Thread: Tips on Brand Building

Hey Guys,

New to the forum. Curious if anyone had tips and/or recommended reading on building a brand. I'm trying to learn how to build a brand and have my brand associated with a specific need.

For example, I want my fitness equipment to be the first that comes to mind when you're thinking about opening a gym.

It's all about focus.

Think Subway, they didn't do anything new. They just focused on a type of sandwich. And whenever people say 'Subway' you know it's that 6inch longish sandwich.

Focus on your brand message in everything you do.

A few ideas:
1) Don't let people buy equipments individually. Sell them as an entire set.
2) Advertising. "Build a public gym with 1 order???"
3) Product name. Gym(xxx)?
4) Make it a high-end product, people won't normally spend tons of money just to get a high-end equipment. On the other hand, gyms might.

Then again I have no experience in this so don't follow my advice 100%. Also I don't know much about gym equipments.

The one thing every "Brand" book
written by someone who never built a brand or didn't realize how his brand truly was built
misses is this:

Every popular/successful commercial brand was built slowly by making GOOD COMMERCIAL OFFERS.

So you've got a gym:
What is your commercial offer? Why would you think someone would buy it?

Lowest price? Packs up and slides under the bed or folds up into the closet?
Tones muscle better/faster than competitors?
Is made for A PARTICULAR PERSON ( sex / height / weight range / fitness level )

Figure that out first OR the result will be that your "brand" will be associated with failure.

Talk to some gym owners - most of them probably LEASE their equipment
or buy it from a defunct gym/auction. Find out what would REALLY do it
for them - what would CLOSE the sale for them:

Durability?
2 year guarantee with an optional 5 year extended warranty?

Hopefully you are not selling a multiple configuration item
because they want each piece to do ONE THING and only one thing
so that nobody configures it wrong and gets hurt or gets hurt configuring it.
Also makes the product last longer if nobody is tinkering with it.
///////////////////////////

People who are starting a gym MOSTLY already think they know what
brand of equipment they want, since they are mostly familiar with it
as a user. That is one of the main things you need to overcome.

Whatever you do, start with the 3 to 5 most popular pieces of equipment
in any gym - or you will have dead stock for a long time.

The warehouse you use for this stock could actually be a gym.
Your own - where you have new stuff tested - and people pay you to do it.
=============================

Your equipment:
A crappy apartment or long vacant retail space:
A LOW PRICE MEMBERSHIP THAT UNDERCUTS ALL COMPETITORS
BY ABOUT 85% ( since no showers to start lol ):
- you will fund your new gym and equipment company in no time!

Originally Posted by SitesForSales

Every popular/successful commercial brand was built slowly by making GOOD COMMERCIAL OFFERS.

So you've got a gym:
What is your commercial offer? Why would you think someone would buy it?

Thanks for the responses guys.

We are the lowest price in the market for the exact same equipment you would get anywhere else. This is because we're higher up in the supply chain, we're wholesalers in a market where retailers are the only distributors.

I already know we have the best price - now how to let everyone know that our quality is as good if not better than the retailers? How do I let my brand reflect that?

Price does in the mind of most simians correspond to quality. Can you somehow take the risk out for them with a guarantee or trial? It's probably unrealistic for this type of product, but think hard about it. "You'll love our widgets, or we buy them back!" or similar.

Current customers talking highly of your product would go a long way of convincing other people. Explain to them the way you explained it in your post above.

Use the old used car salesman trick "Wholesale autos" when they sell to the public (implies same cars, but lower prices). Apologies if it sounds a bit off, it's late here. Good luck.

Originally Posted by roark

Price does in the mind of most simians correspond to quality.

This is true. However, when a business is being created with the primary hope of making it through
their first 6 months ( cashflow ) and knows that there will be multiple users and some people will be
abusive, careless or just incompetent. So quality is not the primary concern.

Originally Posted by roark

Can you somehow take the risk out for them with a guarantee or trial? It's probably unrealistic for this type of product, but think hard about it. "You'll love our widgets, or we buy them back!" or similar.

The customer, if smart, knows 3 things:

1 - The seller may not exist long enough to make good on that warranty.
2 - Equipment broken and unusable will be a serious problem for their gym.
3 - Doing what is required for positive cashflow is what needs to be done. and that is either
- get this stuff at low price that not just balances, but negates, risk of breakdowns
- get other stuff, even if it costs more ... and certainly if it costs less.

Again, I suggest getting into a situation with someone with AVAILABLE COMMERCIAL SPACE
and build a cheap gym with your equipment. There are all kinds of trainers and competitors
who would love to come to THE SPACE to train free and if you give them 20% of every CHEAP
membership they recruit - your gym will grow fast.

when building a brand, its very to think of the PERSONALITY behind the behind the brand.. i know its abit vague, but this is really what matters!

Positioning is a key factor in getting people to have your product or brand in mind. Somehow, it is the consumer that creates the brand, not the marketer. Marketers simply create tactical suggestions that encourage the consumers to acknowledge a specific positioning in their minds. To position your business effectively, you have to identify the key benefits of your product or service. These benefits will also make a positive impact on your brand identity, eventually creating trust in the brand itself.

Originally Posted by longlivemedia

Positioning is a key factor in getting people to have your product or brand in mind. Somehow, it is the consumer that creates the brand, not the marketer. Marketers simply create tactical suggestions that encourage the consumers to acknowledge a specific positioning in their minds. To position your business effectively, you have to identify the key benefits of your product or service. These benefits will also make a positive impact on your brand identity, eventually creating trust in the brand itself.

I totally agree with you. Other brands became who they are today not because of the impact or the name or anything but on how people accepted it. But of course your marketing strategy would also be another key factor. For the suggestions if you should go for quality or for the economy, if you can go for both then why not, most especially if you are just starting, you would want to create the best reputation for your brand. Keep in mind that the brand should portray or reflect the product itself and the vision of your company. The competition is definitely fierce so it is a must that you bring something unique and worthwile to the table, this way your brand will immediately grab attention, that is something you would want starting out.