Competitive Branding & Market Differentiation

Businesses often compete for attention in markets where customers have many choices. Competitive branding is about giving customers clear reasons to recognize and remember your company by consistently communicating what makes your business, products or services distinctive.

Know What Makes Your Business Different

Before developing marketing materials or selecting promotional products, identify the qualities you want customers to associate with your company. These may include your service, experience, product selection, convenience, specialization, responsiveness or another characteristic that matters to your customers.

A clear point of difference gives your marketing a direction. Instead of trying to communicate everything about the business at once, you can concentrate on the qualities most relevant to the audience you want to reach.

Build a Recognizable Brand Identity

Your company name, logo, colors, typography and messaging should create a consistent presentation. Customers may encounter your business through a website, advertisement, trade show, sales presentation, promotional product or direct-mail piece, and those different touchpoints should be recognizable as coming from the same company.

Consistency does not mean every marketing piece must look identical. It means the important elements of your brand remain recognizable wherever customers encounter them.

Compete on More Than Price

Price is important in many purchasing decisions, but it is only one part of how customers evaluate a business. Service, reliability, product knowledge, convenience, communication and the overall customer experience can also help distinguish one company from another.

Your marketing should communicate the qualities that matter to your customers rather than relying only on discounts or price comparisons.

Use Promotional Products to Reinforce Your Identity

Promotional products can extend your brand into items customers, employees and prospects use in everyday settings. The product you choose should fit the audience, occasion and image you want your company to present.

A financial organization, technology company, healthcare provider, school, construction business and nonprofit organization may each select very different promotional products because their audiences and marketing objectives are different.

Choose Products That Fit the Campaign

An unusual promotional product can attract attention, but being different simply for the sake of being different is not always the best strategy. Consider whether the item supports your message and whether it will be useful or appropriate for the people receiving it.

Product selection can also vary by campaign. A trade show giveaway may serve a different purpose than an employee gift, customer appreciation item, direct-mail promotion or sales-meeting product.

Pay Attention to the Customer Experience

Branding is not limited to logos and marketing materials. How customers are treated, how clearly you communicate and how consistently you deliver your products or services also contribute to the way people perceive your company.

Marketing materials can introduce the brand, but the customer experience should support the message those materials communicate.

Stay Consistent Without Standing Still

A recognizable brand can evolve as products, customers and marketing channels change. Review your promotional materials periodically to make sure the message still represents the business and remains relevant to the audience you serve.

Updating individual marketing pieces does not require abandoning an established identity. The goal is to keep the brand recognizable while adapting how and where it is presented.

Create a Brand Customers Can Recognize

Effective differentiation comes from consistently presenting the qualities that make your business distinct. Your message, visual identity, customer experience and promotional materials should work together rather than compete with one another.

Garrett Specialties can help you select promotional products that complement your company's branding, audience and marketing objectives. For assistance, call 1-800-320-1510.