Step 4: create a consistent content strategy

The route to a strong brand in six steps, it’s possible. The other steps are explained in previous blogs:

Introduction: building your brand successfully

Step 1: building a brand promise

Step 2: winning externally, starting internally

Step 3: know your (potential) customer

The next step is to create a content strategy that tells the story in images and text. Every company has a corporate identity. And what you want is for the image to tell the story of the organisation’s identity. I work together with an excellent brand design agency that has developed a methodology aimed at design based on core values and brand promise. And that is magical.

This way, the corporate image tells the story through all the expressions you make, strengthening your message. On the website, business cards, social media, etc. But you need more than a clear corporate image. You want to put out a consistent message that always supports the story. The story starts with the Brand Promise (the WHY) (link), but there is probably plenty to tell about the WHAT and the HOW. Think for example of the products or services that are offered. And that’s why you want to address the people you want to reach.

The marketing sales funnel is structured as follows:

At the top of the funnel we see branding. Branding is the continuous bringing your (general) story to the attention. Here you can clearly demonstrate the WHY – WHAT – HOW of your company, in the form of ‘storytelling’. This will increase your brand awareness and network, and pull people towards you, like a magnet.

You can also use campaigns that drive certain components, such as an event you organise, a temporary offer, or a specific target group-focused campaign. You use this to work towards an action.

And the final part is the sales part, the actual conversion from lead to customer. There are diverse ways to achieve this. Personally, I strongly believe in doing business building on lukewarm/hot leads. Cold calling is something that is increasingly disappearing into the background.

Load your mission
To create a clear positioning, I am a huge fan of the inside-to-outside concept. It starts with the people within the organisation (link). They make the organisation, not the other way around. In large organisations, these are often the founders. But a department manager and an employee are also crucial. Everyone participates to fulfil the promise of an organisation on a daily basis. As far as I am concerned, therefore, it is not the customer nor the competitor who decides which spot the organisation occupies, but rather the people within the organisation itself. I believe in abundance. There is enough market, money, etc. for everyone. So, tell your story and attract people who recognize or believe in it. This way you will serve the ideal customer. This is the story you create in step 1, the Brand Promise (link). In this story, you clarify the WHY.

The WHY is the starting point of the story. Just by loading, explaining and constantly emphasizing the mission, you’ll take people along on your path. I also know of a company that has created a blog/vlog frame work based on the core values. The company uses these channels to get the story across.

Campaigns
What you often see in large companies is that there is a gap between branding and campaigns, in which the campaign messages do not strengthen or support the big story. As far as I am concerned, that is a missed opportunity. Campaigns are aimed at taking action for a specific target group, and these must always support the big message. When we create campaigns for companies, we always take this into account.

Sales
Sales also must tell the same story. Soft sales, for example an event, must contribute to the overall story, in image, language and subject. This way you create a snowball effect, and that’s what you want. Recognition increases brand awareness, grows networks, and seriously empowers the impact. Conducting good marketing and business is like building with blocks on a solid foundation.
Look carefully at what works and doesn’t work, and stop doing the latter. And give your all to what does work, making sure there is a head and a tail to work with. A story always has a beginning and an end. Finish it and do not leave any opportunities unused. Better to do one activity very well than several ones half-way.