So you’ve started a business and now comes getting your business in front of people who can use your product or service. The current podcast guest Web Developer and Digital Marketer Jon Whitbeck explains why it is not as simple as putting up a website and they will come.
Strategic branding involves developing a strategy that will instantly bring to mind your product or service while demonstrating a degree of reliability that you are more than just a business card. Not an easy task while you’re functioning as chief cook and bottle washer. But Jon Whitbeck has come to the rescue with a list of things you can do to stand out from the crowd.
Know your target market
Have a clear idea of your target market or the type person who will use your product. One entrepreneur actually gives his ideal customers names and plots out their life to better understand the various aspects of their lives and how his product will fit into them.
Be consistent
Decide on a name, logo, business cards, and website that are all saying the same thing. If you want to be a clear fixture in your customers mind you will need to present a clear picture of what you are and what you do. It’s sort of like dropping bread crumbs that will guide someone looking for a product to you.
Be a little different
Remember Jennifer Grey or “baby” in the movie “Dirty Dancing”? People loved her look because she was not Hollywood perfect. Once she had a nose job and became just like everyone else there 
was less attraction to her as a character. The same goes for you and your brand. If you are doing all the things that everyone else is doing your target audience just lumps you in with everyone else.
Measure everything
A lot of business owners are aware of analytics but using them in an effective manner can tell you a lot about your ideal customer. Believe it or not analytics are your friend because as Jon put it they allow you to test ideas to find out what works rather than what you think works.
Get a third party view
Very often you’re so deep into working on the dream that you think you are doing one thing but your marketing says another. Getting an outside view helps you align what you think you are sending out with what your customer actually sees. Sometimes its not pretty, but better to find out so you can correct things than continue down a blind alley.
Use social media to shorten the learning curve
Owning a business is hard work and you can have good and bad days. Accept that there is a learning curve you have to go through. Social Media is a great tool to help you learn from others in addition to presenting content for your target market. Use it that way and it will help shorten the time it takes to get from A to B.
Hearing Jon explain these concepts during the podcast is well worth the listen and I guarantee you will come away with a new appreciation for all the spokes in the wheel of Strategic Branding. New customers will thank you.