Branding Your Business
Recently we asked members of the Repair Community how they attract new business, and during the discussion the topic of branding came up. Many repair shop owners have created memorable brands for their shop as a way to set themselves apart from their competition and stick out amongst the community. Brands are easily recognizable to consumers and when done properly, branding your business can successfully increase customer loyalty. A basic definition tells us a brand is "a type of product manufactured by a particular company under a particular name." But a more accurate definition in this context would be, "the promotion of a particular product or company by means of advertising and distinctive design."
But a brand is far more than a logo and mission statement; it is the very essence and "feeling" a brand has created in the mind of the consumer. One repair shop owner in particular has done an excellent job in creating a repair brand for his business; Josh Muccio is the owner of iHeart Repair in Sarasota, FL. With the tagline, "Mobile Tech Repair with a Heart," a stellar website design and a logo that lives up to their name, iHeart Repair is doing it right! They even offer iPad repair guides on iPadScreenRepair.com -- remember Top 5 Troubleshooting Tips for iPad Repair? I was fortunate enough to once again speak with Josh, owner of both iHeart Repair and iPadScreenRepair.com and fellow blogger about the importance of branding your business, how he got started and how others can learn from his success thus far. Check it out!
Branding Your Business
eTech: You've done a great job of branding iHeart Repair as "Mobile Tech Repair with a Heart" and with your mission statement as well. Could you speak on the journey of creating that brand message for your company?
Josh: A brand tells the story of your company. When we set out to create iHeart Repair, we knew we needed to do something special to separate our company from the rest. Seth Godin writes about three different types of companies in his blog post entitled, "Beyond geography"; the geography business, the commodity business and the community-based business. We've strived to be the latter.
So since the very beginning we've focused our efforts on creating a valuable product and a lasting relationship with our customers. We've done two simple things that has absolutely defined our brand:
- Provide a Quality Product
- Provide Amazing Customer Service
As a business, we must fill a need that our customers have, but in order to establish a brand that people keep coming back to, we need to do more than just fill a need for our customer. We need to something different that sets us apart. For us it's simple, we offer a quality product and friendly, knowledgeable staff to help them through the repair process. It's certainly easy to say, but a lot harder to actually do.
eTech: On the topic of creating a repair brand. What advice would you give entrepreneurs and business owners looking to do the same?
Josh: Specific to our industry, in "Electronics repair", it's incredibly easy to treat what we do each day as a commodity. Charging the lowest prices possible for our services and hoping that an increase in sales will be the result, is a common approach. I urge you to think about things differently. There will always be someone who is willing to do repairs for less than you, and you won't be able to pay yourself or your employees what is deserved.
We have focused more of our efforts on quality and service rather than on low prices. This was hard in the beginning when sales were slow, but in the long-run we've had fewer warranty issues and our customers are happier! Here are a few of the practical things we did to achieve higher quality work and better customer service.
- Find a quality cell phone parts supplier
- Add a warranty to each of our repairs
- Hire excellent repair technicians and customer service agents.
Google interviews people 10 times before hiring. When asked about why their people are always happy, Southwest Airlines responded, "We only hire happy people!". Hiring the right people is everything and should be a major focus of any business owner.
eTech: What's the first step a business owner needs to take in branding their business?
Josh: Do something different from your competition. Do something that will make your potential customers notice you and your existing customers remember you. At iHeart Repair, we have really good people and a 2-year warranty that comes with each of our repairs. That's it! We've been surprised by how few companies actually stand behind the quality of their repairs, and we've been equally surprised by how many companies have unfriendly people who answer the phones and talk to customers face to face.
Once you actually decide what you are going to do differently, then you have to tell that story over and over again. Be repetitive in your marketing, your email communication and over the phone. People often don't remember things the first time they hear it, so you need to say it over and over again! We try to at least mention our 2-Year Warranty every time a customer comes in contact with us. It's on almost every page of our website and we talk about it to every customer who calls in or walks through our doors.
eTech: Where did you find such a great logo design?
Josh: We used 99designs.com. It's a great way to get a logo or other graphic designed quickly even if you aren't sure what you want. Projects are organized as contests and designers submit their designs with the hope that you will select them as the winner.
eTech: In your opinion, what makes the difference between a business and a brand?
Josh: In my mind it's very simple. A business finds a need and fills it. A brand is that extra something that makes your business memorable, something that your customers never forget.
eTech: What's coming next from iHeart Repair, do you have any plans for the future that you would like to share?
Josh: Sure, we are always working on the small things in our business, trying to make every little thing better for our customers. But one big thing we are working on is free stuff! We want to add even more value to our service by offering free advice and guides on our blog and YouTube channel. We've already offered free iPad repair guides in the past, but we are working on adding even more free content in the very near future.
Repair shops, take note! Have any questions for Josh about the repair industry or branding your business? Join Josh and eTech Parts in the Mobile Device Repair Community on Google+ and ask away!
Thanks again to Josh Muccio of iHeart Repair for all the incredibly helpful information AND for once again collaborating with us to offer fabulous, free and informative content for the Repair Community! Let us know what you think in the comments below and if you have any questions for Josh, you can join Josh and eTech Parts in the Google+ Mobile Device Repair Community! Check it out and join the conversation!