Blog,  Budgeting,  Marketing,  Personal Branding,  Small Business Strategy

The Formula of a Successful Brand

November 1, 2018

In today’s era, whether it be in business or any other professional life, we are not seeing the same traditional practices being applied as we did 10 years ago.  The world today demands much more to be successful and although it may seem easier to do so, it’s actually more complicated than ever.

Don’t let that scare you.  Having the resources (the internet) we have at our fingertips, you would think it to be easier and it some ways it is but it’s also more complicated than ever.  Building a successful brand can be really challenging because of all the “noise” we experience each and every day.  We have too many options!

Many people think it’s as simple as having a website, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest posts and stories, throw some money at Google’s SEO etc.. and it will all do the work for you.  Yes, it’s great that you’re on all those platforms BUT how are you strategically linking those platforms? How do they compliment each other? How do you create a meaningful journey for your customer? These are all questions we should be asking ourselves when it comes to building a brand. There is no exact formula that says if you create these pages and buy this advertising, you’ll automatically be successful.  My formula includes (Human Psychology + Business + Marketing) x Strategy = Successful Brand. You should apply those questions to each factor within the formula. Obviously, I hope you thought about your product first! 😉 

The Formula:
Human Psychology – The study of behavior and the mind. Mostly every job in the world requires you to understand human psychology. It’s who we are and it’s how the world works.
Business – I purposely kept this as a broad subject in the formula so you can apply your own business there.  Business is in everything we do.  Even if you’re a doctor.  As a doctor, you either own your own business practice or you’re employed as a medical professional in a business. You are a product for the hospital. The product that saves lives!
Marketing – The universal definition of marketing is the action or business of promotion or selling a product.  BUT my definition is, the action of manipulation or seduction of a person – to sell a product. 
Strategy – My favorite part, the well planned approach and execution of that plan while efficiently using your resources.  Just like chess, thinking steps ahead of your competition and implementing moves that will eventually make you successful over your opponent.

Successful brands aren’t built over night. Take a look at Apple, Coca-Cola, Nike – these brands were on the verge of failing before they became successful. Coca-Cola’s original marketing budget was $11,000 in the 1890’s (while the business continued to face challenges in their product), their current marketing budget is close to $4 Billion a year.  That’s more than the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of 25 countries!! Why would they spend so much when they’re already a globally known brand? If they don’t continue to put their logos/product’s in front of the consumer then during the holiday season this year, you might think of Pepsi instead because the psychological connection the brand made with the holiday’s is broken. 

pepsi logo evolution
The Christmas ad that touched everyone’s heart 

One of the most common mistakes a small-business makes when it comes to marketing and advertising budgets, is that they keep them static and forget to increase as they grow.  As your business grows, instead of thinking you should spend less on advertising because you’re successful, it’s the exact opposite.  You need to spend more to stay successful, otherwise, you leave the doors open for your competition to step in.  

All the factors above are crucial when it comes to creating a successful brand. In my future posts I will be diving deeper into the various factors within the formula but for now, leave a comment and let me know what part of the formula challenges you the most.

-Rushi

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