Week 3 Part B: Developing a Brand

publicdomainpictures.net

    Welcome back, readers! Today we’re looking at developing a brand from the fictitious business planning point of view. My pseudo-company, Make ‘em Pay, creates software that prevents marketing bot algorithms from knowing anything for certain about you. Marketing bots use your information to manipulate you at your most vulnerable. Some of us don’t mind. But even if you don’t mind, you’re too precious to give yourself away for free. Force marketing agencies to buy you dinner and give you a kiss first. Just as in a real life relationship, trust has to be earned and paid for in small, consistent transactions.

    In order to get my brand out to the public, I’ll have to conduct research about my customer base. I don’t think there’s a product like mine on the market. There’s similar software for security reasons, but not for personal privacy in this sense. My audience is users of internet-capable devices who purchase anything online. To model what I think is an ethical request for information, and a possible remuneration, I will offer a discount on my software in return for my customers’ completed survey. As a business, I will give you something for your information, rather than pay some mega company that’s aggregated data about you.

    This will work hand-in-hand with how I define the Make ‘em Pay brand, because I’m establishing trust by offering protection from being exploited. This company creates an option for consumers to undermine the efficacy of current tactics and brings payment to where it is due, which is with the individual. Thus Make ‘em Pay is pre-positioned at the point of data privacy for personal use. Through SWOT analyses I can remain aware of the industrial influences that impact my company and use that information to define the brand. I can also rely on feedback from surveys available to those interested in Make ‘em Pay software.

    To develop the brand’s components, my company will “build out its parts” by having a professional logo designed. This logo will be on all client-facing and internal materials, packaging, web pages and emails. It will become interchangeable with the company’s goal for changing the way marketing is done. The company will also use a guide for the style and colors of the brand. Repetition of format and proper use of contrast will provide the sense of consistency throughout the company templates, documents, and webpages.

    Building a brand strategy is vital. My primary way of reaching customers will be through social media and CRM platforms. I will also maintain a company website with clearly delineated hierarchy, site mapping, and obvious links to our social media. Make ‘em Pay will use CMS software to get the right mix of colors and imagery to evoke the desired emotions. Another way I will connect with my customers is by having functional free and robust paid versions for all major platforms (PC, Mac, Linux, and Android). The intent of the free version is to get my quality of work out there, so consumers will get to test-drive my software without committing. Make ‘em Pay will use IaaS to get viable with web, file, and email servers.

    Constant review and openness to revision will be a theme as Make ‘em Pay gets off the ground. I will continue to analyze and refine the brand through research returns, competitor influences and evaluating emotional impact. In other settings we call it constructive criticism when we look at how things are done and systematically use that information to improve. “In order to stay relevant, you have to stay open to new trends and keep educating yourself. You have to keep evolving.” – Natalie Massenet

    Readers, thanks for accompanying me on my fabricated journey. Although make-believe, I would actually like to make this software! I hope it was a good read.