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Having a memorable brand is almost always goal number one. There are three elements in almost every memorable brand out there in the mainstream. And for all you who are in pursuit of your memorable brand, here are the three essential elements you’ll need to pay attention to in order to make your memorable brand a reality.
1. Engage your customers to create a memorable brand.
Memorable brands start when your customers feel an affinity for your brand. That tends to happen when they feel like the brand understands them and when they feel like they are a part of something. This is exactly why campaigns like Kony 2012 work — because the audience feels engaged and feels like they are a part of something. Your job in creating a memorable brand is to find a way to allow your customers to feel engaged and to feel like they are contributing to your success.
Wineries do this extremely well with their wine clubs. A member of the wine club has a much greater stake in the success of the winery than someone who just shows up periodically for a tasting does. Being a member of the wine club allows you access “behind the doors” and gives you an insider’s understanding of what’s happening. Simultaneously, it encourages club members to network among each other at pickup parties and to bring new potential club members with them to taste free.
2. You must be consistent.
Creating consistency with your external image is an essential element in creating a memorable brand. Your customers must know what they can expect from you every time they come through your doors. This is the one of the reasons we see national chain restaurants so successful while local mom and pop restaurants struggle. When you walk into an Applebees, Olive Garden, or Outback Steak House you know that your meal will be the same as it was the last time you ate there. Conversely, the meal you get at a mom and pop restaurant locally may be the very best meal you’ve ever had, followed by a mediocre meal. And its that fluctuation in the meal that will cause you to go to the reliable national chain over the possibly amazing local restaurant. This, of course, is true whether your brand is a restaurant or not — consistency is king.
3. A memorable brand needs a marketing budget.
Creating an engaging and consistent brand is a necessary foundation, but if no one knows that you exist, it’s going to be a slow go. Memorable brands invest 2-8% of their gross revenues into advertising and marketing. The lower the cost of your ticketed item, the lower on that scale you can fall. But the key is to put your money where your mouth is and to pick a few strategic marketing plans and to commit to them for at least 6 months. If you are courting a business-owner market, find the local radio station that does local talk radio and make a radio buy 2-3 times a week during the same hour each morning of that morning show. That buy should be fairly static, not moving around, not getting changed up for at least 6 months. It’s the steadiness of your buy that will create your top of mind awareness.
You can augment those very strategic and steady marketing choices with call-to-action and promotional campaigns, but never, never let making a dollar today get in the way of your long-term strategic goals.
There are lots of elements that can be employed to create a memorable brand, but engagement, consistency, and putting your money where your mouth is, are some of the essential elements that will help propel you to the top of your industry.