Brand marketing is everywhere. But, just what is it? What makes small business branding memorable, remarkable and likable? And what does small business branding have to do with Hollywood legend Steve McQueen?
3 Small Business Branding Lessons Inspired By Actor Steve McQueen.
Small Business Branding Lessons Inspired By Steve McQueen
Steve McQueen was masterful at brand marketing and branding himself. Let’s take a cue from Steve and use the following three small business branding lessons to create a brand experience that plays into the deeper, emotional needs of customers.
“I’ve spent too much of my life feeling insecure. I still have nightmares about being poor, of everything I own just vanishing away.” – Steve McQueen
1. Your small business branding must revolve around a basic desire that is rooted in the emotional needs of your customers.
People buy to fulfill an emotional want or need. The desire to be loved. The white-hot burning want of greed. A yearning for approval and acceptance. These are all innate human desires that can and should be used in emotional selling to create a successful image of your small business branding. Donald Trump, whether you like him or hate him, has expertly crafted his brand marketing around success and wealth… it dovetails nicely into the inner desires of potential business partners and creates a powerful and motivating brand experience.
“When I believe in something, I fight like hell for it.” – Steve McQueen
2. Your small business branding must have a compelling story and sense of purpose.
Give your customers a shining beacon of hope, something that strikes a nerve, or an idea that transcends the everyday. Harley-Davidson does this well. You’re not buying a motorcycle, you’re buying a Harley! Harley is a brand marketing image, a storied history, even a unique rumble of the tailpipes. Use your small business branding to build your own story. Give customers something to believe in and become a part of your brand experience. People naturally want to become a part of something greater. Small business branding that creates a rich story feeds this desire.
“I’m out of the Midwest. It was a good place to come from. It gives you a sense of right or wrong and fairness…” – Steve McQueen
3. Your small business branding must embody a central theme or guiding principal for all business operations—from marketing and advertising, to product development and customer service.
A strong brand experience provides reassurances for customers that their needs will be met, or that you will make it right. I remember about fifteen years ago, there was a joke floating around that Nordstrom department stores had such impeccable customer service, a Nordstrom manager gave a customer a refund on his set of used car tires – even though Nordstrom’s doesn’t sell car tires! Now that’s clever brand marketing.
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