Is your advertising delivering the results you want? If not, it might be time to take a fresh look at your marketing plan. Many retailers advertise out of habit without truly evaluating their strategy. The best advice is to constantly evaluate the effectiveness of your advertising, search for new market opportunities and vehicles, and make sure your message is clear and consistent. If you’re unhappy with your advertising, lack the time to develop a branding campaign, or want to look at what you’re doing through fresh experienced eyes, an Agency can help.
What exactly is Branding and what do you mean by Creative Brand Marketing™?
From a business point of view, a successful branding campaign can do a great deal for any company. Branding is based on the concept of singularity. It creates in the mind of the prospective customer the perception that no product on the market is quite like your product.
Whether in terms of quality, style, selection, uniqueness, or any number of other ways, singularity creates the perception that your product is better than the competition. By the same token, a successful branding program should also clearly define an element of differentiation. The product’s mark of differentiation will allow the Client to out-perform in the marketplace.
It is the responsibility of the Agency and the Client’s Marketing team to develop and implement successful Creative Brand Marketing™campaigns that create an element of differentiation designed to touch an emotion to purchase. Your Creative Brand Marketing™ campaign is only effective when it sells your product first.
Here are some basic tips:
Before you advertise, research the demographics of your market. You need to know who you are selling to. What is your consumer base? What is their buying potential? What are their needs? The answer to these questions may require the professional help of an Agency.
Don’t advertise on price alone. There are so many ads that tout 50%, 60%, up to 70% off. The consumer is immune to advertising based on price, unless it’s something you can make a strong case for. Research shows that the biggest factors in choosing a retailer are value for the money coupled with trust, service, authenticity, and knowledge. Consistent price-based advertising can create a negative impression, because it implies to consumers that you inflate your pricing to discount.
Be consistent. Develop a simple message and repeat it constantly. Consistency is everything. You have to create mind share to gain market share. The one-shot big Super Bowl ads don’t work. The consumer is constantly bombarded by messages. You need to stand out. Consistency should apply to your “set image”, as well as in the “look” of your store or design of your business card. It should be reflected in everything you do.
Advertise year round. You have to stick with it. Retailers shouldn’t eliminate advertising just because the economy is bad. When a company sharply cuts back on it’s advertising, its brand can suffer what is commonly known as “memory decay”, often suffering this malady in a very short time. Worse, if its competitors remain aggressive, a company can lose not only market share, but also valuable mind share. It doesn’t mean that you have to continue at the same level, but if you stop, you become invisible in the eyes of the consumer.
Don’t worry about your competitors. If your competitor channels all their marketing efforts through one specific medium, don’t be tempted to go head to head. Experts say it’s better to set your own strategy and stick with it, not try to counter punch. If you try to outdo your competition, you are in a reactive situation. In the end, no one wins.
Advertising should target not only new consumers but also existing ones. Prospecting is a lot more expensive than marketing to people who are already your customers. Building a solid bond with your existing customers is the key to repeat business and leads to a positive return on your marketing investment.
Once you’ve chosen a set strategy, track its effectiveness. Develop a way to get a response from each customer on where or how they first heard about you. Determine what media they read, what they’re looking for in a store, and how they choose where they shop.
Choosing an Ad Agency. The quality of an Agency can vary, so you must choose carefully. Each Agency has its strengths and weakness. Some try to be everyone’s Agency, some find a “niche” of expertise and work to be the best in that category. Some Agencies really help create and promote jewelers. Lisa Adelle Design is one of those Agencies. Other Agencies have too many Clients and don’t understand the jewelry industry and want to make their money and get out.
Examine the Ad Agency’s track record. Just like the best employee is someone with experience, the best Ad Agency is one who has done the job before, whether it’s specifically for jewelry, or any product or service. There are some things to consider when selecting an Agency without jewelry experience or knowledge of the jewelry industry. Photography is one of them. Jewelry and food are the two most difficult things to photograph. Lisa Adelle Design is the expert in jewelry photography. Most Agencies are used to photographing people and don’t have the experience or the highly specialized equipment to properly light a jewelry piece. Lisa Adelle Design has an in-house state-of-the-art photo studio designed specifically for fine jewelry photography.
Finding the right relationship. Even after you’ve selected the Agency, you need to be extremely satisfied with your working relationship as you set your strategy and work towards your goals. Lisa Adelle Design values the right relationship and is committed to the Client. As a valuable marketing partner, LAD offers the utmost in personal service, innovative creative and full in-house capabilities. LAD can assist you in developing your “next” strategy and provide the confidence necessary to achieve great success for the future of your business.