Your Brand Sets You Apart From The Crowd On EBay
- By Jane Dawson
- Published 01/20/2011
- Online Shopping
- Unrated
EBay is such a dynamic marketplace that it is difficult to know just how many people participate. EBay watchers estimate that there are 100 million registered EBay users; that is the population size of Spain and France added together! Even if only one quarter of those users are sellers, that still means that you are competing against the equivalent of every man, woman and child in Finland, Denmark and the Netherlands combined!
How do you differentiate yourself in that sea of trading humanity? Frankly it is not that hard if you review and use basic marketing principles. Plus, you need to remember that many, many EBay sellers have limited experience or expertise; EBay is after all, everymans marketplace. Your goal is to be one of the much smaller number of savvy traders who turns eBay into a wonderful business opportunity.
The first differentiating technique that you need to concern yourself with is the rather traditional strategy of branding.
Branding
You know a brand when you see one. The FedEx Blue and Orange words in motion, eBays four color lower case name and Apples apple graphic with a leaf and a bite out of it. These brands or, as the American Marketing Association defines it, name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of other sellers, are critically important to selling products. Do you look for the Intel inside logo on a computer or know that you will pay top dollar for top quality when you see the Sony name on an electronic device? Brands sell products based on what the symbol represents in the buyers mind.
A good brand
Delivers the message clearly
Confirms credibility
Connects your target prospects emotionally
Motivates the buyer
Ensures user loyalty
It is true that you are not IBM or Microsoft or Amazon but you still need a brand to differentiate yourself from others. Then, as your brand becomes more recognisable in your target market and you build credibility, the branding alone will generate a sense of trust in your customers. Would not it be great if your customers saw your little baby nestled on a leaf wearing pajamas with the moon smiling down logo and immediately said to themselves, Oh yes, that is Nature Snuggle; I know their clothing products are 100% organic pima cotton and purchased from a womens cooperative in Peru lets see what they are selling today. You know it would be terrific and you could probably double your sales by cutting through a lot of the uncertainty buyers have, especially when purchasing online.
Now, branding is not just about a logo or design; it is also about slogans, pricing and approach. You do not have to look for the Hummer logo to know you are seeing a Hummer on the road. You do not have to look at the price tags to know you are going to buy everything for a dollar at Dollar General.
Brand Strategy
Your brand strategy is your plan for positioning your product. Here is a way to begin thinking about your brand.
List the features and benefits of your product / service. What makes your product or business unique or more valuable?
Determine which benefits are most important to each of your customer segments.
Look at the emotional benefits and consolidate them into the primary thing that your customers should think of when they think of you. That is what your brand should represent.
Onc
e you have discovered the essential elements of your brand:
Think of powerful ways to convey your brand in words; those words can become the basis for your brand name.
Write a unique selling proposition, a sentence that summarizes your brand strategy.
From the strategy, move to the creation of your brand name.
Brand Name
Names are powerful. Spend the time you need to find a name that carries your message. While the name does not have to be descriptive, it certainly helps. Reebok, Nike, Dell and Amazon have done okay with their non relevant names, but rather than take a chance, try to use a name that will help you market your product. For example, your business Nature Snuggle has already started to tell your story; if you named the business Pooky instead, it might catch on and be a household word eventually but it is a much longer climb to get there.
While you are searching for names, go to www.godaddy.com and see if the domain name is available to go along with your brand name. It is not absolutely essential but it is certainly helpful in terms of ad campaigns and provides the repetition that is needed to imprint a brand. If the name is available, buy the .com version, i.e. the industry standard, and any other versions that you can, including .net and country specific such as .co.uk. The country-specific name is very important for online companies that have a country specific audience.
Taking over as many of the related domain extensions as possible is simply a safeguard against competitors leveraging your good marketing work to draw your traffic off into a domain of the same name with a .biz extension, for example.
Brand names should be no more than two words or three words. Tie your brand name to your strategy. If you plan to sell only high end pens and writing instruments, your domain name might be bestpens On the other hand, if you are selling economically priced sunglasses, you might use sunglassesforless
Logo
Your brand name can be your logo. Plenty of companies simply stylize their name, e.g., Dell, Intel, and EBay. Other companies are known by a symbolic logo such as BMW, McDonalds or Pepsi. And others use a combination such as Sirius, Napster and MSN. While there are lots of activities an online retailer can DIY, your logo should not be one of them. Go to a design professional and get a high quality logo made. Work with the designer to choose colors, fonts and other visual elements that match your brands personality. Ask the designer to supply the logo to you in vector file format adobe illustrator format so that you can take it to anyone for modifications as needed.
Use your logo on your auction template, invoices, shipping labels, newsletters keep it in front of people all the time.
Slogan or Tag line
Many brands have a tag line associated with them. When you hear, When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight you think of FedEx. Or, Fly the friendly skies ...of United of course. Return to your brand strategy brain storming and see if you can tease out a phrase that punctuates your name and/or logo.
Pricing, Customer Service
Branding is not limited to a logo or catch phrase. Your brand is also positioned by your pricing strategy, e.g., high end, good value and good price, budget, and other attributes such as customer service. In the U.S., Enterprise car rental distinguishes itself by allowing the customer to choose any car on their lot within the rental class and check in from the car itself a huge advance in car rental service.
