Do you have a brand promise?

 

Written by Albina Rose

Some time ago, I participated in an online discussion where this topic came up, and I had honestly, never thought of it until then. But the conversation did get me thinking about it. And thinking about it even more. Until I came to understand how important it is to have a brand identity and brand promise.

“The brand promise is what audiences are assured of receiving as a result of their relationship with the brand.”

And another from Brain Trust contributor: Jean Wilcox, Co-author of Abullard’s ABC’s of Branding :

A brand promise is the statement that you make to customers that identifies what they should expect for all interactions with your people, products, services and company. It is often associated with the company name and/or logo. Sometimes also called a “tag line,” here are three examples of brand promises following a name or brand:

For a heating and air conditioning company:
ABC Heating and Air — “We’re not comfortable until you are.”

For a tire company:
Dave’s Tire Company — “More than tires, we deliver peace of mind.”

For a fine dining restaurant:
Carl’s Steak House — “Our food is the best, but the memories we help you create are even better.”

Christine Hendricks, Director of Brand Strategy says “A brand is a promise a company makes to its customers, which must be delivered upon consistently with every single interaction.”

I’m sure you now understand what a brand promise is. And the importance of having one for your business. It’s an identity of who you are, what your product is, your customer service and what your customers will come to know you by. It also should convey to people who are not yet your customers, what they can expect from their interactions with you.

Sounds simple but it’s not been that easy for me to create a brand promise. That’s because, for a long time I was all over the map with my work. There was no cohesiveness or balance between my jewelry (and everything else I was making). I thought in order to be successful, I had to please everyone in order to sell to everyone.  I had no idea at the time what a target market was or what that even meant. You may also know  a point-of-sale (POS) transaction is what takes place between a merchant and a customer when a product or service is purchased, commonly using a point of sale system to complete the transaction. You can also check point of sale system examples.

What helped me create an image that worked for me was to look inside myself.   Normally, you would start by asking what market do you want to target?  But, I rarely do anything the normal way, so I started by looking at what I loved to make the most.  What work did I create that I enjoyed making and best represented me.  Once I was able to identify that, I felt I had found my brand image—fantasy, faerie tales, unique.  From there, my brand promise of romance, enchantment and magic, naturally developed as I allowed my spirit and other inspirations infuse the items I loved making.

In other words, look at your work and draw from those elements to create your brand identity. From that, your brand promise will naturally develop. And because you reached inside of your work, in essence your heart, it will honestly represent you, extending to your image.

Or, you may want to approach it in a more conventional manner.  Identify your target market, research it and create items that your market will want to purchase from you.  Either way, you should have a brand image and brand promise that your customers and customers to be will come to recognize and know you by.  Whatever that may be.

This is my favorite explanation from GarrReynolds.com:

Brands are Personal–
The greatest brands of all — that is, the greatest brands to you — are much like a trusted friend. In a sense, we judge brands by asking ourselves the same kind of questions we would ask about people we know or are thinking of doing business with. For example, we might ask: Is he authentic? Is he reliable? Is he honest? Can I trust him? Does he make me feel better about myself? The bonds we have with our most trusted friends, are bonds based on a promise. Our relationships with brands are not (usually) as strong as those with people, of course, but if a brand breaks a promise, you can bet that customers will feel betrayed, anger, and take their business elsewhere. Great brands have distinct personalities and people choose brands, more or less, that match their own unique personalities.

Written by Albina Rose

Click on any of the images above to learn more about these wonderful artists!!!

 

 

 

 

Tags: brand statement, branding handmade, branding your store, Handmade, Handmade Artists, handmade branding, social media

Posted in Selling Tips