In business, the term branding one of the most misused and misunderstood marketing buzzwords. In recent years, the seemingly straight-forward but actually ambiguous phrase Return on Investment or “ROI” has made a run at eclipsing branding as the “concept de jour”– often discussed, but a lack of analytics or visibility to the right metrics creates a failure to follow-through (that is a topic for another post).

The fact is there are few strong B2B brands out in the marketplace today. During the “roaring 00s” (at least pre-recession) many businesses found success riding the economic tidal wave, but left their brand and brand strategy out treading water.

Now, companies are realizing while they achieved paramount success in the past decade, many B2B markets were left commoditized, and without a clear leader in many industries and product categories.

The result is a glut of organizations who are again prioritizing their brand, but without an understanding of where to get started. Many of the B2B organizations I encounter possess the foundational elements and raw materials on which a brand can be built. The challenge is getting them to start thinking and acting outside of themselves in order to articulate their brand in a way that has value and resonates with customers and prospects.

When preparing recently for the 2011 Marketing Technology Summit, I had an interesting discussion with Greg Head, CMO at InfusionSoft. He mentioned that the philosophy he has tried to instill within the leadership of organizations he has worked with is very succinctly summarized as “focus to grow.”

To me, this simple phrase says it all. It works when applied to the products a company sells, the services a company offers, the markets in which a company operates and the target audiences a company interacts with.

Of greater interest to me was the power the statement has when applied to creating and fostering a strong brand. The simple outcome that companies need to strive for is to create a focused brand position that:

• Is operationally coherent;
• Provides distinction from competitors;
• Aligns with the current and future needs of their industry; and,
• Allows room for the organization to evolve over time.

Many times companies feel that if they choose one thing to represent the essence of their company, they’ll be limiting themselves. The reality is that if you own one thing well in the minds of the customer, you’ll earn their trust to be able to offer them other products and services they value, as long as it relates back to that core brand promise.

The right brand position for any organization will not only allow you to own one thing well, but will also be flexible enough to act as an entry point to any number of conversations with customers.

The first step is to set a process by which you can identify, narrow and articulate the focus of your brand. That becomes the start, but the future becomes a branding journey that requires constant attention and through any ebbs and flows within the economy, acts as a life preserver to provide distinction and direction for your company, so that it is never left treading water.

Has your brand been neglected? Is it time to refresh your brand to align it with today’s market conditions?

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I am a diehard football fan.  No, not that American “throwball” game where the players wear 30 pounds of pads and throw around an odd-shaped ball wrapped in pig skin.  I’m talking about the beautiful game, fútbol, voetbal, footy, or as most Americans know it as, soccer.  As a football fanatic, I can’t help but get wrapped up in the drama, the passion and the obsession that encompasses every single match across the globe.  In the world of football, there is a new story to be told each and every day.  But football is not only captivating from a sporting viewpoint.  The beautiful game is also fascinating from a marketing and global branding perspective.

The world is shrinking on a minute-by-minute basis these days, especially with the continual advances in technology.  Because of this, companies are placing a much stronger emphasis on establishing global brands that can compete across multiple markets.  But expanding your company into new markets isn’t as easy as it may seem.  Many successful firms, even firms like Wal Mart, have struggled to establish their brands in certain global markets.

So where do you turn to find the key to expanding your firm’s identity across the globe?  Look no further than to professional football clubs.  Football clubs, large ones especially, embody everything that firms strive to achieve in developing a global brand.  They offer unique, marketable products that are in demand worldwide, they have strong revenue streams and in some cases can be very profitable, and most important of all, they have loyal customer bases that stick with their brand through thick and thin.  Take my favorite club, Liverpool FC, for example.  Liverpool FC is considered one of the world’s strongest football brands.  The city of Liverpool has a population of roughly 430,000 people.  Compare that to the approximate 42 million Liverpool FC fans worldwide and the proof is in the pudding.

But Liverpool FC didn’t establish itself as a global powerhouse by coincidence.  It has taken many years of hard work to get to where it is today.  Although the success of a football club, like any sports team, is mostly determined by how well the team performs, clubs like Liverpool FC cannot rest on this fact and must continually adopt new marketing techniques to expand and foster growth of the brand.  Liverpool FC is a great example of a brand that has embraced fresh approaches to marketing.  The club’s web site hosts a discussion forum that encourages fans to collaborate and become a part of the club they idolize.  This is approach is being adopted by many companies and helps establish stronger brand loyalty by giving customers a voice in shaping the future of the brand.

Liverpool FC also leverages social media in a very effective way, reaching out to fans and customers via the club’s Facebook page to its Twitter page.  The club also continues to reach its fans and customers through different mediums, including mobile devices.  In addition to the official LFC mobile apps, which provides fans with wallpapers, match updates, news feeds, etc., the club recently became the first football club in the world to launch a fully transactional mobile store.

Branding initiatives like these are necessary for Liverpool FC if they want to compete with some of the club’s strongest competitors.  Like with any industry, creating a sustainable competitive advantage and providing more value than your competitors is the key to success, especially in global markets.  So the next time you need a reference for how to expand your brand globally, look no further than the beautiful game.

Images: Liverpool FC

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