Whatever you are selling, your final web site needs a persuasive design and brand development, meaning that you need to think about positioning your site in the marketplace. Google loves brands because they embody user trust.
You need a marketing approach that seeks to separate your product or service from the similar products in that segment of the marketplace that your are aiming for. Target your audience and relate to them — their interests, personality and characteristics — for maximum exposure.
That is where persuasion comes in.
Developing the brand
A brand is the collection of feelings, thoughts, emotions and experiences (negative or positive) a person has about your product, service or company. A good brand accounts for a lot.
You must stand for something and differentiate yourself in a way that allows customers to admire, recognize and incorporate the brand into their personal identity, interests and business requirements in today’s over-crowded, over-done and over-the-top marketplace.
You need to guide your audience on how to think, feel and do about your brand in a way that best for what you have to offer them.
Developing the Identity for your final product
Everyone develops a brand identity, even when they neglect to do it. Spend the time to do it right. Think over the following questions before you lock yourself in.
BRAND POSITIONING
Who are your targets? Where are the spaces in your industry/category that allow you to be first, seen, heard and remembered for strategic competitive advantage? How can we take an outside-in approach that helps us understand what our customers actually think, feel and do?
Everyone starts with an inside-out approach. That is only natural. You have ideas of what you want to sell, and how to sell it. We do not have time for test marketing the web site, but stand in your target audience’s shoes. Would they buy it?
BRAND MEANING
Build meaning into your brand… How do you talk about it? What do you say about it? What does it look like and what do you stand for? What can you say about it in 30 seconds? Why and how does your organization really benefit your customer? What is the reason for your existence?
BRAND DELIVERY
How do you deliver the brand? What consistent parameters do you place around it. What ways can you leverage it? What media and channels best supports it?
IDENTIFY
your organizations problems, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats and goals
AUDIT
your competitors positioning to identify their weaknesses for strategic advantage
UNDERSTAND
your target audience, community and potential industry/category channels
GATHER
qualitative (interviews, insights or information) or quantitative (web metrics, trends, industry data)
UNCOVER AND INNOVATE
the potential areas of white space that allows your product, service or company to be first, seen, heard and remembered
PLACEMENT
the compelling evidence and vision that makes your product, service or company unique
DIFFERENTIATE
your product, service or company to make your claim credible, trustworthy and reliable
CREATE
the messages that will accurately communicate and resonate with your targets
IMPLEMENT
strategic design tactics to attract, acquire and retain
DELIVER
the brand through internal employee alignment and adoption, customer touch-points, external media, marketing and sales objectives