Creating a strong brand for your independent business
Module 2: What is brand?
Let’s get the basics down.
What is brand
You thought it was easy to explain, but now you realize you don’t have a great definition for what–exactly–a brand is or what it does for your business. No worries, in this lesson, brand strategist and author Adam Pierno, will clarify what a brand is and how it will put your business on the trajectory for growth with the customers you want the most.
At the end of this module, you’ll understand the important role a brand plays in business growth, and why the companies you love most invest so heavily in their brands.
Video lesson: What is brand?
Worksheet 1.1 Brand description
In this worksheet, you’ll complete three simple steps: a. Write down how customers describe your business. b. Identify the words that only apply to your business c. Highlight the remaining words that you want people to associate with your brand.
Worksheet 1.2 Admiration
In this worksheet, think about brands you admire personally, or that you believe your customers admire. For each, think about commonly used words to describe that brand, that don’t name their core products or services (ie., Disney: family, entertainment, magic).
View or download worksheet
Previous stop
Introduction
Start with a video lesson introducing you to branding and the key concepts we’ll be tackling together. Also, take advantage of Adam’s e-book on brand building for independent businesses like yours.
> Video (7 minutes)
> Book (20+ pages)
What is brand?
You thought it was easy to explain, but now you realize you don’t have a great definition for what–exactly–a brand is or what it does for your business. No worries, in this lesson, brand strategist and author Adam Pierno, will clarify what a brand is and how it will put your business on the trajectory for growth with the customers you want the most.
> Video (30+ minutes)
> Worksheet: Brand description
> Worksheet: Admiration
Audience
Your best customer. Do you know who it is? Do you know everything you need to know about them to serve them so well that your competitors can’t win them away from you? You’re in luck. Pulling insight from his books on brand marketing, Adam introduces concepts to research and understand your audience, so that you can shape your brand to them, specifically.
> Video (23 minutes)
> Worksheet: Best customer
> Video (18 minutes)
> Worksheet: Persona starter
> Sample brand survey
> Sample demographics survey
> Research tool: Tapestry
> Research tool: Census
> Research tool: SparkToro
> Worksheet: Persona 2
What? I might need some help.
Have questions? That’s okay. This course combines tools and techniques used by Adam and professional brand consultants and agencies around the world. Videos to set the lesson for each module along with rigorous worksheets formatted for the way you work best.
Adam’s also provided links to research tools you can use at little to no cost to make sure your brand is based on sound logic.
You can reach out here. For technical or basic questions, Adam or a member of the team will get back to you no problem. For brand related questions, or coaching, let’s set an appointment to talk.
Your instructor and coach.
This course was developed and is taught by Adam Pierno, award-winning brand marketer and author. He’s worked with brands you know, like Bona, Domino’s, Dunkin’, Mercedes-Benz, Pocky, State Farm and Verizon, for more than 20 years. His books on brand and marketing strategy are taught at ad agencies, universities and Fortune 500 companies to make marketing simpler to understand and execute.
All of the brand expertise, none of the hassles
If you’ve worked with advertising and brand agencies, you know how much work falls on you and how much it all costs. Brand positioning can cost thousands or more. This course gives you the same tools for a fraction of that investment. With no sacrifice to your results.
This course is based on Adam’s book, Specific. It’s a straight-forward method to build your brand by putting your customers first.
