Brand Building

Posted:
2/2003

Brand Building
Marketing Tips for Small Partner Sales
Organizations

By Tara Seals

FOR AGENTS AND VARs, company
reputation can be everything. Who wants to win business by selling the same T1
line offered by a competitor down the street, but for just a shave less? What
about competing on a whole different level, where potential customers already
know your business and recognize your name? What if clients associated your
company with knowledge, reliability, service and other value-added features that
make them pick up the phone and call you, not Agent 99 Cents two blocks over?

The key to this vision is effective
brand architecture — the creation of a strong image and message for your
company that the marketplace knows and trusts. A coherent creative direction
that extends across printed brochures, Web sites, trade show booths, direct
mail, ads, packaging, point of purchase displays and other media can represent a
strong brand image that consumers remember. It also creates an atmosphere of
professionalism and a cachet of expertise for the small businessperson.

Large and midsize companies agonize
over their corporate identities, carefully crafting images and messages, and
paying large amounts to design agencies to make it happen. For small businesses
and entrepreneurs, devoting such resources to marketing is usually unheard of.

"They usually just want to get
product out there and that’s all. But, if small businesses think about branding,
get things in alignment, get clear on a core message, send out in the right
media for that message — then boom, they come out looking like a smarter
company that creates more value for the customer and that builds more equity for
the company," says Howard Lim, founder and president of How Studios, an
creative agency specializing in small and midsize companies.

"Small companies can look like
a big fish in a small pond by taking lessons from the big customers," he
says. "Get out of the small attitude. Say, ‘we’re small, but we’re quality,
and we should be seen as that.’" Moreover, such attention to marketing
detail can pay off, he adds. He says it’s not uncommon to double annual sales
after launching a strong branding initiative.

Vision & Mission

Branding is about how a business
wants to be seen. That image is linked to the core values and personality of the
business itself, as defined by a company vision and mission statement.

"There’s a difference between
design and branding," says Lim. "It’s not just designing a logo. It’s
finding out the core value to represent, and the corporate identity then creates
far more value to the company. It’s aesthetics plus structure."

Defining the company vision is the
first step — channel partners should decide why they are doing what they’re
doing and why they think it will make an impact on the market. "What’s
inspiring the company to move ahead? The vision is a key important element to
branding," says Lim. "So you must design for the future, so you grow
into your image instead of out of it."

The vision, he explains, never gets
fulfilled: "It’s too grand, it’s a motivator. So we decide on a mission
statement, which acts like a roadmap to the vision."

That roadmap should contain
objectives. "You plan on having X impact on the market with A, B and C
actions," says Lim. "And make sure everyone inside [the company] knows
what you’re doing with the company, so everything is aligned. If people aren’t
aligned, you end up with a schizophrenic company."

After the vision, mission and
objectives are defined, the company’s logo and overall image can be created
around them.

"Create a vision of what you’re
trying to be or accomplish and make sure that gets across," says Scott
Kortch, CEO of reseller Global Telecommunications Corp. (GTC). "For us,
it’s global telecommunications, i.e. there is nowhere in the world that we can’t
handle."

Kortch says international flavor is
at the center of GTC’s branding. "Our logo was crafted that way, and we
also have an extremely easy name," he says. "And at our Web site
there’s a globe in the palm of the hand, and you’ll notice references to global
and international throughout it. The branding emulates the vision we’re selling,
and that creates the security of a seemingly large, global organization."

In general, having a sharp image
telling consumers you’re professional is important to success.

"It’s all about image. And if
you look like you’re working out of your house, you’re not going to garner the
respect and skills you need to move up market," says Ted Schuman, president
and CEO of master agency PlanetOne Communications Inc. "If every time you
get close to a T1 deal it falls apart, a lot of it may have to do with the
materials you leave behind, the Web site that looks like it was made off the PC
at home … but the guy that comes in with a nice-looking package, who leaves
the brochure behind, the client will react positively to him."

Standing Out

While brand marketing telegraphs
something about your core values to the customer, it also helps differentiate
your business from the pack.

"If you want to brand your
business, I suggest you identify all the qualities and characteristics that make
you distinctive in the marketplace — look at your unique sales
proposition," says Ramon Williamson, CEO of Ramon Williamson Coaching, an
image consultant and author of "Brand Your Brilliance." "Then you
educate your customer on you. If you’re a VAR, you must add value outside the
product or service, or installation — but how? You create the whole proposition
of why customers should buy this particular product and service from you, when
there are 20 other resellers out there with the same knowledge or
expertise."

