How Your Brand Can Stand Out in a Cluttered Retail Marketplace
It’s critical to establish what your brand stands for in a crowded retail landscape. Your brand positioning must be ownable, defendable and differentiated from the competition. Let’s do a fun exercise about branding and how it engages consumers. Imagine you are sailing on the high seas and you see a ship on the horizon. It is approaching you and as it gets closer you see a flag on the ship’s mast and it looks like this.
By seeing this, you know what it means. You know what it stands for and what kind of experience you are about to encounter. This is branding. While it doesn’t project a positive experience, it does a great job in establishing what the organization it represents stands for. Now, do the same thing with your own brand. What do you think it stands for in the hearts and minds of the consumers? What kind of experience will they have with your brand positioning. Ask yourself these questions.
Your Category
What category are we in?
What are the key drivers in our category?
What are the “emotional drivers” associated with our category?
What developments in the marketplace are of particular interest?
Who do we consider our main competitors?
Who is winning and why?
Your Company
You have answered the questions about the category you compete in. Now, let’s bring our focus to your company by answering the following questions.
How do we define our business?
How do we define our offering and how does it differ from that of our main competitors?
What are the unique strengths that have historically set us apart and contributed to our success?
What else about what we do is different or better?
Then we move on to answering the toughest yet most important question about your company.
What is the “one thing” that sets us apart and makes us special?
The answer to these questions inform what your brand stands for and most importantly how you will differentiate. This is critical because if your brand does not differentiate, the consumers will chase the lowest price. As you walk the malls, strip centers and freestanding stores you will notice a sea of sameness in many stores. Identify ways that your store environment will stand out. What can you do to engage the customer you have learned so much about? How can your store deliver your brand positioning?
Telling your brand story.
A key objective with any store environment is to envelop the shopper in a brand experience.
What are the key punctuation points in your store to communicate the chapters of your brand story?
The facade is your first brand impression. Let’s say you’re on a mission. You are driving to a strip center to visit Best Buy to pick up your newest electronic gadget you have been yearning for. You pull into the shopping center and see that bright blue and yellow facade and you know you’ve arrived. How does your facade stand out from the competition? This takes a lot of creativity as many communities are beginning to question traditional cookie cutter boxes that stick out like oversized giants in their neighborhoods. Local city zoning ordinances and design review boards have forced retailers to adhere to their standards while projecting the brand persona. What are common areas that can serve as your brand punctuation points inside your store? The vestibules, escalator wells, comfort zones, fitting rooms and checkout are all areas to communicate your brand story. High impact brand statements add theater to the shopping experience like a rock climbing wall in REI, natural installations in Bass Pro Shops such as actual ponds and Target’s select store entrance lobbies with giant red walls and target on the floor. What brand statements can you make in your store environment that support your brand positioning, differentiation and theater?
Successful stores are like walking in to a total brand experience. Apple stores with their design aesthetics that tie to their brand persona and genius bar are a good example. Another exciting store is the National Geographic Store in London. Visiting this store is like going on a expedition with lots of theater and discovery. The product you take home is like a tangible memory of a delightful experience of touring the globe under one roof.
Now it’s up to you and your team to establish your brand positioning and consider how it applies across all consumer touchpoints from online and marketing to store design and visual merchandising.