Last week, I had the opportunity to present at a webinar titled Creating a Compelling Brand Promise. Thought I would share a couple of the highlights of this event, which was put on by my company, Fusion Marketing Partners.
We first defined the terms “brand” and “brand promise”. A Brand = the place your company occupies in a prospect’s or customer’s mind when he or she thinks about you. A Brand Promise = what you promise to deliver to your customers when they do business with you. Your job is to make your brand and brand promise the same thing.
In case you ever underestimate how important this is, here are seven things a strong brand promise can accomplish in B2B marketing:
- Explains what you do
- Articulates the “primary” customer benefit
- Establishes credibility
- Creates an emotional connection
- Invokes curiosity
- Motivates action
- Guarantees your place in heaven (just kidding on this one)
I shared some examples of what I considered weak and strong brand promises. First the weak:
Lockheed Martin: We never forget who we are working for.
UPS: What can Brown do for you?
Ernst & Young: Quality in everything we do.
Microsoft: Life without walls
Exxon: We’re Exxon (really!)
FileMaker Software: What’s Your Problem?
These companies are so large they can get away with lousy branding. But most of us don’t have this luxury. We have to do a good job of creating a value proposition that gives us competitive advantage.
Now let’s look at what I consider companies who have very strong and enduring branding promises.
Reebok: No matter what the situation, Reebok has the sneakers, apparel and gear to fit your needs.
GE: We bring good things to life.
Campbell’s Soup: Nourishing people’s lives everywhere, every day.
FedEx: When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight.
Home Depot: You can do it, we can help
O’Douls : What beer drinkers drink when they’re not drinking beer.
BMW: The ultimate driving machine
I’m sure you can come up with your own list of good and bad brand statements. But the most important thing you can do is to make sure you have a compelling and differentiated brand. If you want to listen to the replay of our webinar, you can find it here. There are several other events coming up about B2B Marketing so feel free to join us.
