Before the web was a dominant influencer to a brand, a company could essentially hide behind their brand. How their advertising portrayed them was all the contact the public had with the companies they bought from. With this in mind a company could say one thing on the surface and do an entirely different thing behind the scenes. The tobacco industry is a good example. In the public eye, the advertising showed a lifestyle that was glamorous and appealing while the reality behind the scenes was that they were selling a product that could kill the user. At that time there was no recourse as effective as social media to exposing the double identity of that brand. Today the web changes that scenario.
Today, every business has to be sure that all channels of contact with their prospective customer may be using is represented in their marketing plan. You have to be aggressive in defining what your brand stands for. The flagship of your brand today is your website. If you hire an amateur to do you site, it will turn off those who approach you online. Your brand image must be consistent to make the best impression every time they come into contact with you. Any week points in your presentation works against you. Unlike the old days, you can no longer risk the ire of the public when you say one thing and do another. Authenticity is paramount to defining your brand. Anything that reflects bad behaviour will be exposed almost instantly to a planet-wide audience. If its bad enough, it could take on a life of its and ruin a brand.
The web is an open book and that’s a great thing. If your brand fears the web, then it has problems culture-wide. The web absolutely levels the field. Staying on top off your marketing efforts on and off-line allows you some control over what messages are being pushed out to the public. The challenge of course is staying on top of these efforts. Just like lean manufacturing, your branding needs constant attention and improvement. To ignore your brand is to play with your sales potential.
Excellent post. It’s absolutely true that brands cannot fear the web anymore. You have to utilize it to its full power, and continuously post the type of content that your customers will be interested in!
@MattLBrennan Embrace the web and use it to your advantage. You can’t really hide behind it can you?
Do you mean “Trojan” rather than Trogan?
@inkspot7777Â You’re right. Trogans are that other group 🙂
These days your true company brand and culture cannot hide. There are so many communication channels out there your voice has to be visible in all them to really grow your brand.
@36creative Thanks for the input 36C.
Indeed! But you’re referring to Trogans here, right? Thanks for the worthwhile article! People started having digital life afterall, an enormous market is waiting and a huge population always hungry for something new.
@Velocity_Local Trogans -trojans -same folks. Our job is to satisfy that hunger.
every time going about money, if you selling alcohol you can’t say if you drink to much you die
@komorkomaniak It’s a moral fine line.
To be honest they were probably just after some interaction with customers and showcasing their talents.
@sednaled That’s right. Thank you for commenting
Here at http://www.heybubble.com live chat software we find being completely see through is the only option, the more clear you are the more people will tryst your brand.
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I truly believe in the line “Authenticity is paramount to defining your brand”. Because people always like straight forward and a honest brand. And yes, its going to be hard to achieve the publicity in today’s competition, a unique niche and a good effort on creativity will surely help a lot :)Â Thank you.
@raghavendrabsrg Thank you for your input
Whatever business you have in order to be the leader in the world race, you have to heavily advertise and invest in advertising. Half of the profit needs to be directed that way in order to increase sales. No matter what you sell, alchohol, cigarettes, cigares or bikes, the client needs to feel special when buys your products. That will differe you from the rest and people will look for your products on the market.
Thank you for sharing this wit us and reminding us the importance of maintaining our brand image. A good image of a brand can maintain and attract more customers to your business and for this reason just as you have pointed out the branding exercise must be maintained and improved on a regular basis.
@EssayPapers Eactly. Thank you.
Great article! This is true! Maintaining your niche brand and standing behind your product combined with good feedbacks does help increase one’s revenue. In the online world where not everyone is has the chance to get to know the direct owner in a personal level, it’s necessary to make the brand reach out to the customers and make them feel that they are being taken cared and they can rely on the brand that they’re looking in to. This is why i may add, that product reviews and customer feedback plays a very good role in the online industry.
@paulzemella When I’m shopping around online I enjoy reading reviews from customers. It makes a big difference in my decision whether to purchase or not.
agree..the web has leveled the playing field that even small businesses can thrive as long as you have the passion and the will to be successful..nice read!
@murdoeguy Democracy is great for your brand. Thank you.
I believe in open-ness of trade, this is because it inspires confidence from the client when the company in question is not afraid to show who they really are.
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Dual branding / cobranding is different, but hiding the company identity is certainly not productive.
Actually, you’re right. People nowadays are way much smarter than before. They can smell whether you’re telling the truth or whether you’re faking it.
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I guess, the only thing that you should always do is to always be transparent about everything that you do.
Websites really make a business accessible to the public so marketers have to be aware that bad impression could make an instant turn off to the customers. That could really hurt the business. Transparency and good branding; these are what it takes for your company succeed. 🙂