Picture this. We’re traveling back in time. We’re in ancient Rome. The fate of that empire depends on you. How can you save Roman civilizations from Carthage’s threat?

You face a very cunning and shrewd enemy. General Hannibal who is insanely brave and ruthless. He is exceptional in determining his and his opponent’s strengths and weaknesses. He keeps winning again and again thanks to his skills.

But how did Rome win in the end? You may ask. Well, history teaches us that only when the roman generals learned his tactics in warfare and his weak points, they managed to win against him.

“If you know the enemy and know yourself you need not fear the results of a hundred battles.” – Sun Tzu

History is more complex than that. And we’re not that interested in this. What matters is that just as the Roman Empire survived when they learned who their opponent was, so you should be worried about your competitor.

If you want to survive.

Who he is? What are their values? What’s his brand voice? What does he have to offer that you can’t? The competition is fierce and ruthless. Just like Hannibal.

Now, let’s delve into this topic. And elaborate it together.

Why is the brand voice important

Before we answer why it is important, we should know what it is.

Simply put, brand voice is the personality of the business. It’s the distinct personality brands have during communication with their target audience.

Every person has his personality, so every brand has its own personality. A brand voice reflects the values of the company or who they are. Their viewpoints, values, goals, what they offer, and how they benefit their customers. Their unique value proposition. How it sets them apart from their competition.

Brand voice includes tone, style, language, phrases, and stylistic choices during their communication. It is conducted through digital platforms, websites, landing pages, blog posts, social media ads, emails, and PPC.

Now let’s pass on why it is important.

Communication is the key. It creates for brands meaningful connections. For this, it has to be direct, simple,  and clear. Your audience can know who you are, and what your stand for, through your brand voice.

A powerful and consistent brand voice is crucial for companies’ survival in today’s world of 6 seconds attention span. Without it, companies have no chance to have a stronghold in the endless world of marketing messages.

You want your brand to live on. For it, it needs a unique sense of purpose and personality.

You want your customers to be loyal for life, as with a close friend.

For this reason, brand voice has to be consistent and repeatable, so your target audience can know you. This is the role of brand voice.

The brand voice plays three important functions.

It shapes your business’ persona

The significance of your brand voice begins and finishes with how you want to be seen by your target audience. You have only 6 seconds to grab and hook them.

Through your brand voice, you present your unique value proposition — what sets you apart. If it is your customer service, low price, or quality without being pushy.

Your core values stand in front of your brand through digital presence.

Your brand voice speaks the language of your audience.

Your brand voice can create a strong connection between you and your audience. Research has revealed people stay connected with their brands based on emotions or people they can trust. To stay connected you got to speak their language.

To educate your customers, you must have a brand voice that displays expertise and authority on the matter. To use emotions to create connections, a warm and inviting voice can do the job.

It creates consistency across your online presence.

The consistent voice of your brand across all digital channels and content will create for you a professional image. The first encounter will make the whole difference.

It might be your only chance for your audience to engage and understand your brand. They can see what your brand is, through the content they enjoy. If this happens, they might become a potential customer in the future.

Why companies should be alert about competitors’ brands

Competitor analysis plays a crucial role in your marketing strategy. Every brand must keep an eye on its competition. This enables you to define your company’s position in the market. Through it, you can discover your competitors’ strengths and weak points.

This allows you to develop and improve your business. Give the right direction during times of change in the market.

Competitor analysis must be a constant ongoing process. It’s important to state that it has to be conducted systematically, not only during the first phase of your business activity.

Let’s consider this. Every year more and more companies enter the market world. So your brand has to stand out. Staying informed about the situation and companies same to yours will enable you to catch good trends and activities.

It all brings your competition great results. And you can build your strategy based on this information.

Your goal is to learn what your competitors are up to. By learning all that information you must create a better and more efficient brand strategy for your business. Learning all this information is crucial for your brand’s success.

Simply put, how will you survive in the business world if you have no idea who your players are?

When you understand your brand’s strengths, and weaknesses, you can find your unique value proposition. After that, you know what to put forward.

Equipped with this information, you can relate your true values to your customers. You can adapt your brand and communication strategy based on the data and win in the market.

If you understand your competitor’s strategy, movements, strengths, and weaknesses, you can always be a step ahead. You can learn from your enemy, and use that knowledge to your advantage.

