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Out of sheer curiosity, I decided to Google the 2016 profits of Toyota and Mercedes-Benz recently. And what did I discover? Toyota made roughly $252 billion in 2016 and Mercedes-Benz brought in a mere $97 billion.
Does that surprise you? It surprised me a little.
As two vastly different car brands, with two vastly different price points and target markets, I had started thinking about how, with the right brand message for the right audience, it could be possible to find immense success, regardless of the price point.
But both brands are successful because they understand their audience and provide them with the right messaging for the right experience. Look at the different messaging just in their taglines:
Toyota, Let's Go Places
Mercedes-Benz, The Best or Nothing
The branding for both is perfect for their audience, the price point, the lifestyle. And the comparison is also proof that you don't have to set the highest prices or cater to the biggest clients in order to make good money.
Here are some tips for how to build the best brand for you:
Create (And Stick To) Brand Goals
As Sean “Diddy” Combs once said, “don’t chase the paper, chase the dream.” Starting a business requires a ton of passion and drive, but getting caught up in the money can corrupt the dream and make potential customers see right through you. Use that initial passion to create your mission statement and company values and don’t veer away from them as you grow, unless you want to invest in a rebrand.
These core values are the foundation of your brand. Take the time to put some thought into what your brand stands for and which audience you serve and keep that in mind as you build out your content, your design elements, your website, and even your team.
Choose The Right Tone
Building a brand is a lot like creating a main character in a story. A brand has a personality and a voice that is present in every piece of content, every element of design and every customer interaction.
When you are building your brand you must take your audience into account in order to figure out how to strike the right tone in the way you communicate with them. When executed properly, brand identity can go a long way in creating word of mouth brand awareness. But if your messaging and tone are inconsistent and convoluted, it can turn people off and prevent them from doing business with you.
Be Consistent
Once you’ve created a brand voice—a tone that identifies the personality—it’s crucial to be consistent across all departments and channels. If you’ve identified your brand as being academic and serious, then sending out marketing emails with a casual, playful message would be confusing and off-brand.
This is especially important as you grow, because with more people to manage communication can often fall short—moreso if you are in startup mode and everyone is doing the job of three people. By putting a brand guide together, you can ensure that your messaging will resonate with your target audience no matter who is doing the talking.
Hire A Branding Buddy
If you need help building a new brand from scratch, are confused about how to continue building upon your brand as you scale a business, or want help in rebranding your business, HYC is here to help! Contact me today to talk about how I can help you gain more clarity about your brand goals and achieve greater success. Who knows? Before long, someone might be Googling your profits out of curiosity.