How Strong Is Your Brand?

Do you have a strong brand? Here are some revealing questions that we put our own clients through as we work to understand who they are, and who their customers are, before building a direct marketing strategy.

• If you masked your logo, would customers be able to tell you from the competition by the experience you, your product or your service creates? Could customers tell they were in your facility by the feel, the décor and the way they were treated? A yes indicates a strong brand. A no indicates you have work to do.
• Would your customers readily jilt you for a lower-priced look-alike? A no indicates a strong brand. A yes indicates you have work to do.
• Does your brand pass the “oh come on” test–that is, do people believe your claims, or do they pass them off as empty corporate boasting? A yes, they believe, indicates a strong brand. A no indicates you have work to do.
• If you wrote and framed a summary of your values as you see them, could competitors get away with hanging the same document in their own halls? A no indicates a strong brand. A yes indicates you have work to do.
• Do your employees know, get behind, and help deliver what you stand for? (For that matter, do you?) Don’t let yourself off easy by reassuring yourself that they’ve read the mission statement and can recite your slogan. The question is whether your values have become part of their behavior on the job. A yes indicates a strong brand. A no indicates you have work to do.

Source:
A Direct Marketer Looks at Branding
by Steve Cuno
MarketingProfs.com, November 2, 2004

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