Stop right there. Turn around. Give your brand a long hard look.
What do you see?
A business with a clear sense of purpose?
A team of people united behind a clear goal?
A set of words that you could take straight to centre stage at TED?
A graphic identity that looks epic?
If you see those things, keep going, patting yourself on the back all the way to Soho House—Enjoy that flat white, you're in good shape! If you don’t see those things, read this post. Then contact us, or try our online brand positioning course.
What is a brand anyway?
An old boss of mine said that your brand is, “what people say about you when you’re not in the room”. And it is that: It is the impression you leave on people.
You’ll leave that impression in many ways. The tone of your ads and web copy. Your photography. The shop where your product gets seen. The complexity of your instruction manual. The experience of using your product or service. The speed at which your problems get solved. The location of your customer team. John the receptionist with the jam stain on his tie. And even the Nespresso flavours in your reception.
It’s the entire affair. The good, the bad and the ugly.
Branding is often thought of as just a logo. But the real magic lies in the consistency of all of the above, behind a centralised idea.
Mixed signals cost sales
I have no problem with a cheap brand being cheap. That’s fine, that’s what you expect.
Brands run into problems when their product or service doesn’t live up to the expectation. For example, when my broadband isn’t super fast, no amount of Usain Bolt is going to make me happy—so off I go to Trust Pilot to lay down some serious 1-star smackdown. Power to me!
By comparison, when I buy my energy from Bulb, I get a friendly logo, super customer service, cool Instagram posts about saving energy and talks from the founders about how they measure diversity in their team. Well done guys—you’ve smashed your brand inside and out.
When I buy a Tesla (ahem, coming soon), I get a sustainable car and CEO who wants to fly to Mars.
When I buy my plant-based meals from All Plants, I get instructions on how to recycle the packaging.
Good brands add up. And we like them for it.
Bulb. Practising what they preach.
Introducing the STANCE brand positioning methodology
Developed by us, The STANCE Method is a framework for building your brand with strong foundations. Foundations so strong that you can build a brand mansion, not just a brand house.
S is for Situation. The world in which you operate.
T is for Transformation. This is the journey you want to take people on.
A is for Attitude. This is how you conduct yourself while running your business.
N is for Niche. This concerns any intricacies you may need to navigate on your journey.
C is for Confidence. Why do your customers care? What makes them believe in you?
E is for Expression. This is how you sum the whole thing up in words.
To have a successful brand, you need to insert the STANCE at the heart of your business. Your STANCE needs to drive these things from the top down, and be embraced from the bottom up. That's when you know you've got it right.
If your STANCE needs some work, you know where to find us!
STANCE framework download
Did you enjoy this blog? Try downloading the STANCE Framework.
