Let’s start by pretending we are listening to a conversation.
In twenty words or three sentences, we have established two identities. Akan and Ayomide. You may be wondering who Akan and Ayomide are, but now you know them. Or, at least, you know their names.
What will be the personalities, characters and values of Akan or Ayomide is now subject to the learnings we gather from them as they carry on with the dialogue they’ve started. Let’s say it went a few sentences further.
Now we know their names are Akan and Ayomide, both at a creative hangout event. Ayomide has a history with the event, having been there at its inception. On the flipside, Akan does not have an account of previous events and seems quite impressed with Ayomide’s attendance streak.
Why don’t we listen a little more?
At this point, you begin to get the meat of the gist. Being privy to the conversation opens up many possibilities across different listeners. Some of them could be: what is the event about? How can I attend? A web developer for small businesses, how can I find Akan? I’ve been looking to collaborate with a copywriter. Good that Ayomide is open to that. The possibilities extend.
Like people, brands are no different. Quite often, small and (some) medium businesses like to treat their brands like an afterthought. Something that would eventually come into its own when the revenue becomes massive, or profit hits a certain margin. But business owners should treat their brands like they are their own person.
A clear brand definition is essential to help develop the end-to-end of your brand value touchpoint.
Let me walk you through why!
- What is in a name?
Do you wonder?! Of course, a name is one of the first things you are given after birth – sometimes before. So giving your brand a name is a no-brainer too.
- Who are you?
From the brief dialogue extract above, we established two characters. A few sentences further, we knew what they did for a living. Like people, brands go beyond a name. Therefore, a clear brand definition is essential to help develop the end-to-end of your brand value touchpoint. It also helps your users understand what they are about to interact with and decide on such interactions.
- Life & style
There is a reason why every society’s “lifestyle” niche gets a lot of buzz. A lifestyle is a reflection of the people that exhibit them. Same for your brand. From the choice of colours to the logo design to the fonts, brand tone and persona. These elements help drive visual appeal and deepen the impression your brand is looking to create.
- Personality vs value
If you consider the three most important people in your life, you can summarise their value because it is recognizable. What you perceive is a sum of their character and personality. Their value to you could be that they are great listeners because of their patient nature. A brand is no different. What value does it represent to prospects and customers alike?
- Integrity and results
Most of us have that one person we can count on because we can trust them to a large extent. We believed in their precision. Like people, brands are called upon at specific pain points to help provide solutions. The desire of users to contact your brand to offer such solutions falls back on the results you have delivered or promised to deliver and the integrity of your record or positioning.
- Visibility & presence
A famous saying goes, “A closed mouth never gets fed.” Brands need to be present where these pain points are looking for solutions. These days, for so many businesses, the limitation of real estate is behind us. Brands can now set up and grow their online presence, acquire customers and grow their sales revenue without needing a physical space to thrive. It always comes down to whether your brand’s metaphoric mouth is closed online or is visible.
Call to Action
After establishing your identity, values and expected results, a call to action is the next step to move the conversation forward. It must be straightforward, seamless and easy to engage.
