Why Building Brand Wealth is Important

The business of marketing is very tough, complicated and very competitive. I started my business in 2001 because I recognized an opportunity that the firm I was working for at the time simply was not interested in filling. I recognized that in business, marketing is essential but very mis-understood to the point that attention is paid only when they have nothing better to do.

Let's understand what "Building Brand Wealth" is.  Why do we need to have this discussion in the first place? When a business owner forms their business, they have recognized how they can provide a product or service within a niche they have identified. They can do it better, faster or cheaper than others. Before they start their business, they see their niche as significant with its marketability being very clear. They feel so strongly about their opportunity they invest everything they have in their business, some invest their retirement, their homes equity, and in some cases money from friends and family. This is a deeply personal level of investment only they can understand. Unless you have been there, you cannot speak to this with the kind of clarity as those that have.

As my business evolved, it took a different persona than I had anticipated back in 2001. I began to understand that a business is either an asset or liability to the person or persons that own that business. But no one council those from the beginning about the value of the brand they wish to create. A brand they are not even aware of that they are creating. The attorneys, CPA's, Insurance Brokers and banker do not even make a mention to the business owners they work with. The reality is simple, if they do not have a strong brand, none of those other people are not even necessary. If the business has not learned the value of building the right value in their brand, they are leaving money on the table at the time they wish to step away from the business.

Now that we have established why the first thing a business owner needs to resolve for him or herself is the value of the right brand manager. Why is the right brand manager so essential and the key to this equation, lets discuss who the right brand manager is. It seems that there are hordes of people with their hand out ready to take your money. They make their presentations are generally very serious about their craft. The traditional agency will provide the "by your side" process, but will place you on retainer and charge you for every consultation and phone call. Then there are those that take only a piece of the marketing plan to deliver your direct mail or place your radio commercials. But they know nothing about how that brand needs to be positioned outside their media. It is very difficult find the kind of marking professional that will provide that: by your side" service on a transactional basis. It has been my experience that the Mid-West holds most of these kinds of thinkers. So it does not have to be cost prohibitive.

These are questions we in the business must face every day. As I ponder the purpose of what I have chosen to do as my vocation, I champion ethics in the process of building a successful branding effort. I have come to understand that what I do for my clients is considered an essential part of their business. This has become the essence of what my profession represents to the business world and makes what we do essential in the life of a business.

My fellow marketing colloquies that have clearly established their credentials will see who that this is aimed at and will embrace this conversation as spot on for the benefit of their clients. The business owners, which will become the primary benefactor, should see the value in reviewing for themselves what they have done in considering of their own "Brand Wealth" proposition.

Not every business owner is a branding opportunity; they do not carry the commitment to their branding necessary that will allow your agency to be successful. The grit necessary is rare and difficult to recognize at a first meeting. This grit will come out at some point in the relationship, it is only then you will know it this is the right client.

As marketing professional, the first thing I do, which is very difficult to do, is qualify that business by understanding who you can help and who you cannot. Many times that first time business owner is ill prepared and generally is not a qualified branding client. Simply to ask for an RFP is not enough for me, I need to know something about the business ownership more so than the business itself.  Don’t mis-understand me here, I can recognize and opportunity for what it is, I can process a transaction with the best of them, but few can manage a brand properly.

If you are a business owner, I speak to this issue of your brand. I have lived through this process of building my own brand value after the fact. I did not have a single, Accountant, Banker or Attorney talk to me about my brand value. Perhaps they assumed I was handling that because that’s the business I was in. That was a safe assumption but an incorrect one.

As it would relate to your business, evaluate your past meetings with the advisers you have met with, consider the content of what they seek to and then consider the concepts of your band value. How will that affect your ability to walk away and retire, or will you struggle with you bank to keep current on your loans? Most experts will agree that the reason most business fail is because they fail to have a committed and consistent process in place to market their business. Thinking about your marketing is not enough; you must execute and know how to gain residual value from your efforts. That’s what your brand manager is in place to do, deliver for you "Persistent-Consistency"

We will carry on with this discussion, it is essential for the business owner to first coming to terms with this concept of why they started their business in the first place. My first advice would be to put this in writing; you must understand your business plan and have the ability to articulate to your branding manager why you started your business and what your objectives are. Once you have done this, you will be ready to begin the process of "Building Your Brand Wealth".

"Building Brand Wealth" - Part One

In this segment we will establish the basis of your branding and why it is so important for your long-term objectives. But you must first answer a very simple question for yourself, is it your desire to create a job for yourself, or a business? This is fundamentally one of the most important questions you must answer for yourself before you move on. If you’re just working to create a job for yourself, let me save you some time, this piece is not for you. This is intended for those that wish to create a business of value, which will run under its own power while you not directly involved. A business that builds its brand value in a way people will buy as a part of your exit strategy. This in a nutshell is what we are talking about for you; creating such value in your brand you will have a need for lawyers and advisors that are always available to provide you services for a fee. I do not understand why people overlook their most important advisor, which is their brand advisor.

The concept of branding is really very simple; the practice of branding is where the breakdowns occur. It’s really easy to sit around the conference table and discuss with your colleagues the goals and objectives of your marketing campaigns as a part of your overall brand development.

After you have established your business plan and you design your “Sales and Marketing” budget, there are two things that need to be established. irst disconnect YOUR emotion from the process, you cannot allow emotional feelings and sentimentality to enter into this process. Your objectivity is essential in your business, most especially your marketing process. Too many times the process gets derailed due to the emotional ties associated in your day to day business. Learn the process of stepping back, understand the plan and stick with it.

After you have successfully removed the emotion from this process, the next step is equally as important, OPEN your mind. Look past the traditional, look into the process of Multi-Media or Multi-Channel presentation. The standards of marketing even ten years ago are much more involved today. This process of reaching out to your market in this “information age” reaches a level of attentive management that has never been necessary in the past.

It’s easy to understand television today remains very expensive, and will always be that. Yet the average business can hardly afford this media channel while newsprint, radio and direct mail has become the backbone for the smaller business and their marketing. How do you squeeze better performance from your marketing budget with shrinking resources and diminished returns?

Simply put, your individual activities, such as a direct mail piece to drive sales revenue one time, and a radio campaign the next time, ask yourself if you are getting any residual value from those efforts? This is where you define your marketing from your sales efforts. This requires process management to build your brand value. It is not possible to build brand value without a process of “PERSISTENT-CONSISTENCEY”. Lacking this will only reduce your brand value, cost you more money in the long-term and can create an even bigger issue of cash-flow, or lack thereof.
So understanding the basics let me ask you, what does Brand Value mean to you? How would you define it? Stop and consider this before you move on:

“The Public value or perception of your company’s product or services”
What is your BRAND value?

The most valued consideration in your exit strategy,
Your Image Is Everything!

Case In Point…

• Sold in 2003 for $57 Billion

• Purchased by P & G

• The “BRAND FIT”

Warren’s personal net worth grew $640 million

Plans are only as good as the execution, but the execution can only be as good as the plan!
So we will end this segment by asking if you have a business?  Have you sat down, put pen to paper and developed the road map for you to follow two or three years down the road? Please do not consider this a wasted exercise and something that you’ll never look back on. If you never look at it again, that tells you the plan needs work and improvement.

In our next segment, we will drill into this process. In the meantime, you can review for yourself the reason for your business, the business plan for your business and most importantly, what you want to get out of your business at the end of the day. After this has been established, the rest of this becomes much easier to personalize in the same way you do your compensation plan.

If you need help or clarification about this, please contact me at Joseph.Moore@CLKSearch.com

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CLKSearch!...for a better Result...a better Business - Home