Some of the basic reasons for being alert on competitor’s brand are:

• You will know the future actions of the competitors (And can better prepare for what to do.)
• It will help you avoid business losses (By learning from their mistakes you can avoid them for your business.)
• It will warn you about business threats ( You should know your competitor moves, entering the market, launching a new product, or merging with other competitors. All this can damage your brand, so you need to counterattack.)
• You will know what to do better (When you check on your competitor, you learn where you go wrong. As a result you can improve.) 
• You will know their pricing strategy (Pricing strategy is essential to know. You have to stay competitive and adopt a better pricing strategy. High prices products don’t appear in search results. So you must find the prices of your competitor for the promotion of your brand.)
• You will increase your income (If you are aware of the pricing strategy of your competitors, you can adjust your prices according to the need of your consumers.)
• You can discover an untapped market ( You learn about the demand in the market. what buyers need. And what your competitors cannot provide. And bring that service or product.)
• You will know what content they use ( You have to find out the content strategy of your competitors. How often do they update the info on digital platforms and social media. This will enable you to learn the efficiency of their content strategy.)  
• You will increase your SEO (Keywords they use, play a fundamental role in SEO) 
• You will understand what marketing trends can use (Business trend change quickly. And it’s crucial to know the most up-to-date marketing trends. What they do, and their methodology. Knowledge is power.)
• You will learn how they run advertising campaigns (Knowing it means finding what strategies get more traffic and revenue. You can use their methods for your promotional campaigns.)
• You can find holes in their marketing campaigns (You can learn what mistakes to avoid, and how to improve.)
• You will know what marketing channels to use. (This way you can find the most effective ones for yourself.)

How do competitors threaten your company

For brands to stay successful is a real challenge. Becoming complacent is a real threat to them. Brands face continuous changes and challenges.

New competitors emerge, and new advanced technology changes consumer behavior as their needs evolve. Staying on top of the game for one year will not guarantee you will stay there longer. You must be prepared for threats in advance.

And make strategic efforts to be more active in spotting them.

A strong marketing plan considering your strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities, but without considering the challenges it’s of no use. For example, in the technology world, a new mobile app that is similar to other competitor apps that dominate the market will face new challenges.

Staying aware of them helps you make detailed strategic decisions about your products.

New competition bringing new and improved products is a threat to existing brands. Also, getting a new business model, and an innovative way of capturing value is a similar threat.

New competitors with new products with less money, more features, and a more successful marketing program. It happens continuously with new competitors and old ones who improve their products. A successful competitor can take your whole business if you don’t react in time.

Adapting to the latest trends in technology helps your brand to survive longer. Every brand is affected by technology trends.

If it’s about improved products, changes in your customers’ interaction, or just new technology, you need to stay informed because they all are relevant to your brand.

This way you stay updated and can spot threats before you get hurt.

Competing prices and great customer experience are challenges for every business or brand. Brands invest in the quality of their products or services. This improves their position in the market.

It protects them from risks. Businesses have to compete and win over their competition. Superior products and services are the keys.

In the long run, quality management systems strengthen the brand, raising you to the level of competitors. Hiring the most valuable employees, and the intellectual property, i.e, trade secrets and patents enable your competitors to win or lose.

How do you protect against competitors

How well your brand is based makes the whole potential of your business. Your brand is made of all the elements that make it different. The voice, the values, the personality, and the purpose.

Don’t ask “How are we different” but “What difference can we make?”

You must bring benefits so your customers can see they make a meaningful difference. Something your close competitors can’t bring.

A unique product or service with better solutions and benefits. Not something you can buy everywhere. Make this your top priority if you want your brand to last.

Create a product hard to design and manufacture.

An easy business model, printed on basic mugs with available fonts. Can you imagine how quickly and easily it is to provide the same product and service? Can it reach more people, with improved quality, and be sold cheaper?

Bring a unique product people want.

It’s all about finding a hole in the market people can’t live without. A unique product or an improved one, something people have been living without until you created it. The key to success is what unique value and benefits you bring. What you sell, the style of the product, and how you sell it.

Market your brand.

Move fast and reach a large audience. Otherwise, someone can get your ideas and leave you in the dust. Find a unique idea and get up against competing brands.

Ask yourself, “How can you compete with cheaper products made in China?”

The answer is to get yourself to be known. Put all your efforts into the product, marketing, and creating your brand. This way you can take control of the market before your competitors appear. When they come, don’t worry. You’re “The Original.”

Continue to innovate.

Being the first isn’t enough. You must prepare yourself for the next challenges.  You must keep creating. If you fall asleep, others will come along and win the race. Innovating is a fundamental part of the business. Keep creating. Keep experimenting. And keep expanding.

Lots of love

Eglant.