What if Nobody Cared About Your Brand?

 Imagine your company closed its doors. Ceased to exist. That brand you built? Gone. That company, you work for? No longer a source of cash flow to pay the bills. Now imagine that happened and nobody really cared.

That “Who cares?” mentality is more a reality than most of businesses would like to admit. According to Havas Media Group, customers believe  three-quarters (75%) of brands could disappear and consumers wouldn't care. And this number continues to rise.

It should not come as a surprise to anyone that finding new customers is tough and getting tougher. We are doing business in an era when prospecting has become increasingly difficult thanks to noisy marketplaces and shifting consumer demands.

One driving factor of the major disconnect between customers and brands may be coming one-size-fits-all marketing messages. With a lack of attention to a prospect’s uniqueness, it’s easy to understand why potential clients take a narrow-minded view of certain brands.

Companies must pivot their brand images and messages to find differentiation against their competitors. Often, that differentiation can be achieved by showing prospects they are seen – and valued – as individuals. Prospective customers tend to support organizations that share similar beliefs or are built on similar core characteristics. Marketing goals and budget need to realign and highlight the company’s brand, yes. But they must also realign around what key personas value most.

To create a memorable brand campaign, marketing teams need to get in the mindset of their clients and prospects and ask themselves the following questions:  

• Will the campaign be meaningful?
• Will the campaign be differentiating?
• Is the information credible?
• Is the message personalized?
• Will the campaign be sustainable?

Meaningful

Does your campaign have a serious, important or useful quality or purpose? Will people care about this message when they hear it? Does it resonate well and align with their beliefs or sense of individuality?  

Differentiating

Is this something your company can uniquely own? Can anyone else say the exact same thing and deliver on this promise as you can?  

Credible

How believable is the story you are telling? Will there be questions as to whether your company can follow through on what it’s saying?  

Personalized

Can you incorporate data, either first- or third-party, to better understand your prospects, their values and what they most need or want to achieve their goals? Are you recognizing their uniqueness in a way that’s compelling and promises a long relationship that will change over time as their needs evolve or become more complex?  

Sustainable

Will your company be able to maintain this position? If so, for how long?   The strongest, most sustainable corporations, businesses and marketing agencies ask these questions every day. Cut through the noise in your industry and create an attention-grabbing campaign that fits well in your organization’s footprints, acknowledges your prospects’ individuality and stays loyal to your brand messaging.

Josh Fleming is the Vice President of Marketing at Bank Iowa and the AMA Iowa 2020 Marketing Executive of the Year. With more than $2 billion in assets, Bank Iowa ranks as one of the leading independent ag banks and the second-largest family-owned bank in the state. Farmers, families, and businesses access Bank Iowa’s products and services through more than 20 locations, as well as online and on mobile devices. To learn more, visit bankiowa.bank. Member FDIC.