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I was listening to a podcast and I couldn’t believe what I heard.

An idea was being pitched to a room full of executives; the CMO, COO, they were all there.

They were asked to complete the following statement.

Brand X is (fill in the blank).

There was silence.

brand confusion

These executives couldn’t say what the brand was or what it stood for. They couldn’t define it or say what its mission was.

They offered nothing.

Small business owner, don’t feel bad if you’re still carving out your niche and defining your brand. Apparently big brands with millions of dollars struggle too.

The reason for the confusion and lack of insight by the brand managers and company executives could have to do with the brands current percentage of the market share (very low) and brand perception (not healthy).

You see, you have to be able to articulate your brand’s purpose; what it does, who it helps, and how it will accomplish that goal. What words or imagery will you use to promote your brand?

If you can’t answer that question, you can’t successfully market the product. You won’t be able to position your brand and then your brand is left to wander aimlessly in the marketplace. And aimlessly wandering through the marketplace is a huge waste of resources; a practice to avoid at all cost.

That doesn’t mean that your brand won’t need tweaking as the market changes or as your mission or vision shifts. In its infancy, your brand may go through a refining period and that’s OK.

In order to keep forward progression and satisfying your target audience just make sure:

  1. You know what your brand is about, what it stands for and can articulate it to anyone, anytime, anywhere.
  2. Your brand remains consistent because trust me; they’re watching you.
  3. Review periodically to make sure there is no brand confusion in the marketplace.

So tell me about your brand by filling in the blank in the following statement:

 

“My brand is/does ___________.

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