Branding

Recently, my life has really changed. It seems as if I’m in a new city every other week, meeting tons of great wedding professionals. As I meet so many great new people, I’m always listening, and one thing I continually hear is vendors talking about“making it big! Naturally, you look to the industry’s best and you desire to be like them. Here’s the kicker. You’re just as good, but the best in your industry is probably making 3 times your salary.

What’s the difference between you and the other vendors charging (and getting) 3 and 4 times what you charge for the same product?

Branding.

If you’ve been reading my letters, you’ll know I’m on a mission to transform the wedding industry. When I entered this industry 5 years ago from the marketing world, I quickly realized this industry is purely talent driven. I want wedding professionals to realize a huge part of their success is in BUSINESS: branding, organization, networking, and more. This month I want to touch on what is arguably one of the most powerful business tools since the spreadsheet—branding.

BRANDING

Very few people really know how to define branding, let alone make it work for them. Let’s start by taking a look at a few different powerhouse brands to see how their use of great branding has worked successfully for them.

First, let’s look at Apple Inc., again. Do you remember when the first iPod was launched and it revolutionized the music industry? Not long after, Creative (another tech company) came out with an MP3 player that looked and worked almost identically. It was $100 cheaper, but I didn’t buy it because I wanted the “real thing”. During this so called recession, Apple has been selling the most computers, and I might point out they are also the most expensive.

More and more, I’m seeing girls with designer purses like Coach, Prada, and Louis Vuitton, which l do admit look much better than the average bag. What drives someone to spend $1000 on a bag? We all know that the material alone isn’t worth that much more, but it’s the brand that brings it value.

LuLuLemon, an icon in athletic wear, has popped-up in almost every city and has created loyal followers. What allowed them to expand so fast?

Starbucks, Starbucks, Starbucks! Why is it that I have to buy a Starbucks every time I go to the mall, and every time I’m at the airport? Why do I suggest Starbucks every time I meet a friend or colleague? I remember reading that in the USA, Starbucks was opening more stores every month then the total number of stores their next competitor operated.

Think how boring our world would be if brands didn’t exist: everyone would be walking around in plain jeans, blank t-shirts, and drinking tap water all day long at their boring office jobs.

Brands play a huge role in our society, and the wedding industry is no different. It’s a BRAND that differentiates one venue from another. And, it’s the brand that creates value even though it’s not listed on your balance sheet. For example, Coke’s market cap without its brand is only $50 billion, but with its brand is $120 billion. In the city I’m originally from, there is a big, high-end hotel, yet everyone I talk to complains about how bad the food is; however, because they’ve created a BRAND, brides still flock to this venue every year for their reception.

WHAT IS A BRAND?

Most people don’t understand what a brand is nor how it can work for them. A brand is the connection between your clients -> certain key words -> and you. Your brand is how people FEEL about you (I like how Wikipedia says it: “Brand is the personality that identifies a product, service or company”). Some people make the mistake of thinking that their brand is simply their logo. Your logo is your identity, just like how your face isn’t who you are but simply how people see you. Your logo visually identifies you in a magazine, website, or on TV.

Brands are purely emotional. When enough people arrive at the same emotion, a company can be said to have a brand. You can’t control people’s feelings, but you definitely can influence them!!

Brands cause brides to seek you out. Brands wave any concern about your price. Brands also work among wedding professionals because your peers will recommend you first. Newspapers, radio stations, and the local news will all be calling you for quotes. Your brand is so important.

COULD YOUR SUCCESS BE AS SIMPLE AS A BRAND?

It's not just an ad.

Your advertising campaign is much more than the ad you place in a magazine or newspaper. Many small businesses quickly put together an ad, place it in a magazine, and then sit back and wait for the business to roll in. Then when business doesn't roll-in the next week or no one mentions their ad they wonder why?

So how do you measure your advertising success then? Well advertising is about achieving a goal, so the best way to measure your advertising is to set a goal, something realistic, and then measure your advertising based on how close you come to obtaining your goal. It's really pretty simple...there's no need to make it complicated.

Note: this doesn't mean to stop asking all together where people heard about you, there is still important information that can be obtained from this question.

• What is the distribution like?
  You're not paying for the square inches on a page of the pixels on a screen - you are paying for the audience! How many people are they reaching and how often?
• What is the audience like?
  At times it is important to advertise to the mass market and use generic advertising streams but it is always more powerful to drill down and reach your specific target audience.
• Can I extend beyond my ad?
  Whenever possible choose an advertising method that also allows you potential opportunities to extend beyond your ad. You need to find ways to get yourself published! An editorial piece, feature, or advertorial is more powerful than a standalone ad will ever be. Learn to work with editors, find out what they are looking for, how to submit stories or photos to them etc. Don't just expect people to come to you, it's your job to make sure editors know who you are.

And remember you have to spend money to make money!! Advertising can single handedly make or break your company. You can have the most brilliant business, the most amazing customer service, the most beautiful photographs, the best prices and so on but if you can't communicate that to your audience then it is all irrelevant.