Step Five: Break It Down
You've written down how your brand is going to be unique on the web. Now you're going to cut it down to just one sentence that will become your unique web brand. If the above step focused on the fact that you guarantee your electronics for 3 years while most online companies only give a 90-day guarantee, then focus on this. Write Down something simple, "If Your Electronics Aren't Perfect…We'll Fix Them Free For 3 Full Years."
The reason we want to cut it down to just one sentence is so we can use it everywhere for your online business. You will want to use it in your signature file, on your business cards, on your letterhead, on your web site, etc. You are going to want to create a phrase, which can become synonymous with your business, product, and service.
If and when you have a logo designed for your business, it will feature your phrase. Your sentence will be put on your answering machine and voicemail. It will become the guide for your sales letters and future products.
10 Possible Brands
1. Price
Having the lowest prices will always force you to have razor-thin margins and to make up for it in high volume.
If a bigger better financed competitor opens up a store right next to you, you're in trouble. This is what has happened to a multitude of small shops across the US when a Wal-mart appears in their town. They didn't recognize or capitalize on any other advantage they could have had...so they were put out of business by not being able to offer the same level of pricing.
On the Internet, this is even more likely to happen. Large corporations go online with no intention of earning a profit for years...so they are quite willing to under price you and put you out of business completely.
2. Higher Quality
You can focus on developing a high quality product and market to a more exclusive market. For example, Mercedes has no intention of pricing themselves at the same level as a Ford. They price themselves significantly higher and then focus on the quality of their cars.
You could follow this same model for your products. Instead of being known as having the cheapest prices, focus on providing the most value for someone's dollar. Think value, not prices for this model. Value and price are two different things completely.
It is all about selling dollars for dimes...give a dollar worth of value for every 10cents that your item costs. In other words, you must show the customer how much more value they will get out of your quality product for their money than they will out of a lower priced item.
3. Longer Warranty or Guarantee
Forget those wimpy 30-day guarantees that are required by law anyway. Show how good your products are to your customers. Guarantee your work for 90 days, 180 days, 365 days, 3 years, or for a lifetime. If everyone else in your market only offers 30-day guarantees, then your two-year guarantee will stick out in the marketplace.
You could quickly develop market dominance by simply providing a better warranty and guarantee than everyone else. You can show your customers you are willing to stand behind your products even if none of your competition is.
You could even do a slight variation on this theme and let your customer receive your product before they have to pay. Give them a 30-day trial period where you don't deposit their check or process their credit card. Then, if they are satisfied that the product is everything you say it is, you process their payment. This way you take all of the risk from your customer.
4. Better Education
This method can work wonders on the web. You can be the one who provides the best education for your prospects and customers. A statement that has worked for many web sites is "Give First and Prove Your Worth." Give education to your prospects on your products. Then, also continue the education process with customers and show them how to get the maximum value out of your products or services.
Home Depot has built a thriving home development business on this type of theme. They not only sell you the items that you need for your house, but they also teach you how to do home projects through articles and even live training classes. If you attended one of their classes, any competitor would be very hard pressed to switch you away from them.
5. Greater Bonuses
This goes back to the dollars for dimes principle again. If you can provide a much greater value for your customer's money, then they will be more than willing to buy from you instead of your competitors. Include free bonuses in every product you sell. Hint: They don't have to be provided by you. You could contract with a magazine that is interesting to your customers and ask for a very wholesale discount for you to buy subscriptions for aloof your customers (or you could also ask for free subscriptions for your customers since they are the exact target market the magazine is trying to reach cost effectively).
