A Case of Mistaken Identity?

Have you ever seen a competitor’s print ad, brochure, or heard its salesperson pitch and wondered, “How can they say that, that’s my company’s line (image/positioning)”? When conversing with a prospect or someone in your social network, have you been asked “Aren’t you the people who [insert product or tag line]”? You respond “No, that’s our competitor. We……,” only to be the recipient of the follow-up slap “Oh, it’s hard to tell the difference, you seem so much alike.” After you recover your cool, do you just shrug it off and go back to business as usual? If you do, you’re missing a great opportunity to use this nugget to better differentiate your company.

While there have been a few cases of companies purposely using their branding to cause consumer confusion (or at least create uncertainty), cases of branding ‘mistaken identity’ are more often the result of companies operating in a default mode. With the shrinking global marketplace (and shrinking revenue pie), it’s up to you to build a powerful brand that is clear in its messages, intent and recognition by customers and prospects. It’s critical that your company’s brand, which includes its visual representation, messages, actions, needs to simultaneously accomplish two goals: convey what’s different about what your company can do for the customer, and communicate it consistently and clearly.

To protect its share of the market and grow, a company must be diligent about its brand and marketing strategies. It means that companies must actively engage in the systematic collection and analysis of data about its customers and prospects, competitors, and the socio-economic, political, and cultural environments in which it operates so that the brand remains relevant and valued.

What is your vote for companies with the best branding and why?

Stephanie Leibowitz, MA, Anthropologist At Work