How to build your brand?
Branding, as Merriam-Webster defines, is “the promotion of a product or service by identifying it with a particular brand.” Simply speaking, your brand is your promise to your customers. Besides attaching to a product or service, it represents more intangibles of programs and services; for example, your brand portrays your own uniqueness in the competitive market. Your brand recollects customers’ perception about quality, lifestyle, status, and image. It assures customers and helps build brand loyalty that will continue to drive traffic to your business.
Having a strong branding is crucial to sustain the success of your health club. In today’s informative era, there is almost nothing that your competitors cannot copy in a short period of time. Not only will they duplicate your programs and services; there is a significant chance that they will be able to do better at a lower price. Your competitors can and will recreate everything, your trade secrets and your strategies. Patents will expire and technology will be outdated. At the end of the day, nothing will have as much value as your brand and as a result, brand equity—the value of the brand, is the most valuable intangible asset and one of the strongest competitive advantages your business can have.
Develop an appropriate brand name
It should be communicative on its own even without much advertising. It should be easy to pronounce and to recognize. Considering the globalized nature of business today, your brand name should convey neutral or positive associations around the world in different languages and cultures. Apple, Google, Nike, Microsoft, and Sony are some of the most successful brand names in the world.
Position your brand properly
Identifying the competitive advantages, which distinguish your programs and services from those of your competitors, is the first step. This will propel the understanding of the relationship your customers have with your brand. In return, it will help you develop programs and services better catering to their wants and needs. Ultimately, customers create the positioning as they have the final decision in determining whether your programs and services are satisfactory or not. The best you can do is to influence how your customers position your business.
Typically, a successful positioning campaign will have the following characteristics:
- Your brand is relevant to your target customers. The more connection your target customers can identify with your programs and services, the greater chances they will invest in them. Finding such a unique connection is the key.
- The message of your brand should be clear, focused, and to the point about what you want to convey about your programs and services.
- The message of your brand should be authentic and its promises should be backed by support. Only credible programs can build trust, and the promises backed by support will help build the trust and forge long-term relationships with your customers.
Find the right brand identity
It mainly consists of pricing, quality, presence, and customer commitment.
- Find the competitive price. Pricing conveys value. You can choose prestige pricing where higher prices denote higher quality, and lower prices indicate lower quality.
- Ensure high quality. Quality programs and services will translate into customers’ satisfaction and more loyal customers who would come back to buy what your club offers.
- Consolidate presence in the market. This is more linked to marketing efforts of the firm. High presence in the paid or unpaid media will lead to more brand recognition and more sales.
- Dedicated to customer services. Building loyalty is a long-term branding goal, and it requires constant and close customer communication. It is extremely rewarding, as loyal customers will continuously help generate sales.