How a clear brand strategy added 250% to one business's bottom line

To be honest I feel a little uncouth sharing this story with you. After all, we are fast heading for a recession (if we're not in one already), businesses large and small are closing every day and the last thing I want to do is to be crowing about my business growth. But I hope that if you can put the uncouthness aside and read on, you'll see why I've decided to write about this.

October 2007 was pretty horrendous for us. Caroline and I expected to sail through September, October and November in a haze of profitability and enjoy our most successful sales period ever. In our business, the quarter before Christmas is always the most profitable, and we'd expected this year to be no different. What a shock. September was a fantastic month, and then, literally, overnight, our sales dried up.

To say it was a shock was putting it mildly. By the end of November I was a nervous wreck. Since opening the business in June 2005 we'd gone from strength to strength and become one of the most successful printing.com franchises in the network. We were rather enjoying our 'golden girls' status and the next quarter was a rather rude awakening. All of a sudden, people stopped wanting to spend money. I can see now that we were hit by the recession very early, at the time it was terrifying. Whilst we never lost any money during those months, I used to lie awake at night wondering whether I would have a business this time next year.

We finished the year on a good profit, but not anywhere near where I had expected us to be. And I was scared for the new year. Now I firmly believe that you can turn negative situations into positive ones, and I used this experience to really think hard about where my business was headed. I knew that I wanted to take some time out at the latter part of the year to have a baby, and I wasn't prepared to go through my maternity leave on financial tenterhooks, so I needed a plan, and fast.

I sat down and thought hard about what made us successful, what our clients liked (and what they didn't!) and how we differentiated ourselves from other printers and designers in Guildford. I realised that one of the key services we could offer our clients at an affordable price, was branding. It was one of the things that Caroline and I really enjoyed doing, it was a great lead in to other things, and it was a profitable service. 

Our plan for the year was to reposition the business as a print and graphic design company, to the business branding experts. Everything else supported that proposition - the print, the websites, the copywriting and the marketing, but our lead on everything was the business branding experts. I planned a marketing campaign based around supporting that message, with the goal of selling x number of corporate identity designs a month.

January, February and March weren't earth shattering. We worked our backsides off, experimented with a sales person, and quite frankly, got quite disillusioned. At one point I wondered whether it was worth it. Then, something wonderful began to happen. 

By April, people had started to get the message. They realised that if they were starting a business and needed a logo creating, that we offered fantastic value for money. They realised that we could also do them a great deal on their print and their website, and we'd help them with their marketing too. People that were serious about their businesses also realised that they needed a serious message, and they started coming to us to help them rebrand their existing businesses. Suddenly, we had the volume of work (and then some!) we'd been looking for. 

And we honestly haven't looked back. I've been able to enjoy my maternity leave. Not entirely stress free (as a business owner, is it ever?) but I haven't had to worry too much about where the next piece of work is coming from. And my unaudited accounts show a profit increase of 250% on last year. Yes, 250%!!!

I know, that had I not been as focused on our brand strategy, I would not have increased our profit by that much. Whether I'll report the same for next year remains to be seen. But one thing's for sure, with the recession in full swing I've once again tweaked our brand strategy for the year - let's hope it pays off in the same way!

So why did I write this? To show off? Hardly, when friends around me are losing their homes it just doesn't feel right. I wrote it because I've been there. I've done the lying awake at night wondering where the business is going to come from. And I'm not for one second under the illusion that I'm out of the woods, but what I know is that by setting a very clear brand strategy I'm making it easier for customers to buy from me. By creating a strong brand strategy I'm investing in marketing that's going to win me more business, and I'm not wasting money on something that won't generate a return. 

If you'd like to work with us on creating a powerful, and profitable, brand strategy and marketing plan for your business then please call us today on 01483 401 818. You can find out more on our Affordable Marketing Services website under the Marketing Planning Service.