Maricopa Chamber Marketing Blog

Branding, Part II

Filed Under Branding | 

Last modified: May 31, 2007

Confirming your credibility lowers the defenses of your customer and allows them to have a comfort level with you and your services. If your brand doesn’t convey that you know what you are doing, your customer won’t believe it and it will be much harder to turn a potential client into a paying customer.

Let’s look at Abercrombie and Fitch. As an outdoor outfitter, they established a brand identity which worked for over a hundred years. They sold durable clothing and accessories. In the early 90’s they found themselves as a lesser known brand in a compressed marketplace. With the advent of the internet and a more youthful audience, they were forced to recognize a change was needed. Gone were the days of selling durable jeans and heavyweight flannel. With their clothing lines reworked, they moved forward by changing their brand. A new, young, hip and sexy brand was created. By capturing the essence of those they were marketing to, they confirmed their credibility as a clothing company for the next generation. In addition to their hardlines, they also engaged an aggressive and youthful marketing strategy which again confirmed their understanding of today’s youth and allowed them to change who they were as a company with ease.

As a small business owner in Maricopa, you can confirm your credibilty by being honest about the products and services you offer and not try to be something you are not. Is your branding too complex? Do you sell things that deviate from your main business? Are you trying to attract customers to a product they aren’t interested in purchasing? Answering these questions can help you identify areas where you are affecting your credibility with your customer.