Here is the 'Seven Steps to Brand-Led Marketing' that we promised you...
Step 1: Become truly 'Marketing Minded'
When many people think of marketing they think of meeting customers needs. Understanding and responding to changing customer needs is essential, but there is another dimension. Brand-led marketing ensures that you meet customer needs in a way that is different from your competitors. If you can't find this point of difference you're in danger of becoming a price-based commodity.
Ask yourself:
Do my customers really see me as different from my closest competitors? How/Why?
What can I do to make my business more distinctive and appealing to help secure them as long-term and profitable customers?
Step 2: Monitor the Changing Environment
We live in a rapidly changing world of many threats and opportunities. Few business managers take adequate time out to stop, look around, and reflect on how these changes might have an impact. As a result, most companies die young.
Ask yourself, at least once a quarter:
What are the changing consumer trends, competitor activity, legislation, economic trends or technology developments that might have an impact on my business?
Step 3: Have a Meaningful Vision for your Business and your Brand
A business Vision (or Mission) has a number or roles: most important of which are to inspire and guide. Too many business Visions include words like 'leader', 'best', 'preeminent', 'most successful'. Words like this can mean many different things to different people. Because of that they are of limited help in inspiring or guiding the behaviour of the business team. Brand Visions have just the same function. Make sure that you have a written Vision for your brand that is strong enough to inspire and guide behavior.
Ask yourself:
Do I have a brand Vision that everyone understands and has bought into?
How might I improve my brand Vision, so it is a stronger inspiration and guide?
Step 4: Build Your Brand 'From the Inside Out'
Building a brand is not just about advertising or 'marketing communications'. Nor is it just about your 'product' or 'service'. Your brand is really what your customers think of you, and how much trust they have in you. To build a strong brand you have to have a clear idea of how you want to be thought of, and then consider everything that you say and do.
In everything that you say and do, ask yourself:
Will this get me closer to where I want to be in the mind of my customers?
Step 5: Plan for Success
There is a phrase: "If you don't know where you want to go, any road will get you there". This is true in life, and it is true in business. If you want to succeed you have to have clear, measurable objectives - you have to know where you want to get to!
Ask yourself:
Do I have a brand plan with clear, measurable objectives? (And am I measuring the things that are really important!).
Step 6: Become a 'Learning Business'
Continuously improving your brand-led effectiveness is essential to long-term success. The best way to achieve this is to ensure that you take a little time to become a 'Learning Business' by building learning into your processes.
For every marketing initiative you undertake, ask yourself:
How can I build learning into this, so that I can find out what works and what doesn't, and do it better next time?
Step 7: Be Prepared to Change
What worked in the past may not work in the future. If you can achieve steps 1 - 6 that's great, but you have to go one step further. You have to be prepared to change. Don't just do the same things better, look around for new ways of pursuing your vision and your desired brand. Explore, experiment and anticipate.
Ask yourself:
Is there an opportunity to break out, and achieve a step-change from where I am now?
品牌至上营销的七步
第一步：要有真正的“营销意识”
很多人认为营销就是满足顾客的需要。理解并对顾客需要做出反应是相当重要的，但这还不够。品牌至上的营销可确保你满足顾客需要的方式不同与竞争对手。如果看不到这不同之处，那产品竞争仍会靠拼价格从而令你陷入危机。
问问你自己：我的顾客们真的觉得我和最相似的对手之间有多大不同吗？怎么才能使我的生意具有与众不同的吸引力，以确保顾客忠诚和利润？
第二步：关注变幻莫测的环境
我们所依存的环境充满了威胁和机会，变化极快。极少数的经理人员会抽些时间止步、四周观望，然后想想这些变化会产生什么样的冲击。这样一来，大多数的公司便夭折了。
每个季度至少问自己一次：对我公司业务将产生影响的因素到底是什么（在消费者趋向有哪些改变、竞争者有哪些活动、哪些相关的法律法规、经济趋势变化或技术发展）？
第三步：对你的业务及品牌持有一个有意义的远景
商业远景（或称为目标）有数个角色：最重要的是激励与引导。太多的商业远景包含有以下这些词“领导者”、“最佳的”、“卓越的”、“最成功的”。这些个词儿对于不同的人来说意味不同。因此，这些词在激励与引导商业团队方面收效甚微。品牌远景也有同样的作用，因此你必须要做出书面的品牌远景规划，足以激励与引导行为。
问问你自己：我的品牌远景能为其它人所理解和相信吗？如何改善我的品牌远景使其具有更强的激励与引导力？
第四步：由内而外的建立你的品牌
创立品牌可不止是打点广告或者“营销沟通”。它也不止是和你的“产品”或“服务”相关。你的品牌其实就是你在顾客心中的形象和他们对你的信任度。建立强势品牌要求你清楚自己想被别人如何看待，然后去考虑你所说的和所做的。
对你的所说所做，问：这会使我更接近于顾客心中那块位置吗？
第五步：计划成功
有句话这么说：“要是你不知道往哪里走，哪走都行。”生活中是这样的，做生意也一样。如果你想成功，你就得有一个清晰可衡量的目标——你得知道你想往哪里走！
问问自己：我的品牌规划是否清晰明了、具有可衡量性？（我衡量了真正重要的东西吗？）
第六步：成为“学习型企业”
持续不断的改善品牌至上的效力对长远成功是很重要的。其最佳方式是通过将学习注入到流程中使你仅花很少的时间去成为一家学习型企业。
对于你采取的每个营销设想：我如何将学习注入于此，这样我就能知道可行或不可行，以使日后做的更好？
第七步：准备改变
老把式在今天未必还有用。如果你能做到一至六步，那挺好，但是你还得更进一步，你得准备好做出改变。不要只是把同一件事做的更好，看看是否有新方法来继续远景和品牌方面的工作。去探求、试验并期待吧。
问你自己：有机会破茧而出吗，哪怕只是暂时的一小步？
NOTES:
buy into:
Informal To believe in, especially wholeheartedly or uncritically: couldn't buy into that brand of conservatism.