In the film “Glengarry Glen Ross,” a slick executive played by Alec Baldwin delivers a colorful speech to three haggard, down-on-their-luck salesmen urging them to “Always Be Closing,” an idea that treats sales as a manipulative exercise centered on “defeating” your customers rather than serving them.
Although the message is cynical, it also is catchy -- and disciplined. For businesses built on more ethical foundations, Baldwin’s memorable phrase and laser-like focus can be borrowed for more useful and productive purposes. “Always Be Branding” is an idea that we have adopted at Fryed Egg Productions. For us, it means that in everything you do you should be mindful of promoting your brand and demonstrating why your business is equipped to provide unique value through your services or products to customers.
“Always Be Branding” means never letting an opportunity to underline your brand’s unique value go to waste. Because no matter how great your product or service is, all that wonderful work will be in vain if you are unable to successfully deliver that message to your customers. And for your message to resonate, you cannot miss chances to deliver it. No one wants their business to be an underappreciated gem.
At Fryed Egg, we can work with you to ensure that the “Always Be Branding” message becomes a part of your company’s DNA. Here are a few ways how.
Embrace an integrated marketing strategy
“Always Be Branding” leans heavily on a successful integrated marketing strategy that involves promoting your brand in a unified, cohesive way across a range of outlets. Advertising, media relations, social media, web content, environmental signage, promotional products, sponsorships -- they should all be developed with a clear understanding of your unique brand and a sharp focus on consistent messaging designed to communicate what makes you special.
Commit to your team
Your team members can be some of your most effective brand ambassadors. Promote your brand internally and emphasize instilling pride in your brand in your employees. This will not only create a more effective and enjoyable workplace, driving retention and productivity, but it will lead your team members to promote your brand outside of the office. This is especially important in the highly competitive labor market. If you develop a culture and brand that makes your team proud, they will make sure everyone knows about it and be your strongest recruiters.
Branding in everything
Your brand cannot exist solely within the borders of the marketing department. It needs to be a living, breathing part of your business, understood by everyone who works there so that they all can spread the word. Crucial to that mission is to have a branding package that provides clear guidance to your team about messaging and offers easy access to the physical and digital tools to showcase your brand properly, such as via business cards, letterheads, photos and templates for presentations. Of particular importance is to make sure that your marketing efforts closely align with your sales team’s pursuits. If both teams are operating in a vacuum, neither one will be effective. Together, however, they can build on each other, reinforcing your messages so that they land and stick with your most important audience -- your target customers.
At Fryed Egg, we develop comprehensive, integrated marketing strategies to build and strengthen brands. We can help you pinpoint what makes your organization special, diving deep into your values and vision, and make sure that your business understands how to follow an “Always Be Branding” approach that infuses everything you do. If you want to see if Fryed Egg is the right agency for your marketing needs, contact us at (813) 478-0494 or [email protected] or visit www.FryedEgg.com.