Advertising is supposed to be a tool, and one that provides clear results for your business. You need to be seeing returns on your investment (ROI) for each of your advertising choices. If you aren’t, then why are you advertising? That’s just a waste of time and resources, not to mention a big waste of money!
If you’re marketing in Joplin, Missouri, or anywhere in the Four States area, then it’s time to take a look at BrandsFormation. It’s a system built from four critical steps, and it will help guide you to crafting the kind of advertising that will generate powerful ROI.
4 Steps to BrandsFormation
Before I can explain how BrandsFormation will improve your ROI, you need to quickly understand what this system is. It consists of four steps: Strategy, Strategy-based message, Consistency, and Dominant frequency. In many ways, it plays directly into the sort of Bricks and Mortar approach that Zimmer Radio provides to its clients. It should build your brand step by step and ensure a real foothold in your market.
Strategy
Advertising has to be approached very strategically. As a business owner, you need to really understand your competition in the market, what you do differently from them, and what your product or service does for your customers. People buy the products and services that work for them, and that means they turn to brands that do something for them. So your strategy needs to be based on what people are really looking for, and then it needs to be based on what your competition is already doing. Think about it: Do people want to buy a mattress, or a good night’s sleep? Are they looking for the luxe quality mattress that costs a lot, the cheapest mattress they can find to meet their needs, or a good mattress for a good price? What options are your competitors already inhabiting? You can think of it like a ladder. The luxe mattress is the top rung, the cheapest is the bottom rung, and that blend of quality and price is the middle rung. Customers will grab the rung they need… as long as they know about it. If your competitors are already at the top and the bottom, then how should you probably position your brand?
Please note that this takes market research. You need to understand what your competition is actually doing and what your audience actually wants. If there aren’t enough customers looking for that middle rung, basing your strategy on that position won’t get results. You don’t just need to be unique; you need to be uniquely valuable.
Strategy-Based Message
The message you develop for your advertising needs to be based on the strategy you’ve developed. That’s how you ensure that your marketing is going to effectively help you reach your business goals, and that’s the heart of good ROI. The “bricks” in Zimmer’s Bricks and Mortar approach works well here. You need to dramatize the thing that makes your brand unique, and use stories to inform your audience about that difference maker rather than flat out tell them why you’re different and better than your competition. Basing your message around your strategy and sharing it through stories is how you make your brand compelling. After all, most people don’t want a sales pitch, but a story will move them and influence the way they think about your brand. Mortar is what holds bricks in place together. The mortar part of your strategy-based message stays the same throughout the year, while the bricks change. This mortar is part of the consistency that will help make your message immediately identifiable.
Consistency
Consistency is what makes your message and your brand recognizable. It encompasses your company’s look, sound, media usage, and time invested. Consistency is what allowed Maxwell House, McDonald’s, and Geico to build their brand into industry powerhouses. When you hear a phrase like, “Good to the last drop,” does it make you think of coffee? Do “golden arches” on a field of red make you crave a hamburger and fries, or does the image of a gecko conjure images of cars and motorcycles? Consider, when you see a red can, you think Coca-Cola! And if you’re a Coca-Cola fan you’d never reach for a blue can. To become a recognizable local brand, you need consistent elements, like a jingle on the radio, a logo, and the colors you use on your packaging. Remember, a brand is not built overnight. You have to consistently advertise to brand your business, which takes years, not days.
Dominant Frequency
Consistency in your branding elements isn’t the only thing you need — you also have to consistently share your message if you want it to be remembered. Good advertising isn’t just about creative; it’s about dominating a media channel and, ultimately, dominating your corner of the market. People need to be exposed to your message at least three times before they’ll take action; it’s what’s known as the frequency of three. But to reach this magic number, you can’t just run your advertisement a handful of times. Too many customers will miss it, and they’ll only be exposed to your message once, if at all. Regular advertising ensures your brand is present in your audience’s day.
How BrandsFormation Helps You See ROI
What BrandsFormation’s 4 steps allow you to do is to understand how your competition functions and which rungs of the market ladder they’re already holding onto, then find your own rung to dominate. This will improve your ROI because you’ll be meeting a unique need or approaching the problem in a unique way that automatically helps your brand stand head and shoulders apart from the rest. Your strategy-based message ensures that your audience can clearly see what makes your brand different, or rather, what makes your brand special and worth turning to. This laser focus on their needs improves the value they put on your brand, which generates more leads and sales, and thus, your ROI. Consistency and frequency work hand-in-hand to make your brand unforgettable and really hit home with your message. Hit that magical number — the frequency of three — by taking advantage of Zimmer’s 21/52 advertising plan.
Remember, BrandsFormation is a system. If you skip a part of this process, you undermine your own results. Think about building a brick wall. Would you leave out a brick here or there, or decide to skip using the mortar in one section? Of course not! That would keep the wall from doing everything that walls are supposed to do.
BrandsFormation is a powerful way to help your business succeed in your Joplin advertising efforts, and as your business grows and scales beyond that, it will help you across the Four States and nationally. If you want to learn more about the BrandsFormation process so you will be the first company your customers think of when they think about your product or service, you can find out more about about the system here. Here’s to turning your good business into a great local brand!
