Marketing & Branding Strategy

So what’s the KISS formula for marketing communications? I spent about 15 years running a salon chain I co-owned, marketing over 40 different locations, 500 unique individuals and a couple hundred products. That marketing boot camp along with the last 5 years of strategic marketing consulting taught me one thing.

SIMPLIFY. SIMPLIFY.

I have the gift of seeing the yet to be created as words and a mosaic within my mind. Don’t worry I am not special I did not get the cooking gene, nor the 60 year marriage gene. And seeing it ‘all’ is sometimes a lot to handle. I’ve learned to keep marketing and branding strategy easy for my clients by using tools like the one below. KISS ( and the final s is for silly – of course!)That’s my goal in sharing the

The Integrated Marketing Communication Process can be simplified and one of the tools I use to do this is; the KISS: Marketing & Branding Strategy Overview

( Click on image to view)

KISS Marketing and Branding Strategy

Define Client

Everything begins with understanding your client. Define them. Answer every question possible about your clients lifestyle, likes and dislikes . As you engage in ongoing listening you will continue to learn more.

Understand Clients Pain Point/Problem

Every business. Every new venture. Every product and service either solves a problem or capitalizes on an opportunity; or solves pain points of clients. What is the problem your clients have, where is their life more painful than it needs to be?

Identify Solutions

Each product and service is a solution for clients pain/problem or a yet to be seized market opportunity. Describe each of your products and services in terms of the elements by which they solve the pain/problem you’re clients have. Think recipe. The problem is a recipe of ingredients. The solution ( your products and services) are recipes made up of ingredients. Ingredients are elements. Elements lead to competitive advantage.

Craft Brand Promise/Value Proposition

Your brand is basically the gut feeling the customer is left with after you’ve successfully serviced them, provided them solutions to their pain/problems. So what are you promising clients? What are 3-7 words that powerfully communicate what makes your company unique and different? The brand promise and value proposition is overarching and yet every product and service should have a clear statement of value, promise also.

Tell Your Story

Your company was founded around a big idea. What is that. What’s the story behind your products, services and your big idea? Stories help us connect. Write the back story of your company, venture, organization and show us don’t tell us about it…

Research Keywords

Now it’s time to develop a list of keywords that resonate with your clients, tribe, the big idea your business represents, brand promise, solutions, products, services and story. It’s time to choose the key words you want to own and then begin your research. Can we SMO and SEO these words? Can we be found in search around these words? Will we be purchasing these words? So many questions, but for now it’s time just decide on your top 5 keywords, then 10, and 20. And be specific. We will talk about this more later.

Develop Brand Platform

Now it’s time to take the basic marketing communication framework and dive deeper into knowing the personality, persona of the business, organization, brand. In this step we treat the company as if they were a person and completely identify every like, dislike and trait from tone of voice, to words used, preferred colors, symbols, icons. The goal is to develop a very clear understanding of exactly what the brand looks like, feels like, sounds like and acts like. This document becomes the filter by which we evaluate every new creative execution and campaign.

Yes, there are a million additional steps we could take to further advance and refine the process to develop marketing and brand strategy. I will share other tools that are further refinements however, make no mistake after 100’s of business marketing gigs I can tell you that this is a very effective foundation from which you can dive into creating a brand platform and to develop a marketing and branding strategy.

Pam Hoelzle

KISS Marketing & Branding Strategy

pam @ pam hoelzle.com