​Inside Out: Where do you compete?

by Quantal Langford

Imagine a boxing ring. On one side you have a seasoned boxer, with his gloves up, ready for the fight in hand. On the other side a basketball player with no gloves, no experience and no chance. As a brand, knowing the arena you compete in is crucial in defining how you want your brand to be perceived to your core market.

Defining your arena isn’t hard. Just keep it clear and simple. Whether rebranding yourself or starting from scratch, this is one of the areas you don’t have to invest too much time in. For example my studio, Langfordesign, competes in the arena of “graphic design”. Even though my services also include brand development and consultation. This is how my audience perceives Langfordesign. Now once they connect with me through initial impressions, then I can offer my other services to them.

Clearly stating what your arena is also helps with SEO on search engines and your website and helps potential customers find you quicker and with more accessibly. When stating your arena you don’t want to get too complex, unless you’re a large corporation with various products and services, then your arena may encompass various industries.

Properly knowing the arena you compete in will allow customers, investors, employees, etc. to build loyalty and trust in your brand.

There’s a couple of ways to explore the scope of your arena. You can come from a focused point of view, to make consumers remember your brand easily. An expansive view that pertains to corporations that provide various products and services to a wide range of audiences. This allows the brand more organic growth and is not constrained to a specific audience.

Great example is Apple. They were once in the “computer” arena, targeted solely in the focused arena. They have now expanded into digital media, products, etc. They even dropped the “computers” off Apple to reflect their expansive arena.

Focused or Expanded, either direction you go make sure you owning your territory in that arena will build loyalty and brand awareness in the eyes of your target audiences.

In part 4 we will get into brand vision, and why everything you do originates from this aspect.

About the writer: Quantal Langford runs Langfordesign, a purpose driven, creative studio based in Oceanside, Ca. Focusing on graphic design and brand development for B2C businesses, non-profit organizations, and athletic departments and helping create their own unique voice. He also runs an inspirational/fitness lifestyle brand called Just Heart Apparel.