Your Brand is Your Business’s Promise to Your Customer

Branding is the marketing practice of creating a name, symbol or design that identifies and differentiates your business, product or service from any and all other competitors. Put another way… your brand is your business’s promise to your customer.

Your brand tells your customer what they can expect from your company, products and services. Your brand should uniquely differentiate your business and what you are offering from that of all your competitors. Your brand is derived from who you are, who you want to be and who you’re your prospects and customers perceive you to be.

In the real estate investing industry, Homevestors® is the number one home buying brand in America. They have embraced the “ugly home buyer” concept and made “We Buy Ugly Houses®” their registered trademark, identity and brand. Their mascot is “Ug” the ugly little caveman that helps owners of “ugly houses” out of “ugly situations”. Homevestors® is a great example of the power of branding for any real estate investing company, large or small.

Like Homevestors, I too appreciate the power of branding and have attempted to do some branding of my own at a local level with my real estate investment company, One Hour Homebuyers. We have embraced the “pretty home buyer” concept and have made “We Buy Pretty Houses®”, “Sell Your Houses in One Hour®” and “We Can Buy Your House in One Hour or Less, Guaranteed™” part of our trademarks, identity and brand. Our mascot is the “One Hour Man”, a handsome “super homebuyer” hero who “rescues” home owners from “unwanted houses” and “unwanted situations” fast, one hour fast.

If you are a new investor getting into the game for the first time, a “new again” investor getting back into the game once more, or a seasoned investor looking to take your business to the next level, you should consider having a brand and clearly identifying your business’s true purpose.

Thoughts to Ponder When Considering Your Brand:

1. Who: Who are you? Who do you want to be? Who do your customers perceive you to be?
2. What: What do you do? What products and services do you offer? What results do you deliver? What are the features and benefits of your products and services? What’s in it for your customer (WIIFM)?
3. When: When do you sell and deliver your product or perform your service and how long does it take?
4. Where: Where do you sell and deliver your product or perform your service?
5. Why: Why do you sell your products or perform your services? What is your mission and purpose? What is your “why”? Why should your customer choose your business, product or service over any competitive option available to them?
6. How: How do you accomplish your mission and deliver your products and services? How do you benefit your customer? How can you help others?