Your business may be limited to EBay but that does not mean you should operate your business like an amateur. A good branding strategy will elevate you above your competitors and improve your ROI.
How do you differentiate yourself in that sea of trading humanity? Frankly it is not that hard if you review and use basic marketing principles. Plus, you need to remember that many, many EBay sellers have limited experience or expertise; EBay is after all, everymans marketplace. Your goal is to be one of the much smaller number of savvy traders who turns eBay into a wonderful business opportunity.
The first differentiating technique that you need to concern yourself with is the rather traditional strategy of branding.
Branding
You know a brand when you see one. The FedEx Blue and Orange words in motion, eBays four color lower case name and Apples apple graphic with a leaf and a bite out of it. These brands or, as the American Marketing Association defines it, name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of other sellers, are critically important to selling products. Do you look for the Intel inside logo on a computer or know that you will pay top dollar for top quality when you see the Sony name on an electronic device? Brands sell products based on what the symbol represents in the buyers mind.
A good brand
Delivers the message clearly
Confirms credibility
Connects your target prospects emotionally
Motivates the buyer
Ensures user loyalty
It is true that you are not IBM or Microsoft or Amazon but you still need a brand to differentiate yourself from others. Then, as your brand becomes more recognisable in your target market and you build credibility, the branding alone will generate a sense of trust in your customers. Would not it be great if your customers saw your little baby nestled on a leaf wearing pajamas with the moon smiling down logo and immediately said to themselves, Oh yes, that is Nature Snuggle; I know their clothing products are 100% organic pima cotton and purchased from a womens cooperative in Peru lets see what they are selling today. You know it would be terrific and you could probably double your sales by cutting through a lot of the uncertainty buyers have, especially when purchasing online.
Now, branding is not just about a logo or design; it is also about slogans, pricing and approach. You do not have to look for the Hummer logo to know you are seeing a Hummer on the road. You do not have to look at the price tags to know you are going to buy everything for a dollar at Dollar General.
Brand Strategy
Your brand strategy is your plan for positioning your product. Here is a way to begin thinking about your brand.
List the features and benefits of your product / service. What makes your product or business unique or more valuable?
Determine which benefits are most important to each of your customer segments.
Look at the emotional benefits and consolidate them into the primary thing that your customers should think of when they think of you. That is what your brand should represent.
Onc
Think of powerful ways to convey your brand in words; those words can become the basis for your brand name.
Write a unique selling proposition, a sentence that summarizes your brand strategy.
From the strategy, move to the creation of your brand name.
Brand Name
Names are powerful. Spend the time you need to find a name that carries your message. While the name does not have to be descriptive, it certainly helps. Reebok, Nike, Dell and Amazon have done okay with their non relevant names, but rather than take a chance, try to use a name that will help you market your product. For example, your business Nature Snuggle has already started to tell your story; if you named the business Pooky instead, it might catch on and be a household word eventually but it is a much longer climb to get there.
While you are searching for names, go to www.godaddy.com and see if the domain name is available to go along with your brand name. It is not absolutely essential but it is certainly helpful in terms of ad campaigns and provides the repetition that is needed to imprint a brand. If the name is available, buy the .com version, i.e. the industry standard, and any other versions that you can, including .net and country specific such as .co.uk. The country-specific name is very important for online companies that have a country specific audience.
Taking over as many of the related domain extensions as possible is simply a safeguard against competitors leveraging your good marketing work to draw your traffic off into a domain of the same name with a .biz extension, for example.
Brand names should be no more than two words or three words. Tie your brand name to your strategy. If you plan to sell only high end pens and writing instruments, your domain name might be bestpens On the other hand, if you are selling economically priced sunglasses, you might use sunglassesforless
Logo
Your brand name can be your logo. Plenty of companies simply stylize their name, e.g., Dell, Intel, and EBay. Other companies are known by a symbolic logo such as BMW, McDonalds or Pepsi. And others use a combination such as Sirius, Napster and MSN. While there are lots of activities an online retailer can DIY, your logo should not be one of them. Go to a design professional and get a high quality logo made. Work with the designer to choose colors, fonts and other visual elements that match your brands personality. Ask the designer to supply the logo to you in vector file format adobe illustrator format so that you can take it to anyone for modifications as needed.
Use your logo on your auction template, invoices, shipping labels, newsletters keep it in front of people all the time.
Slogan or Tag line
Many brands have a tag line associated with them. When you hear, When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight you think of FedEx. Or, Fly the friendly skies ...of United of course. Return to your brand strategy brain storming and see if you can tease out a phrase that punctuates your name and/or logo.
Pricing, Customer Service
Branding is not limited to a logo or catch phrase. Your brand is also positioned by your pricing strategy, e.g., high end, good value and good price, budget, and other attributes such as customer service. In the U.S., Enterprise car rental distinguishes itself by allowing the customer to choose any car on their lot within the rental class and check in from the car itself a huge advance in car rental service.
Your business may be limited to EBay but that does not mean you should operate your business like an amateur. A good branding strategy will elevate you above your competitors and improve your ROI.
Jane Dawson
American wholesale distributors, wholesale dropshippers forum, offers list of wholesale in UK, ebay suppliers and wholesale directory and ebay wholesalers. Join today.
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