Three simple things to set yourself
apart and build your brand image are showing up on time, doing what you say you
will and saying thank you, Williamson says.

"As simple as that sounds,
that’s a part of your brand, your code. What’s your story? Are you dependable?
… That system and process leads to referrals. People introduce you to greater
opportunities because over time you demonstrate that you respect them and their
time, and their unique goals and situations."

Such a corporate image helps build
brand loyalty. "You’re positioning your business practices as a promise to
the customer, saying they will gain a certain thing by buying from you,"
says Lim. "And you need to deliver on that promise. And as soon as you
deliver on that promise then you have a relationship, then ultimately you’ll
have a brand loyalty where that’s the only thing they’ll buy."

Customer service can be an important
way to add value outside of the sales transaction and build loyalty. "The
most important element when it comes to branding, and it’s so big but it’s often
left out, and that’s customer service," says Lim. "Branding works
because we’re bombarded with more messages than ever before and we have more
choices as a consumer than ever before. And the power has shifted from the
advertiser to the buyer, so we need to give them a compelling reason to do
business with you."

The company name, slogan, tagline,
all the way down to how the phone is answered and where the corporate office is
located can affect a brand’s image and set it apart. Attitude, experts say, is
as much a factor as spending money on a slick brochure.

For instance, PlanetOne found a
differentiation through irreverent advertising. One ad featured a dog humping a
leg, another a plumber’s rear and yet another with a granny bowling badly. While
Schuman acknowledges he does get some complaints, the tactic overall has helped
PlanetOne.

"Our first ads were horrible
and boring, with a guy with a tool belt plugging a phone line into a jack, and
it was so overdone that the consumer doesn’t even see it, they flipped right by
them," says Schuman. "So we decided we needed to stand out. And I tend
to be on the lighter side, so I wanted my company’s image to be reflective of
the personality of the business.

"Arguably in this point in
time, after 10 years of consistent advertising, we may not be the biggest agency
but I’d put us on the podium for the most visible," he adds.

A final important differentiator is
lining up marketing tools with the company’s core message about what it brings
to the market. "If the messages get mixed up, the colors don’t match, the
logos are used five different ways on everything, the consumers get confused on
the company," says Lim. "A small company, if they have everything in
alignment, they’ll stand out."

Regardless of how far you go, some
form of brand architecture is imperative for agents and VARs to succeed in a
competitive marketplace, selling commodity products and services.

"It’s what distinguishes you
from the guy that walks in behind that just got his cards done at PIP
Printing," says Schuman. "My money’s on the guy that made the greater
investment in his business because he realizes the value of branding to the
client."

Click here for PlanetOne Graphic

Five Tips for Getting Noticed

Accelerate your brand power with
some simple tips from image coach Ramon Williamson:

1. Pick a niche market. Choose
   one segment, such as accounting or doctors’ offices. It’s easier to be a big
   fish in a little pond than to risk having your message drowned out by too
   much competition.

2. Be consistent.
   Your message should be the same across all materials. The Web site, e-mails,
   newsletters, print ads and marketing pieces all should have the same flavor
   and design look. Stick with one tagline and one logo. If your company feel
   is sleek and professional, for example, then make sure everything looks
   sleek and professional.

3. Position yourself as an
   expert in your niche. Speak at
   conferences, write articles and send out press releases. Learn about the
   latest trends and position yourself as "leading edge." Become THE
   professional to do business with.

4. Personalize your message.
   Remember, it’s not about the rate, it’s about the relationship, so don’t
   just write up a quote. Take the time to understand the person’s business,
   and make appropriate recommendations. Put your picture on everything,
   including your Web site. Create a one-page slick with your picture, your
   vision and 10 tips for businesses that you can leave behind when
   prospecting.

5. Stop networking and build a
   network. Make a list of everyone you
   know in the field and find ways to gain introductions. Make referrals
   between contacts. Consistently contact your customers and prospects with
   helpful hints for their business, not just sales pitches for the commodities
   you sell, perhaps with an e-mail newsletter. And when you sign new
   customers, send an announcement to your client base — people want to do
   business with companies that are doing business.