Branding through Differentiation
It’s not enough for your company to merely offer a great product or service. To get
ahead of the field, today’s competitive marketplace demands that the business owners
34 establish and develop a distinct brand. It’s important that your brand help them create
35 and further a clear identity, if one that every employee, from the CEO down to the
36 sales team, can understand and get behind with. The brand must be your mantra, and it
37 needs to be the one that can be stated succinctly. The real key to increased
38 market share is differentiation. How you approach the differentiation depends on your
39 particular product or business. The critical starting point is for understanding whether
40 your business or your product is the brand. For instance, although Procter & Gamble
41 sells countless other products, but consumers far more readily recognize P&G’s
42 individual product lines. Mr. Clean, Tide, Crest, Folgers, and Charmin, for example.
43 That’s intentional branding that favors the product, not only the company. However, for
44 most of small businesses, the business itself will be the brand. How you proceed depends
45 on whether your company or product varies greatly from your competitors or whether
you’re one of several companies offering similar goods or services.