Value first brand second

By Paul R. DiModica

see us as peer rvho is a provider?

It's not necessarily you or I that they are judging: it's all of the salespeople and brands rvho preceded us.

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Often. brand marketing is some grandiose business exercise to paint the bi_e picture of rvhat makes your firm different and to explain rvhy people should buy. The problem rvith big brand marketing is that if it's not focused on value creation for the buyer. it boxes sales into a restrictive enclosure that at times limits nerv sales opportunities.

fODAY. marketing people love to I talk about brand selling as the key business driver that induces prospects to take an action step to buy. But in this business world. to sell more. it should be value first, brand second.

Why? Because every brand has attached to it both good and bad perceptions based on the receiver's understanding at the point in time it is heard. It doesn't matter if what you say about your brand is true; rather, from the receiver's point of view, do they believe it's true? At any time, the prospect may have read your brand statement in a trade publication or a national newspaper that rvas negative or they may have had a business acquaintance say something that describes your product or services incorrectly. Or worse.

Your firm is so big that your brand is too generic and it does not exactly describe how your product or service creates value for the prospect... so immediately the prospect just dismisses your brand as having no value for them at all.

Today. the question sales and marketing teams must answer is how do prospects see us? Do prospects see us as a vendor rvho is predator or do they

Will Volvo. branded as safery cars. ever sell lots of sport cars? Will Apple. branded as cool artistic PCs. ever increase their market share to l0%?

When your brand says. "We have great service." or "Our company is committed to our customer." or "My product is the best." prospects don't believe you. This is just corporate gobbledygook, because everybody says the same thing.

When you talk like your competitors. and sound like your competitors. and act like your competitors. you norv are perceived to be like your

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