Ten Ways to Build Your Brand

Of the multitude of books you see on branding, most have a huge problem - they are written by people with multi-million dollar budgets. People who think nothing of wasting 2.5 million on a 30 second TV spot during the Super Bowl (this year?s cost!) that no one remembers the next day!

At my golf marketing seminars, I don?t talk a lot about branding, because it?s just NOT as high on the food chain as most ad agencies or designers would have you believe. Most people I deal with are FAR more concerned with actually making money than building a brand. Having said that, the concept of branding should not be ignored, and if you follow a few simple rules, your brand can be quickly enhanced without the billion dollar budgets.

Consistent use of name. Before I start branding any name, I?d ask myself, ?is it really a good name. Is it unique?? You can change; I changed my company?s name twice before getting it right with Legendary Marketing!

Consistent use of logo. I was at a club recently that had seven totally different logos on its golf hats. Perhaps the buyer was related to Sybil? (The woman with 32 different personalities.) Anyway, first make sure the logo defines who you are, looks good on a shirt and is desirable. THINK Greg Norman?s SHARK, BRILLIANT! Not Arnie?s umbrella. I mean no disrespect to the King, but was that even a good idea in 1960?

Consistent use of colors. As you may know, Legendary Marketing uses orange! The Raiders are silver and black, English sports cars are racing green, Ferraris are red, Ping Tour bags are white. What?s your club?s color?

Consistent use of USP. Most clubs simply don?t have a Unique Selling Proposition, and that is a huge mistake. Not having one lessens the power of your brand and every piece of marketing you do by 300% or more in customer recall!

For Example, Garland is Michigan?s Most Beautiful Golf Resort, is a simple, strong and versatile USP! FedEx owns overnight; Dave Pelz owns the short game. What words does your operation own?

Consistent message. I am constantly amazed by the number of clubs and equipment companies that change their message from year to year. In fact, I recently talked to a club owner who proudly showed me 22 different ads he ran the previous year all with different headlines and tag lines. Testing is a good idea, but change for the sake of Variety is not!

Consistent look and feel. You can?t say you are the most beautiful resort in the state and run your ads in black and white on 20 lb. bond. Beauty calls for high gloss and thick paper. Make the look and feel of your collateral match the specific location, demographics and facilities you offer.

Consistent exposure. One of the reasons I focus more efforts on results than brand is that building a real brand in any market takes mucho time, money and exposure. If your brand is not out there constantly in a big way, it won?t stick. You need on going PR and media presence of some kind.

Consistent delivery of promise. Your brand has to be backed by delivery of the implied promise. You can?t promise the best greens in town and then have them covered with fungus when players arrive.

Consistent and Quality customer contact. A lot of clubs blast everyone in their database a discount offer. High end resorts usually specialize in bland John Doe ?return to see us? letters. Both are contact?neither is quality content.

Consistent use of viral tools to spread the word. Perhaps the most overlooked way to build your brand is to provide your frontline employees and customers with the tools to spread your brand for you. Things like bag tags, yardage books and audio CDs packed full of Great Golf Stories For Your Drive Home. Reinforce the brand long after a player has left your property.

Looking for Brilliant solutions to your marketing problems? Look no further. We don?t call ourselves Legendary Marketing for nothing! Call now 1800-827-1663.

About the Author:

Andrew Wood is the world's leading expert on golf related marketing. He is the author of over 20 books including Cunningly Clever Marketing, The Golf Marketing Bible, How to Market Your Club on the Internet and The Membership Sales Success System. Andrew speaks worldwide on sales and marketing topics and is in high demand as a copywriter and marketing consultant. He is also the CEO and Owner of multiple golf marketing companies including Legendary Marketing and Legendary Golf Management.