FAQ: Doesn't This Direct Response Marketing Stuff Ignore Branding?

I don't think so, and this is why...

Branding is not what you do but what the market perceives you to do, based on deeds in the marketplace.

A little historical perspective...

Branding comes from the world of farming. Farmers brand their cattle for easy recognition. This is the same as in business. And here lies the difference.

For farmers, branding is about quality of beef, not about fancy gold-plated branding irons. In the world of commerce, for most businesses, branding is about fancy logos and catchy slogans. Using farmer's language, most businesses focus on improving quality of the branding iron at the expense of the quality of the beef.

So...

They buy the cheapest and crappiest feed for their cattle to keep costs down.

They hire the cheapest vet and skimp in vaccination to keep costs down.

They hire the most expensive graphics designer to design their brand mark, and buy the most advanced gold-plated and platinum-handled branding iron to create brand awareness.

Then they hire the cheapest farmers to brand the cattle. Most cattle will die because the cheap farmers, instead of branding, burn the beasts to death.

Then they hire the cheapest butcher in town who will botch up the slaughter and the cutting, and the farmer is forced to sell his beef at rockbottom price as discounted pet food.

But that's all right because they still have the best brand in town... thanks to the fancy gold-plated, titanium-handled branding iron.

And once you own the world's best branding iron, then who cares about the quality of beef anyway? You praise the name of the graphics designer who came up with the brand. At the same time, the local newspapers are full of articles cursing your substandard beef.

So what brand is this? A brand to avoid. Because in spite of the rancher's best effort, the market brands the beef as inedible crap.

So, branding is not about perfecting the branding iron (e.g. logo), but perfecting the stuff the branding iron is used on, that is, the beef itself (a.k.a. quality of content, good marketing, client service, etc.).

Here are some of the questions your prospects want to be answered to make an educated decision about your brand. And if you fail to give them clear answers, then they make their decisions based on their existing information base, which, in most cases, not in your favour. Questions like...

• Who are you?


• Why should I pay attention to you?


• What can you do for me?


• Why should I believe you?


• Why should I act upon what you say?


• Why now?

In my world of selling premium technology solutions, branding is...

• NOT about putting your logo and your company's name on your marketing pieces


• NOT about image marketing of mindless chest-beating, pompous pontification and retarded platitudes

This approach creates four questions in the market's mind...

• "What is this stuff?"


• "Why should I care?"


• "Who is this stuff for?"


• "What's in it for me?"

And one pretty common market response: "Yeah; right; who cares; next."

In my world branding is...

• About flooding your target market with valuable, high-quality content, so that your Ideal Prospects can associate your name with great value, and when they are ready to buy, they automatically come to you without checking other options


• About offering premium solutions to premium clients at premium fees and prices


• About offering something unexpected, so clients can talk about your company. You create a buzz in your market


• About creating memorable client service experiences. Be courteous and responsive

This approach creates branding on four levels...

• "If these guys have so much great value (a.k.a. content, client-focused information) for free, how much more could I get for a fair investment?"


• "These guys are nipplepiercingly expensive but worth every penny they charge"


• "I hired these guys for this, but above and beyond this they also delivered that. Call it positive surprise"


• "These guys don't deliver services. They put your through a WOW experience that you'll always remember as some of the best days of your life!"

Good branding is not about Wizard of Oz type pretence, a facade your company puts up to deceive the world. It's about creating a seamless alignment between what's going on inside your company (inside reality) and how the market perceives what's going on inside your company (outside perception). And this outside perception is your brand.

And because of the way Mother Nature works, your outside perception is an almost 100% reflection of your inside reality. I say almost 100%, because you may be able fool nature for a very very short time.

So, branding is not something you proclaim but something the market proclaims for you. It's not Apple or Harley Davidson that have created the cult-like brand. I's their markets.

Nuff said.

"In the land of marketing the direct response marketing rules."

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