How to analyze your branding strategy

How to analyze your branding strategy

If you are a brick and mortar facility, there are 4 big pieces to your branding:
The store (what it looks like, how it is organized, the people who staff it, the products available, etc)
The website (whether or not you sell online, you must have a kick butt site for people to visit)
Social media (everyone and every business can benefit from using some pieces of social media)
Customer service (in person, over the phone, via email)

If you are solely an online retailer or a business which doesn’t need a physical location, you still need to consider #1 (people, products and how you are organized). The only difference is #1 & #2 are combined into one thing.

With this in mind, I decided to analyze a store that I found through Cracked.com’s list of Images you won’t believe aren’t photohopped (it’s #14).



Located in Southampton, UK, this is the actual store front for The Guitar Store. Surrounded by the traditional lift up store gates with simple signs declaring the store name, this store captures audiences attention – even if they aren’t in the market for music. Because of their unique store, I figured they would be a perfect company to look at their branding strategy, and how you can do it for your own business.

Following the above branding guidelines, we will start with #1: The store. First impression, obviously they are doing something right as they have immediately differentiated themselves from any other store on that road (and probably any other store in the UK). Secondly, they got themselves noticed by Cracked.com, which spread their name worldwide. Finally, (after visiting their site) I was able to see some photos of the interior…they have definitely created a beautiful musical haven. Unfortunately without a trip to the UK (hmm…wonder who I could bribe to get me there? lol) I can’t speak for their staff, but with the pictures and the obvious involvement of the owners, it seems they are probably doing okay.

Onto the second step, the website. When I visited the site, I was definitely surprised, as most companies I have seen fall short of “continuity with branding”. Their site not only matched the store front, but improved upon it (click on the image to visit the site, and mouse over their nav buttons…)! The copy is to the point, honestly written and shows the dedication to true music. I found it easy to use, fun to navigate and it to be well done overall. What I didn’t see was any social buttons, or a quick way to reach them via email (without a form). Which leads us to the next step was to check out their social media strategy…



As I mentioned above, there are no social buttons or blog links. After some searching, I discovered that they do have both a Facebook page (2 weeks old) and a twitter account (with only 1 tweet). There is no blog. I will give them small credit for setting up facebook and twitter – and for the small amount of activity on FB. But, these strategies could be expanded tremendously and could bring in some serious attention. As far as the missing blog – I am a little surprised. I would assume that this would have been one of the first marketing tasks they tackled. Creating a blog that covered tips and tricks, featured unique guitars and even short video lessons would not only gain a lot of attention but would be helpful for the music community as a whole. I think that if they were to simply add a strong social media presence, they would immediately notice a difference.

Finally we reach the discussion of #4, their customer service. Again, not being able to visit the UK it is tough to decipher if they are doing this properly. They do have their number listed prominently, and their location easy to find (two pieces that lead to a great start). What they do need to add is easier access to their contact form and/or email addresses. Also, twitter is a huge customer service tool, being able to answer questions and connect with musicians both in the UK and throughout the world. I think without improving access to their email and their conversations through social media, they are definitely falling short in customer service.

Now, onto your task: When is the last time you looked at the 4 pieces of branding for your business? Do they all work together or are you missing important pieces? Feel free to respond with your thoughts on your own company in the comments – or ask other questions!

Let’s get talking!