Turn every opportunity into a greater opportunity

There are many stories of success built on first attempts. Look at Thomas Edison who failed to register the patent for his ticker tape machine, and therefore, felt compelled to continue inventing and eventually perfected the light bulb which we cannot live without today.

There was another Inventor, James Dyson who produced more than five thousand prototypes before he came up with a successful bagless vacuum cleaner. We can also learn from USA’s first multi-millionaire, J D Rockefeller who looked to turn every disaster into an opportunity. Learning from personal experience proves that timing is everything in the life cycle of a business from the knowledge and capabilities of corporate experience that it is never too late to build a recognisable brand, based on core ethics of value, structure and passion.

The pace of change in the global market means the constant need to improve has become the norm. The greatest challenge is for businesses to learn what they want to become and to whom, that organisation needs to build a culture in which people excel at showing the value of a brand.

Branding will always evolve and be applied to everything that this business does. The secret is to get everyone in the organisation to correctly and consistently apply the brand and not to miss key opportunities within a growth path. It is up to this brand to build expectations, memories, stories and relationships that when grouped together will account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another.

If the consumer doesn’t pay a premium, make a selection or spread the word, then no brand value will exist. It is up to every business to always add value to its marketing strategy ensuring that brand building is one of the key outcomes that will determine why the value should be remembered. It is important to know that the normal consumer needs to hear of a brand 21 times in order to remember the name, but they have to be touched by that brand seven times in order to trust in making a purchase. It is good to note that what other people say about brands has a big influence in making them look at your brand again or get closer to it with the intent to know why they would take out their wallet, open it and pay in support of a choice.

Trust plays a crucial role in getting the consumer to be loyal and stay with a brand. We must remember that everyone of us is exposed to a minimum of three thousand brands per day. From early in the morning till late, from the radio that wakes us up, to the toothpaste that you use, from the clothes that you wear, to the car that you drive and to that meal you have for lunch have all been brands that you trust.

The art of thinking independently together is the value of diversity. Greater diversity means greater scope for creativity if used more varied is the source of an organisation’s view, the more likely ‘out of the box thinking’ and solving problems will occur. Diversity will combat group thinking and cross functional teams that incorporate market research in order to deliver brands that appeal to all types of personalities and market trends.

Look at the brands we did not know of at the turn of the century, like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and many more. Now, think of brands that we did not know or have experienced in the last five to three years like Uber and AirBNB… These are names we are now familiar with. But, have you ever stopped and thought about what goes into make a great business idea, and how do we compare a great idea to that of just average. And lastly, how do we know we have an idea that will change the way we think, we work and we buy. Now, let’s say you have gone through the filtering process and your idea is starting to make traction in the market place. What are you going to call it? How are you going to make it catchy, and what is going to be memorable about it? Like it or not, you are going to have to build a brand, a logo and nowadays icons as well, which are playing a big role in association in the changing market of tomorrow.

Let’s expand a bit on the latest trending brand being iconography which is something that majority of established businesses have not caught onto yet. With this design style, which has largely been created by social media companies, it has had an influence on us all, young and old. Even though social media is relatively new to us all it is very interesting as it does incorporate a lot of the market strategies and technics from the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s. It is all about getting back to one-on-one-marketing – it is all about selling to individuals and getting to know them better, knowing their buying habits and patterns as we all want that personal service. Who would have thought that when we all first received our mobile phones that it would be a tool we all use for a multi-faceted life?

Take time to think of branding from where we currently are. Keeping the design simple with bold flat colours is what is taking over the world. The reason for this is our smart phones with its incredible touch-screen technology nowadays which enhances content created by producers of apps who want their brand to look as bold and bight as possible in smaller spaces. With this mythology in mind it is how you carry your brand across multiple platforms and it is all to do with the science of applying brand building opportunities to be consistently noticed in this digital age.

This new age of APPS development is all about adding value and holding on to market share. Because with data acquired through these digital platforms gives business strength in market-share, understanding to add more and in most cases partner with complimentary brands in order to keep the consumer loyal. Customers are always looking for a sweepstake or the next best, newest thing in the market place. This is qualified by the ‘W.I.I.F.M’ formula, which stands for ‘WHAT IS IN IT FOR ME?!’ We all suffer from this condition. If there is no value for the consumer to participate, they will within 5.4 seconds click and move onto something else.

The brand experience of today blows holes into the traditional marketing methods of thinking. It does not stop there as brands migrate in the retail world as the potential to where consumer habits are realised. These brands grow fast by the quality of product, how it treats its people and understanding the difference in economies and tastes in other parts of the world while continuing to grow. An example of such a brand is ‘Starbucks’ which is interesting in the extent to which they define what they produce not only as a cup of coffee but the whole wonderful experience of having a break, a chance for a sense of community and relationship building. Their store experience speaks for itself as to how they roll and deliver something unique that people want to talk about and share, which in itself is a form of social media and viral communication awareness.

As far as how trends change and tastes go, it is now hard to believe that much of the western world once thought of the Japanese snack, sushi, as just cold, wet fish wrapped in seaweed. Don’t knock something if you don’t like it, give it a chance. Many people did not believe that Red Bull would be successful yet its sales and turnover is incredible which in turn has allowed it to compete with top car brands that are close to 100 years old in Formula 1 racing.

It doesn’t call these F1 fans Petrol Heads for nothing. The whole experience is exactly for who they are, by providing an extravaganza of high octane fumes, the vibration of engines, and the smell of burning rubber. Now place 1 per cent of that energy into any business and you will have a sensation on your hands. Every one of us has a personal desire to be individual, just like your finger print, yet businesses are so shy in incorporating most of these senses into their brands.

Making brands personal, making brands with added value and making brands that bring people together will always be fundamental in building a business that can go to market and have fun with their consumers. As long as consumers have fun in participating, you can go everywhere with your business, your brand and your message.

Start building a brand for tomorrow, today!

Grant Thom
@thomtalk1
Gold Creative services
011 803 7713