One of the big challenges for any brand is maintaining their focus.
And, one of the big things that most brand managers do is try to justify their lack of brand focus with some sort of justification for their lack of focus, but if your brand isn’t focused you are just causing yourself some real anguish and missing a lot of opportunities.
Why is focus so important?
First, a brand that isn’t focused has likely fallen into the trap of “we can help everyone” or “we will work with anyone.”
Both of which are absolutely wrong ideas.
The first fact of focus involving brands is that your brand should include and exclude.
The second big issue about brand focus is that without focus, you spend a lot of time spinning your wheels because you can’t answer the two vital strategic questions:
- What is the value that we create or hope to create for our clients?
- Who can use our value and is willing to buy it?
So how do you maintain brand focus for the long term?
1. Focus on value:
Every brand should lead with value.
Simple! Right?
Well, too many brands never get around to leading with their value and their value proposition. This causes misaligned actions and goals at all levels of the organization.
So the first step is to focus on the value that you want to deliver now and in the future.
Then organize your branding around this value.
2. Understand that a brand is a statement and a spear:
It is totally acceptable for your brand not to be for everyone.
Think about any great brand.
Is the Four Seasons the hotel for everyone?
Marriott?
What about Apple?
Or, Microsoft?
The answer is simple, no.
As much as these brands include people, they also exclude a lot more people.
That’s pretty much the point.
And, to keep your brand focused, you have to embrace the idea that you want to talk directly to your kind of people and ignore the people that aren’t in your target area.
You can’t be everything to everyone.
3. Is your brand getting out into the market consistently?
Any conversation on brand focus should begin and end with consistency.
Without consistent delivery and focus, your brand is going to waste away.
So to ensure focus, you have to have a consistent method of using your brand as a tool to engage your market.
If you don’t, your focus is almost certainly not there.