online brand builders, including a certain big three TV network here in the states and a book seller in Seattle trying to do classic brand extension, from books to barbecues.

We tell our B2B clients to build a revenue-producing online brand by developing a campaign that sells the value of their goods or services! Forget the esoteric, very expensive brand building campaigns that have no measurable impact! Here are my ten "cliff notes" to building an effective B2B Brand Online, B2C coming next article.

1. Do a careful Competitive Web Analysis of your competitors - you can't build a unique brand without knowing the lay of the digital and real-world land! The beauty of the web is that it is a 247/365 resource for analysis and you can find out quite a lot from your competitor's web sites. We've created a comprehensive matrix of 75-200 items to assess when preparing a competitive analysis report for a client.

2. Identify your target audience early on as everything flows from this. You can't conceptualize your creative, graphical imagery, content or what type of online media you want to deploy until you know the size and characteristics of your target audience.

3. Think revenue producing branding - this translates to marketing campaigns that deliver sales (the goal of all good marketing campaigns) by customer acquisition. Meaning, develop messages that speak to your audience. B2B customers typically want referenceable data that addresses their needs. "Our xyz services help you leverage your IT resources by?." Think providing tactical information to enhance their decision-making!

4. If your early to market or just plain old early stage then you may want to develop some branding with other complementary partners who have established names (brands) in your market segment. This can include joint announcements, co-branded pages; direct marketing or opt-in e-mail pieces, etc. Here's an example of a co-branded page we did for an existing client, PolyServe, Inc. http://www.polyserve.com/partners.html

5 .Make sure you PR agency and Interactive or Traditional Agency are all in concert when it comes to building a branding campaign. Your various messages and processes should be mutually reinforcing.

6. Select an Interactive or Traditional Agency that understands your unique B2B needs. Consumer branding is much different than B2B Customer Acquisition Branding. By "understand" I mean ask them about the types of campaigns they've set up for previous clients, what types of media they've used, do they know how to develop creative that speaks to a potential B2B client - I love the "do the Dew" campaign, but this isn't the type of branding you would want to deploy for an IT Manager who is contemplating a purchase of your software.

7. How do you measure effective branding on the web? I am not sure if I have any answer or if I have unlimited answers - this is such a difficult marketing characteristic to measure. But, again, be "customer-centric" - ask people who purchase your software or services what they think. Why did you purchase (or why not if you can), did our marketing address your needs, was it meaningful and informative?

8. Think digital shelf life when branding on the web - you have to build messages and content that will only last for a finite amount of time. You have to continually refresh your branding and positioning by developing new content for a web site, opt-in e-mail or banner advertising campaign.

9. Incorporate your offline branding (creative, content, graphics, etc.) into your online branding when/where you can. So your customer has a sense of continuity when they review all of your marketing and communications processes. This also sends a signal to them that you have carefully thought through your overall campaign.

10. Last but not least - build net speed into your overall campaign. I've said it before in many articles, but always essential to underscore; better to be quick to market with something that may need slight calibration later on that to delay a facet of a campaign of the entire campaign to get everything perfect! Revenue is the engine that makes a B2B Branding campaign work and you can't drive sales unless you are putting your branding message out there in front of your potential customers!

About The Author

Lee Traupel has 20 plus years of business development and marketing experience - he is the founder of Intelective Communications, Inc., http://www.intelective.com, a results-driven marketing services company providing proprietary services to clients encompassing startups to public companies. Lee@intelective.com

Lee@intelective.com

---

The Aim of the Name

Large corporations spend lavish amounts seeking names for their products... Read More

Branding Services - Brand Identity Guru

Branding Services is a tactic that marketing executives and managers... Read More

Trademark Your Business ? Lessons Learned

Small business owners learn many lessons the hard way -... Read More

Your Identity Speaks Loudly...What Are You Saying?

Your corporate identity is a graphic expression of who you... Read More

Quick Tactics To Brand Your Business And Make More Sales

This may come as a surprise... to you, but Branding... Read More

Brand to Sell Well

Branding is an application of appropriate marketing techniques in the... Read More

Light Up Necklaces Help Promote Red Doors Movie at the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival Awards

June 13, 2005 -- Jane Chen (Producer) of the Red... Read More

Logo Design - Corporate Identity Branding - Brand Identity Guru

Like it or not it's who you are. Your corporate... Read More

What is an Artists Statement & How Often Should It Be Updated?

An artist's statement is a statement of ideas and thoughts... Read More

Branding Your Products Is Important

I was chatting with a couple of friends, all of... Read More

Putting You and Your Company in Position to Own Your Market

Americans have always liked their coffee hot. But then Starbucks... Read More

Acquire, Then Rebrand

Acquiring another corporation usually means that the acquiring company's name... Read More

How Will Your Visitors Remember You And Your Business? Brand Yourself From The Crowd...

Big and Yellow 'M' reminds you McDonalds... 'DELL' with oblique... Read More

Id Buy That: Getting A Brand Mindset

Feel that? The crisp tingle in the air? It's fall.... Read More

Introduction to A Branded World: Adventures in Public Relations and the Creation Of Superbrands

You'd have to labor to shield yourself from the power... Read More

Logo Design Tips

Logos can be described as visual icons that provide a... Read More

Branding ? Brand Identity Guru

Brands are important aspects of any business, but unlike money... Read More

Branding Mistakes - Brand Identity Guru

1. It "sells itself." I don't need to market.Okay, you... Read More

The Positioning of Success

Many businesses of today are often driven to compete... Read More

Branding Article: Pepsis Missed Brand Opportunity

I love Pepsi. It's that slightly sweeter taste and the... Read More

Brand Image ? Brand Identity Guru

Having a brand image is not a "have or have... Read More

Brilliant Branding Builds Business

Branding is more than product recognition or a simple logo.... Read More

Brand Strategy - Brand Value - Brand Identity Guru

Developing brand strategy is extremely critical. The most important asset... Read More

Do What Works

"Can you hear me now?"You'd be hard pressed to find... Read More

Differentiate and Dominate

Quite often small business owners will ask me to reveal... Read More

Branding: You are the Brand

What's in a brand name? Everything! Think of these brands:... Read More

How A Crazy Branding Stunt Can Bring Results For Years

As a beginner, you would be forgiven for thinking that... Read More

What is Private Franchising? It is Nothing Someone Made It Up

The Federal Trade Commission has an obligation to the general... Read More

Positioning and Branding - Brand Identity Guru

Where is your brand positioned in the marketplace? How is... Read More

The MOST Expensive Mistake You Can Make

Most people who own a small business have a huge... Read More

Branded Email: Email Branding is the Next Generation of Email

All You Need is Branded Email Or Always Branded Email... Read More

Brand Equity Building - Measuring Brand Value

Measuring brand equity allows a company to establish a baseline... Read More

A good logo vs. a FABULOUS logo

If you had a choice, which one would you choose,... Read More