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Brand marketing - SSC Digital Marketing


Rebranding your business can sound like a lot of effort and money without really understanding why you should do it. Changing signs, email signatures, stationery or updating everything without realising the cost benefits can feel like a thankless task. There are reasons to delay doing it, and it is not something which makes it to the top of the agenda for many businesses; if it's not broken don't fix it, right?


However, when you are looking at your marketing strategy, it is good practice to question your top-level branding - so should you be looking at your brand strategy?


Here are some questions to help you decide whether now is the right time for a rebrand.


When was the last time you looked at your brand and what it represents?


Business and clients evolve over time; technology is continuously developing, refining and adapting. Keeping up with these changes feels like hard work and a continuous task which needs to be improved. Many people believe certain brands are timeless, but the reality is some of the worlds' biggest brands adapt and change. They have to do this to stay relevant - ahead of the times, not behind! Take Pepsi for instance, they've changed their logo eleven times to date.



@Logaster


Coupling evolution with your brand's recognisability is imperative and achievable.


Who is your audience?


An easy mistake to make is to assume you know your audience and how to target them based solely on the knowledge of your product/service. However, as you grow and adapt your brand may begin to resonate with a wider circle or in some cases completely different groups of people. If this is the case should your original strategy remain unchanged? If the answer is no, what are your next steps to becoming more attuned to your audience?

It's also important to remember that things going on outside of your business influence the vibe your brand creates.

This is not to suggest every new cause and trend is a valid reason to change your brand, but it is essential for your brand's survival to recognise how a changing industry affects your audience. If it has been a while since you've considered how your brand represents your business values - and the principals which your audience invoke - perhaps it is time to investigate how a rebrand could benefit your business.



What is happening in the world?


We have touched on this already but it is essential to understand where your customers' interests lie outside of your specific trend. Does it benefit your brand to commentate on and identify with the world outside of your business? Thanks to Social Media more brands have a voice on civil rights movements, environmental and social issues. This type of commentary has enabled brands to be seen in a certain way by their customers and therefore reinforce their relationship on a more personal level. A current example is the Nike campaign and the faces they are using to back their brand. Having Colin Kaepernick front their brand is a direct comment on the black civil rights movement.

Moreover, they are more than happy to lose customers who do not share their brand's point of view. Nike has consistently used athletes and celebrities to further causes in which they believe change is or is going to occur. While you may not feel your business needs to or even should have an opinion on some matters, audiences who are passionate about issues linked to your business may believe your silence on an issue is evidence of apathy, which in turn can cause damage to your brand. Having an opinion can bother some people, but - as in the case of the Nike campaign - are they really the people you want to keep onside?


If you are looking for help with your re-brand or looking for a consultant to help decide if you need a rebrand, we can help you go further. Contact us today.

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Updated: Sep 19, 2019


Digital Marketing - how to get sales and marketing to work better together
Sales and Marketing - Friends or Foe?


Sales and marketing; two areas which are always - and rightly so - paired together. Even when selecting categories, it’s always sales and marketing. While the general understanding is that both contribute to the profitability of a business, these two teams can still have a tough time working together.


Although the culture shouldn’t be this way, there are still rumbles of rivalry between department when things aren't looking so rosy. There is also the misconception that if you have a sales team, you shouldn’t have to invest so much in marketing and vice versa.


Working together


Often a major issue between these two departments is rivalry. So how can you make sales and marketing work better together if teams aren’t seeing eye to eye.


1. Feedback, and then feed that back


There is a real benefit in marketing to listen to what a sales team has to say about new pitches, queries and calls they have had. They are the front line of your ever-adapting buyers personas' and can inform campaigns of how to attract new business by addressing barriers the sales team are facing. Having said that, sales teams' sometimes want marketing to be more responsive by creating material on the spot, especially in regards to changes in data production laws. Marketing enables the sales team to talk to engaged parties about their content, offering an opportunity to connect better with potential buyers


2. Plan, but be agile about it


There is an emphasis on marketing teams planning huge chunks of campaigns, spanning the year within larger companies. While having key points and themes is important for budgeting, in the digital marketing age it is unrealistic to make plans that are difficult to adapt. This isn’t a seal of approval for every bit of content a sales member wants the green light on. There are still key things which need to be considered when looking at a change of direction such as current trends, content time, decay and audience relevance.



3. We are all aiming at the same goal


When things aren't on target everyone wants to show they are doing what they are supposed to. If the company culture is one where things aren't going well, other teams are empowered to help with the solution rather than be blamed, it can make a huge difference to campaign success. Is there something that’s being missed? Is there a nugget of information in digital marketing analytics which can help steer sales conversations back on course? Are there consistent questions from buyers which being ignored when planning content?

Everyone should feel they can work together which means sharing in success as well as challenges.


Working with multiple agencies, teams or even multiple roles with their own targets to implement expectations can be tough. Having the right culture and larger team work ethos can make a difference to the content produced. This is a sales approach which ultimately improve the experience of your brand to potential customers.

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