Using Your Brand To Drive Demand

Your brand’s story is an integral part of driving demand. But how do you craft a story that filters through your marketing campaigns and that your team embraces?

Dave Gerhardt, Founder of DGMG, and Kyle Lacy, SVP of Marketing at Seismic, know a thing or two about building a great brand. That includes messaging, developing a brand story, and creating impactful marketing experiences.

Hit play to hear Dave and Kyle decode how to use a compelling brand story to fuel your demand generation strategy.

⚡️ Key takeaways

Takeaway 1: Brand stories should come from the top

A big question about brand messaging and stories is often, where do they come from? Do you hire an external copywriter or positioning expert? Or do you attempt to create your own messaging in-house?

The consensus is that brand stories should start with those at the very top. Dave says that “story is strategy”, so it follows that the CEO, founders, and marketing leaders are the ones who have the best understanding of what your messaging should be.

However, mid-level managers, individual contributors, and even your customers also have a role to play. Sourcing thoughts from others throughout your organization and keeping them abreast of change will ensure that they feel involved and invested in the brand’s story. Successfully evolving your messaging is almost guaranteed if you can use their and your customers’ words in your new brand story.

Takeaway 2: Consider revenue before increasing your branding budget

It’s a bit of a chicken and egg situation but when it comes down to it, you can’t increase your branding budget unless you have the revenue to do so. This might limit your ability to create incredible brand experiences, but ultimately, revenue is what gets you a seat at the table.

Before you attempt to influence the investment you’re getting for branding, you first need to consider if there’s the cash flow to do it, and secondly, if you can prove the ROI. Understanding how your branding efforts have played out in the past and communicating this is a great way to open the conversation up about increasing your budget.

Finally, be smart about how you balance your budget. Divide it up sensibly between marketing activities, for example, 70% for pipeline-generating activities and 30% for branding. Having a story or motivation behind your figures can help you leverage a discussion, and hopefully, more investment.

Takeaway 3: Use “one-word positioning”

A hook can be a powerful way to get people talking about your brand, or at least what you’re known for. Dave’s “one-word positioning” theory is where you give what you’re doing a name that those interacting with your brand can adopt for themselves, but it also boosts the conversation about your specialty.

Simply put, giving something a name gives it power. For example, when Dave was at Drift, they named what they were doing “conversational marketing”. Their customers then became advocates for conversational marketing and Drift could add more under this umbrella term as part of their specialty.

Developing a brand story might sound like a big project but never underestimate what just one word can do.

🎁 BONUS!

Discover why the best messaging is always developed in-house (and why you could be the best person for the job).