Your business is a complex web of planning, management, and production.
Like any complicated entity, you may have trouble describing it, unless you’ve come up with a way to define it all. Enter: Your brand. Your brand goes beyond your logo or slogan. It is the entire experiences clients or potential clients have with your organization. As markets become increasingly competitive, standing out from the crowd is paramount to success.
The American Marketing Association (AMA) describes a brand as a “Customer experience represented by a collection of images and ideas; often, it refers to a symbol such as a name, logo, slogan, and design scheme. Brand recognition and other reactions are created by the accumulation of experiences with the specific product or service.” Branding is a crucial defining element of any business today, including B2B marketing. A brand should answer the following questions:
- What is your company’s mission?
- What are the benefits and features of your products or services?
- What do your customers and prospects already think of your company?
- What qualities should customers associate with your company?
A brand strategy defines what your business stands for, the promises you make, and your business personality. A well considered strategy helps you reflect the elements of your brand throughout your business practice. Although your logo, color palette, and slogan are included in your brand strategy, your brand is also about the daily interactions you have with customers. From marketing initiatives and sales kits, to how employees engage with customers, there are many components that make up your brand. These elements will all influence how customers differentiate you from your competition.
As the owner of your brand, you want to control how it is delivered and perceived by using a brand strategy. Your brand strategy brings your competitive positioning to life by transforming a flat business image into a “certain something” in the minds of consumers. One of the best ways to foster your brand strategy, your “certain something”, is through the use of marketing kits or sales tools.
Sales kits are a unique way to represent your company and its products or services. Most marketing initiatives lack the creative functionality that can be incorporated into a well designed sales kit. Consumers may be able to imagine all of the qualities you represent in your brand, but if you can literally present those qualities through your sales kit, you will create a more solid and lasting impression. Consider the following reasons for taking advantage of a sales kit branding opportunity:
- Branding Through Design. Not only do sales kits provide a tangible representation of your brand, they offer the ability to exploit your brand strategy through how the kit is designed and delivered. Design your kit with the end in mind. Understand the goals you want to achieve with your kit so that you can design a sales kit that will cater to those goals. Do you want to brand yourself as a new innovative agency? Have your brand and sales kit reflected this through creative and modern design elements. Are you marketing yourself as the tried and true reliable source? Create a kit that highlights your history of success and reliability through authoritative colors and approachable design.
- The Delivery Opportunity. Sales kits offer branding opportunity through both design and delivery. They can often double as an interactive product demonstration to be presented by an employee, giving you the chance to personally represent your brand. A well designed sales kit presented by an informed, courteous employee can leave a lasting impression on a potential client.
- Making Individuals Important. Sales kits can impart a sense of individual importance for the customer. Providing customers with a physical kit allows customers to create a unique interaction with your brand. After all, your brand is more than just your logo- it’s how the customer interacts with your company. With a sales kit, you can better control exactly how the customer perceives your offerings, and if your sales kit provides samples of your products or services, a customer can have a personal interaction with your brand. For example, if your company sells flooring materials, a potential customer can bring your product samples into her home, making your product relevant to her life and needs. Showing customers that you value them will build both customer loyalty and brand equity.
