Your Brand VS Brand X – How to Differentiate

By Emilie Downs, Owner, Imago Visual and CWCC Member

If you are competing on price, it means your customers can’t tell the difference between you and Brand X.

If clients are asking you to discount, it means they are making their purchasing decision based solely on price. You don’t want that. Why? Because it means they can’t tell the difference between you and your competitor. Come on, you’ve heard it before, “I think your estimate looks great, BUT your price is higher than the other bids we received.”

Then, the long pause…. Are you going to discount? Are you going to try to defend yourself by stating all the reasons why you’re worth more? It’s too late. It’s too late to try to explain how you differ now, “We have great customer service.” So does the competition. “We have a great product.” Well, so do they. Better luck next time (better evaluate your brand).

Your branding efforts (or lack thereof) directly correlate to the amount of money in your pocket. Don’t believe me? Think lower prices are the way of the “new” economy? Think again. If that were true, why would anyone shop at Whole Foods? We all know the joke, “don’t you mean Whole Paycheck?” You see, Whole Foods is a premium brand. They stand for organic, unprocessed food because you want to fill your body with the best food money can buy.

Let’s turn that idea on it’s head: If there’s premium food for purchase elsewhere, why would anyone shop at King Soopers? Because they are looking for affordable, nutritious food to feed their growing family–that is the King Soopers brand.

The bottom line: Which brand do you want to be? There’s no right or wrong answer here. But there IS a difference. There’s a BIG difference between the two brands. There’s no confusion. You expect that your grocery bill will be higher at Whole Foods. You are not surprised to save money at King Soopers so you stock up on the basics.

If you’re spending time responding to comments like, “What can you do for me that Brand X can’t do?” or “I guess I don’t see the difference between the two services.” Then it’s time to differentiate–and to make sure those differences are heard loud and clear by your potential customers.

If you need help setting your brand apart from the rest, or would like to learn more from Emilie on branding, sign up for “Branding Uncensored for the New Year: Essential Planning for Your Business Brand” on November 13th.

This popular branding seminar led by Emilie Downs and Lori Dubois will:

• Lead you through our signature 5-step branding process-what it takes to build a strong brand and why it is so crucial to your business.
• Explore some common branding misconceptions, how they can be barriers, and how to use them to your advantage.
• Show you how to differentiate your company through your brand.
• Discuss the impact of social media on your brand.

Register today!

Emilie Downs is the owner of Imago Visual a branding company based in Denver. In her 15 years of experience, Emilie discovered business owners often have trouble conveying their exciting and unique message to customers and employees. We help our clients move beyond business categories, to telling their brand story, both verbally and visually, resulting in clarity for their businesses, employees and customers.