1 . Look At Your Marketing Model

The most important step you can take when building a name brand from the ground up is using consistency. Whether you advertise in a newspaper, on the radio, through an ezine, on your web site, on television, on a business card, or on the side of your office building you must remain consistent.

When you see a ‘golden arch’ you instantly think of McDonalds (unless you’ve been living in a cave all your life). McDonalds integrates its brand image into all forms of advertising including on all forms of media advertising, on their food bags and cups, in its drive through, and on their world famous Happy Meals. The product is often the container for the food and a vehicle of repetitive brand recognition in your mind, the consumer.

2. Find Consistency In Your Company Web Site

Blend your colors, navigation, ease of use, and company logo in a consistent and precise manner across all aspects of your web site. You want your potential customers to be excited about your brand and be willing to pay an extra penny or two for something that you offer that no one else does.

Think about “Clearasil” Acne Cream at Wal-Mart selling for $4.99. Sure, it is a terrific product. But don’t get me wrong. Wal-Mart can undercut Clearasil by offering an equally likely product under it’s’ brand “Equate.” How funny is it that Wal-Mart names its almost exact copy of products (equal quality) by calling their store brand “Equate” and placing it right next to the overpriced name brand?

The key to beating the competition is clearly consistency and building brand recognition across all forms of advertising and especially your web site. If “Equate” was truly equal in the eyes of the consumer than Wal-Mart would have undercut all popular name brands in an instant. But it is the psychology of the consumer that helps them determine the products quality. That psychological makeup is determined by your consistency in advertising and promoting the quality of your product.

The name brand will practically sell itself.

3. “If You Build It, They Will Come” Lie

Your customers will not beat down the door if you build a product. You have to go to them and work backwards. Think reverse engineering of a product. You start with the consumer and their wants and needs in determining how to manufacture a product from the ground up. Go to your customer to determine the logistics of shipping a product. Find out how much they would buy and make that ‘irresistible offer.’

4. Think Like A Philosopher

Philosophy is amazing. Truly read up on it sometime. Your company’s philosophy must be determined from the moment you open your doors. Think:

“Who are we?”

“What do we stand for?”

“What makes us better than our competition?”

“Does our staff know who we are, what we are, our identity and theme?”

When you find the answer to these questions you’ll be knocking yourself in the head for not discovering the answers this quickly. Use these answers from your staff for fuel.

Consistent logo, consistent web site, consistent tag line, consistent logo, consistent slogan…. See how repetition works…. Consistently?

Matthew Peschong
Minnesota Web Site Design