As a marketing major, I am constantly learning about the new ways that companies are attracting consumer attention and proving their brand’s value over the competitors. The ads and promotions that people commonly associate with marketing are those for consumer products. However, marketing is equally important for those companies seeking to create value for their business customers.

I recently read an article online at Ad Age titled, Do Your Business Customers Love Your Brand? This article broke down the steps of creating a brand platform with which your clients can align. This can be done by creating “brand movement,” which is “seeing where the brand is today and planning where it needs to be moved relative to the competition, to a position that takes the target rationally and emotionally closer to the brand, and of course moves the needle on business.” The following breaks down the steps to successfully implementing brand movement for your business.

Step one is the discovery phase. Here, a company needs to evaluate their product or service to more thoroughly understand how their customers interact with their product. Positioning yourself correctly in your product or service market is vital for customer retention and brand loyalty. Creating the correct positioning can seem like a daunting task, but can be divided into a few easy questions.

The article suggests asking five questions. First, what are the company goals? This includes an analysis of your current position in the market, what value and purpose your product or service serves, strengths and weaknesses of your company, and internal and external views of your brand.

The second question is how do your customers perceive your brand? This requires your company to define your customers and take a deeper look into the purchase decision process. What qualities do your customers expect from your product or service? Figuring out what customers expect and what they value will help you to create a better product and create brand loyalty.

The third question is how do consumers perceive your brand? At first glance this question looks to be the same as the previous, but this question requires analyzing how consumers in general view your product. In today’s internet-focused world, every message has the potential to be seen and or shared by everyone.

The fourth question requires analyzing your position in comparison to your competitors. It is important to understand your competitor’s offerings and why it might be tempting for customers to chose the competition over your product. Understand your weaknesses so you are never caught off guard by an attack from your competitors.

The final question is centered on the culture in which your brand operates. What dominant characteristics are present? Different age perspectives or varying regional cultures will change how your product will be marketed.

After asking the previous questions, your company can now move your brand with a new and improved platform. This second step involves creating a vision, mission, and position. The vision should articulate what the brand believes, whereas the mission should outline what the brand actually does through its products and or services to its customers. Your brand’s position is “the territory that [your] brand will unequivocally own – the immovable stake in the ground.” It is of the upmost importance that your product or service has some benefit over the competition, firmly planting your “stake in the ground.”

The final step in this marketing makeover is brand consistency. Now that your brand has laid out its vision, mission, and position, make sure it is consistent across all mediums. This includes events, promotions and advertisements, and all communications. The brand platform should be used as a tool in future decisions to ensure that it is in line with the company strategy and best interest of the customer.

Utilize your resources. Your employees are some of your best assets and can be a tool for promoting your brand as well. Create consistency by giving employees the tools they need, such as brand books and style guides.

Remembering the importance of creating value for customers, even when your brand is not in the consumer products market, is vital for survival in today’s customer-focused world. Using marketing to create the perfect brand platform will allow your company to position itself in way to not only retain current clients, but win new customers as well.